Chase Payment Solutions Review: The Good & the Bad in 2024

Chase Payment Solutions℠ Feature Summary

Quick Payouts… but Mixed Reviews

Chase Payment Solutions℠ (Chase for short) is one of the largest payment processors in the world, with over 5 million customers across the US and Canada. It offers next-day funding, and same-day funding is available to certain customers. With a decent range of POS hardware, modern e-commerce payment software, and plenty of support to help your business grow, this payment processor is a good choice for small- to medium-sized businesses that need reliable access to their money.

On top of that, Chase (and JP Morgan, its parent company) have mixed reviews from existing customers, with some claiming their account was closed or funds put on hold with no warning. Of course, it’s difficult to know the full circumstances underlying these reports. It’s also worth noting that disgruntled customers are more likely to share their experiences than satisfied customers are to share theirs.

So is Chase Payment Solutions℠ all that it claims to be? Keep reading to see if your business could benefit from using this credit card processor.

Great Features Hindered by Limited POS Hardware Options

Chase’s range of features is impressive. You’ll get the popular Authorize.net payment gateway for e-commerce and the Orbital virtual terminal for remote transactions. What’s more, its partnership with BigCommerce means you’ll get same-day access to funds from your e-commerce sales (as long as you’re depositing into a Chase banking account). On top of that, Chase’s proprietary business analytics platform, Customer Insights, will help you track your sales, customer demographics, and even what time of day your customers prefer to shop.

The only thing that lets Chase down (aside from its pricing, which I’ll cover later) is its less-than-stellar POS offering. It only offers 5 POS devices – one of which is only available if you have a Chase Business Banking account.

5 Devices and Limited Reprogramming

With only 5 POS devices on sale – including 3 terminals and 2 mobile card readers – your hardware options are a little limited. If you want modern POS hardware, the best you’ll get is the proprietary Chase Smart Terminal, which you’ll have to purchase outright. Just keep in mind that, as a proprietary device, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to reprogram it if you change your payment processor.

While Chase lists more devices on its support page, it doesn’t offer these to new customers.

This is one of the few payment processors I’ve come across that isn’t a reseller of Clover’s ultra-modern devices. And if you have existing hardware, you won’t be able to use your Clover devices with Chase Payment Solutions℠.

Industry-Leading E-Commerce Software

With Chase Payment Solutions℠, you’ll get plenty of e-commerce software to power your business. On top of the reputable Authorize.net payment gateway, you’ll also have access to the Orbital virtual terminal, which gives you two powerful options for handling card-not-present transactions.

In addition, Chase has partnered with BigCommerce to support small e-commerce businesses. This seamless, pre-built integration means you don’t need any technical knowledge to start accepting payments through your BigCommerce store1, making it even simpler to get started with this powerful e-commerce platform.

Get Access to Your Money – Fast

With a Chase Payment Solutions℠ merchant account, you can accept credit and debit cards, bank transfers, ACH payments, and digital wallets in over 130 currencies. What’s more, Chase offers next business day funding, or even same-day funding if you have a Chase Business Banking account.

It’s worth noting that same-day funding can come with some extra costs. A Chase Business Complete Banking account costs $15/month, although this fee will be waived if you meet certain criteria. This means you could get same-day funding for free, which is not something a lot of other payment processors offer.

Easy-to-Use Business Analytics Software

Chase Customer Insights is Chase’s powerful business analytics and intelligence software. It makes it easy to track your daily, weekly, and monthly sales, review trends over time, see what time of day your customers are most likely to shop, and more.

You’ll also be able to see how your sales trends stack up against similar businesses, both within your industry and your local area. This is a great way to enhance your business’s competitive advantage and optimize your sales process.

Specialized Payment Software Powered by Chase

Chase also powers 10 different free and paid software tools built for specific industries. These include:

• FuseBill (subscription management)
• BuilderTrend (construction project management and invoicing)
• PayRent (rent collection and property management)
• EventZilla (event management and marketing)

If you need a specialized payment tool to manage your business, there’s a good chance Chase has a software solution that can help.

User-Friendly, but a Little Convoluted

Applying to Chase Payment Solutions℠ is straightforward, but you’ll need to set up a business checking account with Chase first if you want same-day funding. Once that’s complete, Chase will provide you with a list of documents you’ll need to set up your account. From here, you’ll need to apply for a merchant account, either through its website or over the phone. If you apply online, a sales representative will call you back within 24 hours to guide you through the application process.

Getting Started With Chase Payment Solutions℠

To open a Chase Payment Solutions℠ account, you’ll need to go to Chase’s website. Then click Business > Accept Credit/Debit Cards > Connect with us. This will open the application form and also provide you with a phone number if you want to apply over the phone.

You’ll need to know your average transaction size and monthly sales volume (or an estimated annual sales volume). You won’t need to provide this immediately if you’re applying online, but the sales representative will ask for that information when they call you back. If you’re enquiring about custom rates, you’ll also need 3 months of payment processing statements.

Manage Your Payments on Your Smartphone

Chase Payment Solutions℠ has an easy-to-use mobile app, Chase Mobile, that’s available for Android and iOS.

From the app, you can accept payments, manage disputes, create and send payment links, approve payments that have been held for review, and more. Plus, Chase Mobile doubles as your banking app, so you’ll also be able to manage your business accounts from your smartphone.

A Comprehensive Developer Toolkit

If you need a specific software solution that Chase doesn’t provide, you’ll get all the tools you need to build it yourself.

You’ll get a library full of SDKs and APIs to help you develop your own software solution, plus documentation to help you integrate these tools within your own development environment. On top of that, you’ll get the tools you need to test your software in real-time, plus a sandbox environment to ensure everything works before you start using it.

Simple Pricing on the Surface

Chase has a simple flat-rate pricing model with no hidden fees. As with most other flat rate processors, you’ll pay a fixed percentage markup and a small flat fee per transaction, and it’s refreshing to see these transparently displayed on Chase’s website. Regardless of interchange rates charged by the different card brands, you’ll pay 2.6% + 10¢ for card-present transactions (swiped, contactless, or chip-and-pin) and a slightly higher rate for keyed-in (3.5% + 10¢) and e-commerce (2.9% + 25¢) transactions. Note that the e-commerce plan does come with a low monthly fee of $9.95.

If you’ve got a small business, these are the only fees you’ll have to pay. When I contacted customer support, they reassured me that there were no monthly fees for software or PCI compliance. You’ll be on a monthly contract, so you don’t need to worry about early termination fees, either.

However, if you want to use one of the 10 specialized software tools powered by Chase, you’ll likely have to pay a monthly fee. On top of this, if you want to use Chase QuickAccept to get same-day deposits from mobile payments, you’ll need to pay $15/month for a Chase Business Complete Banking Account. You can waive these fees under certain conditions, and you can still accept mobile payments without QuickAccept, but it’s worth noting if same-day payments are a key feature for you.

With that being said, Chase Payment Solutions℠ doesn’t have the cheapest transaction fees on the market. For example, Leaders Merchant Services charges lower rates, but these are paid in addition to the interchange fees charged by the various card brands, so it’s worth comparing the two to see whether this trade-off works in your favor.

Businesses with a higher transaction volume may be able to negotiate lower fees, but this will likely lock you into a contract with early termination fees. Flat rate pricing models can be costly for high-volume and larger businesses regardless. When your business grows to this point, you’re likely to save money by switching to a processor like Stax1 that charges a flat monthly fee in exchange for 0% markups on transaction.

Despite the lack of additional fees, you will need to purchase your hardware outright. Chase’s hardware is reasonably priced ($49.95 for the mobile reader, and $399 for the smart terminal), but it is proprietary so you may not be able to reprogram it if you stop using Chase.

Card-present Transactions

2.6% + 10¢ / transaction

Monthly Fee:$0

Hardware Fees

No Software Fees

Payout Time:Next day (same day for Chase Business account customers)

Accepted Payment Methods: Credit/Debit Cards

Get Started

Keyed-in Transactions

3.5% + 10¢ / transaction

Monthly Fee:$0

Hardware Fees

No Software Fees

Payout Time:Next day (same day for Chase Business account customers)

Accepted Payment Methods: Credit/Debit Cards

Get Started

E-Commerce Transactions

2.9% + 25¢ / transaction

Monthly Fee:$9.95

Hardware Fees

No Software Fees

Payout Time:Next day for Chase Business account customers

Accepted Payment Methods: Credit/Debit Cards

Get Started

Expect to Handle Everything Yourself

Chase Payment Solutions℠ is PCI-compliant and offers some built-in security features, but don’t expect it to hold your hand through the compliance process. You’ll get some support from this payment processor’s data security team if you need help with your PCI assessments, but otherwise, you’ll be left to handle it on your own.

PCI Compliance & More

Chase Payment Solutions℠ offers some advice regarding PCI compliance for merchants, but you should expect to handle your yearly questionnaires and quarterly network scans (and, if applicable, on-site visits) yourself. There is some help available through the 24/7 support line, too. It’s not ideal, particularly if you’re new to PCI compliance and you’re not sure where to start.

On top of PCI compliance, Chase Payment Solutions℠ has a HIPAA-compliant payment service available. Chase isn’t HIPAA compliant on its own, so if you need HIPAA-compliant payments, you’ll need to use InstaMed alongside Chase, which comes at an additional cost.

Additional Security Features

You’ll get a good degree of fraud protection with Chase. On top of the real-time monitoring and alerts you’d expect from any good merchant services provider, Chase also gives you zero liability protection. Provided that you’re compliant with data security standards and you report unauthorized transactions promptly, Chase will reimburse the money you’ve lost.

You’ll also benefit from Authorize.net’s fantastic fraud detection and prevention tools. These include 13 configurable filters that cover categories like transaction size, transaction velocity, customer location, and payer verification. You can also choose to automatically decline suspicious transactions or hold them for manual review, which is a great way to protect your business against fraud.

Friendly but Sales-Focused

Chase Payment Solutions℠ has a request ticket channel and a 24/7 phone line. You can also get in touch with the customer support team via a contact form, but this is more of a callback request than an email ticket.

I called the number provided on the application form at 3:00 p.m. UK time, which is 11:00 a.m. EST (assuming that the customer-facing teams are located at company headquarters in New York City). As expected from a large company, the number provided on the application form was for the sales department. I waited in a queue for around 5 minutes before being connected.

Unsurprising, the representative I spoke to was very much focused on closing the sale, although he was still helpful and friendly. He explained that, as a small business owner, I could expect to pay the flat rate transaction fees advertised on the website on a month-to-month contract.

He addressed all of my inquiries except for the significant one: I inquired about the negotiability of the advertised rate, indicating my openness to considering this as my business expands. However, he evaded this last question by stating that a discussion about it would be possible once I accumulate more financial processing history.

Normally, you’d have to log in to submit a ticket, but I found a workaround – during my research, one of Chase’s knowledge bases let me submit a ticket without needing to log in. I received an automatic reply that informed me I’d get a response within 2 working days.

The response actually came just half an hour later.

Because I don’t have a merchant account, I expected a response telling me to call for more information. However, for a question about whether Chase charges an extra monthly fee for use of the payment gateway, I found it very strange I was being directed toward Authorize.net’s customer support line instead.

If you need extra support, Chase Payment Solutions℠ offers a comprehensive knowledge base with some video tutorials. But even though there’s a landing page to direct you to the help you need, the information feels unorganized. If you need support for any of the offered software solutions, you’ll be redirected to the help center for WePay by JPMorgan. This is a separate library, which isn’t evident from the support page. I can see this lack of organization being frustrating if you have an issue you need to solve promptly.