Payment Depot Review

Pros & Cons

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Payment Depot Overview

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As a business owner, you want to start accepting payments seamlessly without the hassle of complex merchant services. Payment Depot delivers just that—an affordable and straightforward solution with no added bells and whistles to get in your way.

With just over ten years of experience, Payment Depot works with some major brands, including Subway, Dominos, and Sprint.

However, the company is also wildly popular for small and mid-size businesses, too.

If you prefer paying a stable monthly fee rather than varying per-transaction fees, you’ll be happy to know that Payment Depot operates on a membership model. According to previous case studies, the monthly subscription can save you upwards of $400 or more per month in overall process contacts versus traditional processors.

You also won’t have to pay any markup on interchange rates so you’ll have a predictable and reliable bill every month.

With that said, Payment Depot doesn’t have its own proprietary software. Instead, it integrates with trusted third-party providers to offer complete payment processing solutions. This lean approach works well if you process between $10,000 to $250,000 per year and don’t need a ton of advanced functionality.

Payment Depot offers no frills—just reliable service, knowledgeable support, and rates that make sense for modest transaction volumes.

Payment Depot Plans and Pricing

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When it comes to pricing, Payment Depot keeps it simple with a single subscription plan with no hidden fees or complex tiers to navigate. You’ll pay $79 per month if you process less than $250,000 per year.

If your processing volume exceeds $250,000 annually, you’ll need a custom quote.

Your membership covers everything except the card processing fees themselves—these fees are set by the credit card companies themselves and Payment Depot passes them onto you at wholesale rather than charging an additional markup.

For many businesses, a monthly subscription and markup-free transaction fees result in lower overall costs across the board.

Plus, the lack of variable transaction fees provides stability and predictability. You’ll know your base monthly cost ahead of time rather than experiencing fluctuations, which makes financial planning and budgeting even easier.

However, plans don’t include hardware so you’ll need to purchase or lease physical equipment separately.

Payment Depot offers seven options, ranging from basic terminals to advanced POS systems and mobile card readers. The wide range of hardware makes it easy to configure the best setup for your business.

If you like the idea of a monthly subscription and wholesale interchange rates but want a full business management solution with more functionality, Stax—which also owns Payment Depot—may be a better fit. You can learn more about it in our full review.

On the other end of the spectrum, CardX by Stax offers zero cost credit card processing for businesses that want to pass on the fees to their customers. Check out our complete CardX review to learn more.

Payment Options

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With Payment Depot, you can easily accept everything from credit cards and contactless payments in person to digital wallets and all card carriers online.

This flexibility makes it simple to get paid however your customers prefer.

If you’re a retail store, restaurant, salon, or running a typical brick-and-mortar location, Payment Depot’s full POS solutions are likely a good fit. They include all the hardware you need as well as order, inventory, employee, and customer management features through Clover.

If you already have a POS system you like, Payment Depot can likely integrate with it so there’s no need to start over or purchase new hardware.

In addition, Payment Depot’s hardware supports all the latest payment methods. You’ll be able to accept chip, swipe, tap and contactless payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay to make it easy on your customers.

For businesses on the go, Payment Depot offers mobile card readers and a free app, allowing you to accept payments anywhere using your phone or tablet. It’s an excellent solution for service providers, vendors at events, and field service teams, delivery services, and more.

You can also turn any device into a payment processor with Payment Depot’s virtual terminal software.

With it, you can take payments over the phone by manually entering credit card information.

Ecommerce Functionality

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Like other providers, Payment Depot partners with Authorize.Net for its ecommerce solutions. It’s been around for ages and works with just about every merchant services company we’ve tried. So, this isn’t anything new or surprising.

It’s not necessarily a great fit if you don’t already have an online store but it does come with a free (but basic) shopping cart you can embed on your website or social media channels.

While it won’t replace a full ecommerce site, it’s a cost-effective way to sell a small selection of products on your existing properties. However, you’ll need HTML and CSS skills to customize it.

For businesses that do already have an online storefront, Authorize.Net integrates seamlessly with dozens of popular ecommerce platforms including Shopify, Opencart, PrestaShop, Shift4Shop, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and more.

If you have a more complex setup or a custom website, the API is available as well.

With Payment Depot and Authorize.Net, you’ll be able to accept all major credit cards, PayPal, and digital wallets online, no matter how you take payments.

You also get advanced fraud protection tools, a customer portal to store payment information for faster checkout and improved recurring billing, and a full digital invoicing system.

Customer Support

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When it comes to customer service, Payment Depot aims to make support accessible through phone, email, and live chat. They also provide a knowledgebase you can use to troubleshoot issues and learn on your own.

However, it’s important to know that Payment Depot outsources support to a third party.

In our experience, this outsourcing has led to a decline in the quality, availability, and timeliness of the company’s support—particularly through live chat. We tried clarifying some information through the live chat widget on Payment Depot’s website during normal business hours, but were told no one was available.

We also noticed a pattern of customers reporting longer wait times and dealing with reps less knowledgeable about Payment Depot’s services after Stax’s acquisition.

You will eventually get the help you need, but it may take longer than it used to. And you may have to talk to several people before you reach a resolution, which can be frustrating.

Analytics

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Payment Depot doesn’t have its own proprietary analytics platform. Instead, the company relies on the reporting tools from their various hardware and software partners.

So, the depth and customization of analytics depends on which solutions you end up using.

If you process with Authorize.Net for ecommerce transactions, you won’t get exceptional analytics. It’s notably lackluster in this department and some developers have even created add-on software to supplement.

However, if you use the SwipeSimple mobile app for payments, you’ll have access to decent analytics right on your phone. You can run reports to import into accounting software, track sales by specific items, select custom date ranges, view transaction volumes and average ticket size, and see your recent transactions.

For the best analytics, we recommend opting for Clover hardware. It has excellent built-in reporting that’s also easy to access. At a glance, you can see your gross and net sales, order volumes, discounts, refunds, sales by item, sales by employee, and more. You can even generate tax reports and build custom reports to analyze whatever metrics matter most to your business.

Overall, Payment Depot’s analytics range from basic to excellent, depending on your solution. If advanced insights are important, go for SwipeSimple or Clover.

Ease of Use

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To get started, you’ll need to fill out an online form or pick up the phone. Payment Depot aims to make their initial process fast and frictionless. As such, it only takes a few minutes to submit your application.

Once you do, you’ll have to wait for someone to get in touch with you regarding your status. At this point, you’ll be able to choose the hardware and solutions you need.

A few days after that, everything you need will arrive at your doorstep, including your hardware, software access, and credentials to start processing transactions immediately.

In terms of every day use, the hardware Payment Depot offers is sleek and intuitive by design. Plus, the company’s partners crafted their tools to be user-friendly for busy business owners and employees alike.

We know the initial setup process for any new system can feel daunting. But rest assured, Payment Depot’s solutions are straightforward. Their step-by-step guides eliminate confusion and complications, plus you can reach out to customer service if you need help with anything along the way.

Once the initial configuration is complete, every day use is a breeze.

Final Thoughts

Payment Depot is a reliable, tried-and-true merchant services provider that works with third-party software providers to build complete all-in-one payment processing solutions for businesses of all types. For a reasonable monthly fee, you get wholesale processing fees and access to everything you need, no matter how and where you take payments.