SalesVu credit card payment solution review – Problems, Issues, and Deception?

SalesVu is a “Square” wanna-be service designed specifically for businesses who need more data/options about their transactions than Square is currently offering.  They say it’s affordable, you get a free credit card reader and flat rate 2.7% swipes.  Sounds great right? Sounds just like Square actually  They give you some software that is “better” (read more complicated which is a result of the options, stats, etc…). So why am I moaning about it you ask?  Very simple.

1. They make two statements.  Free Credit Card Reader & Flat Rate 2.7% swipes.
2. They make no mention of any other fees.
3. When you go to the pricing page it shows a comparative chart outlining what they offer, and what square offers.  (They have a lot of checkmarks next to their services, and a lot of x’s next to Square’s). There is not one mention of a monthly fee.
4. They compare themselves to Square which implies they do not have a monthly fee because anything other than that would NOT be an apples to apples comparison.
5. They have you fill out the application and give you sensitive personal information.
6. ONLY AFTER YOU DO THIS DO THEY TELL YOU “OH BY THE WAY IF YOU DO NOT PROCESS 1500 A MONTH IN TRANSACTIONS WE’LL HIT YOU WITH AT LEAST $40 IN TRANSACTION FEES.

Where I’m from that is deceptive. Where I’m from it’s wrong. Where I’m from we simply say “that’s bullsh*t”.  Doing 1500 a month is not an issue any serious business operating in the United States should be able to hit that mark fairly easily.  The problem is I gave up my information to learn there is a term in this service agreement that I wasn’t aware of.  The problem is I wasn’t able to make an INFORMED decision BEFORE I gave them my information.  The problem is… if they are willing to do this to me right up front before I start working with them WHAT are they going to do LATER?  After all there is no contract so technically the terms could change any time and if I’m relying on them to handle my credit card transactions am I going to have time to retool everything quickly without losing a ton of money or am I just going to say “screw it” and keep using them (forced to pay them whatever they want after the fact because I can’t afford to make the change and re-train without losing a lot more money.)

NO SalesVu I will not use you.  I will not tell people to use you.  I will instead let people know that in my opinion you can’t be trusted. If you are a small business looking to handle credit card transactions and don’t want to deal with Paypal and their headaches, I still think Square (Squareup.com) is the best way to go.  Flat rate 2.7% swipes, money in your bank account the next day, no monthly fees, and no contracts.  I’ve included some screen shots of their website below.  (I also complained to them so they may be changing their practice we’ll see).