18 years helping Canadian businesses
choose better software
About Elavon
From payment processing to loyalty programs, fraud management to mobile innovations, security solutions to data-driven insights.
Much of what we bring in to cover operating expenses are in the form of donations. When donors find out that we utilize Elavon, they feel safer when deciding whether to donate.
The backend compliance isn't user friendly but their support is even worse.
Filter reviews (20)
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Filter reviews (20)
Founder/owner
Comments: Overall the experience was positive and I’d recommend.
Pros:
The best part is the way I take payments all end up in a centralized reporting system so I can have a customer paying online and another in-person without the headache of data all over the place.
Cons:
I’ve had instances when it’s taken awhile to get a customer service rep on the phone to help.
Challenges with communication
Pros:
It seemed fairly simple to use and could get good details.
Cons:
The reports are not always user-friendly to produce. The payment gateway was challenging to install into our software and had challenges with customer service and their technical department in order to finally get it done. It took a LONG time.
Not great if you are a Canadian small Business.
Comments: terrible, just terrible. trying to get the terminal back to them has also been a bit of a run-around. Are we sure this is not a scam company?
Pros:
It was going to be cheaper than Moneris by a significant amount.
Cons:
We were auto approved and sent the machine and using it for 2 weeks until the underwriting department stated we didn't provide enough documentation and cancelled our account. This even though we submitted additional documentation they still cancelled the account with no notice and we had already sent Moneris POS terminal back. luckily Moneris was only 2 days from getting a POS terminal back to us.
Elavon Processor
Comments: Used Elavon through a hotel reservation system; was secure and processed credit card transactions well. However when it came to using the admin portal it was not the most user friendly for finding reports.
Pros:
Quick payment processer, fairly easy to use.
Cons:
Administrative site not very user friendly, sometimes hard to find reports needed.
Alternatives Considered:
Comparatively high priced and difficult to use.
Comments: I didn't like it. I found it difficult to use and complicated compared to others.
Pros:
The USA based personal support person I was assigned as a go between. He fid basically handle any questions or issues but the POS system wasn't reliable.
Cons:
The POS device was high priced compared to most difficult to use and I couldn't depend on it taking the sale. It was hit or miss. Actually so bad that I had to carry an additional backup product.
Do not use this service
Comments: Calling it a nightmare would be an understatement
Pros:
It’s been a month and I’m still waiting for them to payme from closed batches I won’t use this services unless you what to be given excuses with never getting any results or you will regret this like I am
Cons:
Theft customer support is atrocious misleading and slow response time
Horrible customer service and set up
Pros:
Nothing the service service was horrible. Calling to customer service to get assistance was horrible. Only to find out that there was another company processing the payment. I reached out numerous times only to be told I will be sent an email and I finally reached out to the account manager or at least who I thought was the account manager [sensitive content hidden] . It could be [sensitive content hidden] with a K however the service that she provided was horrible to say the least by saying I had no business knowing her name or who she even was because she didn’t service my terminal that is no way to speak to about a customer.
Cons:
recently received a payment processing terminal and have reached out numerous times, but today I found out I was reaching the wrong company however, the rudeness that I experienced when reaching out just to get information made me determine from this company. Overall, I reached out in hopes of speaking with whom I was told was my account manager whose name is [sensitive content hidden] I in turn, was told that the representative reached out to [sensitive content hidden] , and also someone’s whose name started with the letter J, maybe [sensitive content hidden] upon her reaching out to escalate the situation she was told that I should not be contacting this individual neither should I know her name as if she’s some person that I am after I only want information and this was very rude to even have this information relayed to a customer horrible customer service and you should be ashamed of even having someone say that to a customer horrible, horrible stay away from Elavon.
Cheap system
Comments: The fact that transactions can receive an approval from the credit card company at the time of purchase but not actually be paid to the merchant is a serious problem. I gave my client a receipt from the Elavon system clearly showing it was approved but days later received a phone call from Elavon to tell me we (the merchant) is not getting paid. Elavon is holding onto the money for a minimum of 90 days. Now I have to spend hours going back and forth with the Elavon rep (who has been very kind) to prove the legitimacy of the transaction when the system simply should have declined the transaction at the time of purchase. If a transaction appears to be fraudulent it should not be approved at the time of purchase.
Pros:
It was the cheapest system I could find that would work in the currency we need. You get what you pay for.
Cons:
Set up was more complicated than it needed to be, the online Converge system is not intuitive, and getting account statements is a hassle because it's an entirely different login. My biggest complaint is that the system will approve transactions with the credit card company but Elavon will deny payment to the merchant. Then it's a nightmare trying to get paid by Elavon. The delay creates numerous other bookkeeping and accounting issues.
DO NOT USE AS THEY ARE NOT GOOD TO THE CUSTOMER
Comments: HORRIBLE!!!. Contacted to get registers for the business. Wrong ones come. They cannot get right ones now for weeks? I have a business so cannot wait. I want to send the wrongs one back since they are the wrong ones. I am told by 3 different people they will have UPS pick up. Never come. Then they come to wrong address. I am told by other employees they will send labels. They NEVER do. Then they start charging me for lack of return of equipment. WHAT? So I go and pay to send back all the equipment using my own money ($420). They wind up refusing to reverse monthly costs- this process took 2 months. AND they refuse to pay for the shipping. WHAT? How is this company a company. So many employees refused to assist. How is this not fraud. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND ANYONE USE THIS COMPANY!!!
Pros:
1 customer service rep named [sensitive content hidden] which is the only one that ever seemed to care
Cons:
Everything. No accountability. No real customer service. Did not fix the problems that they caused, and it somehow cost me over $500 due to the incompetency of Elavon.
Not worth it
Comments: I had to jump over a lot of hoops to get the service going and after that didn't receive well informed services.
Pros:
Support is available 24/7 on critical issues.
Cons:
How support team is not experienced and didn't seem to care much about my issue.
Something to be said for longevity
Comments: The fees can be frustrating, and trying to determine how much will be taken out of a given transaction is difficult. That being said, in order to operate at all in this field, you must be able to accept a wide range of payments. There is no way to avoid this operating cost, so we've made the decision to use Elavon as our main payment processor. The extra costs are mitigated by the trust our customers have in us knowing we use a reputable and secure payment processor. I wish there was a way to operate where that big of a percentage of each transaction did not have to be sent to a third party in order to verify availability of funds immediately. With no real hope for that to turn into a reality, we will continue to send 2-3% of each swipe to Elavon.
Pros:
Elavon is nearly synonymous with payment processing. Their name represents a company with a reputation for taking its clients' businesses very seriously. Much of what we bring in to cover operating expenses are in the form of donations. When donors find out that we utilize Elavon, they feel safer when deciding whether to donate.
Cons:
You pay an increased price for Elavon when compared to other POS payment processors. While we love the services Elavon provides, we also have to consider if the increased security is worth the increased costs. To defray the costs, we have begun using other processors for specific tasks.
Theft - stay away
Pros:
They were excellent before they started stealing money.
Cons:
Had an account with Helcim/Elavon. They decided to split and I stuck with Helcim. Little did I know, Elavon had a separate account and were charging us $99.99 monthly under the generic description, "Merchant Fees" which I didn't catch for quite some time. When I finally found out it was Elavon over a year later, I called for a refund, was hung up on several times and was refused a refund despite never receiving a single notice by mail, email, call or text about my "contract" or bill. I had recommended Helcim/Elavon for years, but it looks like Helcim was doing the good work for customer service. This industry lives and dies by reputation and Elavon has decided to take shortcuts for quick profits at the expense of long-term gains. What they are doing is theft. Stay away.
Superb and Secure Payment Processing
Pros:
The customer service team was extremely helpful while setting up and configuring the payment gateway
Cons:
Required a lot of interactions with the account managers
Works well for our purposes, can be pricey
Comments: Elavon was easy to set up and use. It functions well and rarely has technical issues. The prices can be fairly steep when they are increased (which seems to occur every year) but customer service is often willing to work with you to keep the prices reasonable for a small firm such as ours. Overall, I am pleased with Elavon, but I do not have another product to compare it to.
Pros:
This software is easy to learn and use. The processes are intuitive and it rarely has technical problems.
Cons:
The fees on the invoice are a little hard to understand, and sometimes seem to change without warning. The yearly price increases are steep.
Decent functionality, terrible customer support
Comments: As a payment gateway it works, expensive but it works. For the backend compliance, to say it's difficult to use is an understatement. But in summary for the experience with Elavon is that their support will threaten you over a live chat rather than provide you with the information needed or help you in any meaningful way. I don't typically write reviews, but when it gets to the point that the support isn't helpful, you can't be directed to speak to anyone else and... when you ask to send a compliant etc, the individual just tells you to send the information to them... well it's indicative of this companies internal policies.
Pros:
It works as a payment gateway and seems to have been set up correctly to function.
Cons:
The backend compliance isn't user friendly but their support is even worse.
Not the best merchant solution out there
Comments: Elavon is not a great solution for a hospitality business like our, it is more for a retail store.
Pros:
We basically use Elavon to do pre-auth for checking in guests, so we like that we can do pre-auths with guest actually pin-approving the transaction.
Cons:
Whenever we need to complete a pre-authorization is the most complicated process we have ever seen.
They dont care about costumer service
Comments: Sucks it is true no one helps you fo yourself a favor stay away
Pros:
Nothing at all n ot good no one helps no one care they just charge hudge
Cons:
I can't talk to no one they put you on hold forever
Elavon -BI
Pros:
We love have a POS machine in our office for our repair shop payments.
Cons:
We wish Elavon thru Bank Independent was compatible with Frazer.
Easy and simple
Comments: Long time satisfied customer, love that the terminal is easy to use and generally has no issues.
Pros:
Elavon has the best rates for non profit long time customers, any time an issue has arose contacting customer service is a breeze.
Cons:
The only issue I have with Elavon is the price compliance needing to be completed yearly without reminders or else pay a hefty fee.
Easy to Use, Great Customer Service
Comments: It has been great. If I have ever had any questions on a transaction, I have always been able to call in and get my question answered.
Pros:
We mostly use this software for installments for payment plans. The set up of the installments and the maintenance of them is easy and user friendly.
Cons:
There is nothing that I dislike about this software. It is easy to use and implement and it is reliable.