CDGcommerce Offers Free Payment Gateway and Lower Fees for MOTO Merchants Gregory Bair

CDGcommerce offers a low-cost approach to their MOTO clients. Whereas, many MOTO customers are on fixed incomes, still use land-line, touch-tone phones and do not use much in the way of modern technology.  They have grandkids they desperately want to buy Christmas gifts for, need medicines and want them to be delivered, still collect items they have been collecting for decades and like ordering from catalogs received in the mail. This large baby boom population wants to make MOTO purchases in a secure and dependable manner.  Thanks to CDGcommerce, Merchants can offer this service to glean extra profit, serve a customer base that is underserved in this modern age, and pay little to do it all?

Simply upload your payments through the online virtual terminal from any computer with an internet connection and you get paid. Easy for your customers, easy for you.

CDGcommerce can help the MOTO merchant serve all their customers regardless of their approach to the purchase, and do it happily without ever overcharging the merchant for the service. And the best part: they can approve 80% of all merchants who apply within one hour!

CDG’s products are synonymous with the service fees. Here’s a sampling of what you get:

• Great customer support
• Free payment gateway
• Interchange-plus pricing offered at request

It is rare to find all of what CDG offers for as little as $10 per month. This is a particularly great service for those that do not do much business, or the business is sporadic, or seasonal. You are not locked into heavy year round fees.

There are many optional services you can add, a la carte to meet your merchandising pricing needs. You can opt for Authorize.net gateway if you prefer for a small monthly fee, you can also add insurance. If you want a terminal, it won’t cost a penny to lease it, but you will pay yearly a reasonable insurance fee.

CDG’s product line and services are pretty basic, focusing on eCommerce and small or mid-sized merchants. They have a one-step PCI compliance program and optional security features which are very helpful, but they also offer some free account tools too. CDG offers to merchants many services:

• Merchant accounts
• Free gateway—free if you use their Quantum gateway, or $15 a month for Authorize.Net use
• Virtual terminal—free to use and allows processing from any computer that is connected to the internet, instead of a traditional terminal
• Free optional Terminal Lease—just pay $79 a year for insurance
• Free optional Mobile and USB readers—no insurance cost either
• Online Reporting and Tools—far above industry standards including:
  • Detailed account information
  • Chargeback/fraud warnings
  • Automated alerts
  • Real time reporting
  • Historic trends and graphs
  • Quick Books integration
  • Many other tools

• Security service—CDG360, a $15 optional add-on which includes:
  • $100K breach/data theft protection
  • PCI/DSS vulnerability scans
  • Customized security alerts
  • Staff awareness training
  • Merchant Trust seal for your website

CDG is best known for their low rates. First note what CDG does not charge you for:

• No set up fee
• No monthly minimum
• No early termination fee
• No PCI compliance fee
• Free use of gateway and virtual terminal

Here’s the entire list of required fees:

• Statement fee: $10
• Processing fees (competitively priced)

Merchants do not have to pay any more than the baseline fee plus processing.

Optional Fees

• The free gateway is Quantum, if the merchant decides to use Authorize.Net instead; it will cost an additional $15 per month.
• CDG360 security package, with $100K data breach insurance, is an additional $15 per month.
• $79 annually charged for insurance for use of free credit card terminal (Mobile swipers are completely free)
• Wireless terminals (lease is free)
  • $35 set up fee
  • $19.95 monthly wireless fee
  • $79 yearly insurance fee
• An Interchange-Plus plan is available upon request.

CDG allows using their online application process to get a quote with no commitment.

CDG has no early termination fees. This means they offer month-to-month contracts. There are necessary steps for cancelation outlined in the merchant agreement that must be followed or the merchant will continue to be billed monthly.

CDG’s customer service is extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and full of integrity. They are available for live chat, email, and phone support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

There is an online contact form which merchants can open a trouble ticket with or as a question. CDG also offers support portals to provide targeted help based on the customer’s service plan: one each for merchants, agents, and CDGstores. And it’s all available 27/7.

It is generally uncommon for customers to leave a favorable review when they are happy with a service; they are far more apt to complain than praise. So to find so many glowing reviews on CDG’s site, independent review sites, and all over the internet is quite a statement of praiseworthiness. Below are a few of these reviews:

• I’ve had the pleasure of using CDG to process credit cards for my business since I started in 2010. They have consistently had excellent customer service and I am always very impressed with how fast they are able to help assist me by both phone and email, especially someone like me who has minimal knowledge about the industry and always asks A LOT of questions! Last year I changed the name of my business which was a bit of a headache to say the least, thankfully the staff (Wes) at CDG were able to help me get that done smoothly and without any added stress. I have recommended CDG to everyone that asks about my processing company and will continue to do so – i honestly would never go with another company. Thank you CDG commerce!

• CDG commerce is a reliable, low cost payment provider that I can recommend to my e-commerce clients. It’s easily integrated into shopping carts and custom scripts using their API’s. Technical support is always helpful when I do have questions during development.

• We use CDG commerce and Quantum Vault Gateway for our Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover transactions. Our company is very happy with the service we get and it is always top notch. We are very tight in fraud control and CDG plus Quantum are on the same page with us. No reason to switch if the chemistry is flawless.

• CDG commerce was definitely the end of our misery and the experimental period for us at Caribbean Flava. We have been through at least five different merchant processors in the space of three months. Overpriced units, surprise charges and absolutely no one to answer important questions or solve technical issues; customer service was just horrible. Thanks to a dear vendor who highly recommend CDG commerce over a year ago. We have never had a major issue; and even if we just needed directions their highly trained staff is always a phone call away. If we have to leave message someone usually would call back in less than 24 hours. Communication is always consistent here until the problem is completely solved; with a follow up ensuring everything is up and running perfectly. It’s the best thing that could ever happen to us; could not have asked for a better Merchant Account Provider.

• While looking for a new merchant, I stumbled upon CDG commerce. Right away their customer service was great, and they answered all of my questions. Now after being a customer for a while, I am very happy! All of the statements are clear and EASY to read, and anytime I have a question their customer service always takes care of me.

• As a small retailer taking my first steps in processing credit cards, CDGcommerce has given me the comfort level and the support I need. The equipment they sent works well, they answer my questions or inquiries promptly and when I call, I talk to the same people each time. They are here in the US and communicate clearly. I researched this choice carefully before I made it and feel lucky to have found a credit card processing firm that can work well with my small company and it’s ventures. It’s about confidence that things are being processed right and allowing me to focus on the workings of my business, they help make this possible.

There are virtually no complaints for CDG online, and they’ve been in business for 15 years. The few that are there have, shockingly, been addressed directly by CDG’s CEO offering to personally fix the issue. Now that’s attention!

The Better Business Bureau gives CDG an A+ rating. There have been 5 complaints in the last 3 years. All issues have been a unique circumstance; no patterns have emerged of constant failing. Although some complaints have had to do with CDG’s policies, which are clearly posted on their site:

One repeated complaint was because you need to be a US-based merchant who does most of their business in the U.S. CDG is very clear that this is their policy:

“Our services require a U.S. business, U.S. bank account and a U.S. signer with a valid SSN #. If your business does not meet these criteria, please consider our international & high risk affiliate option.”

The other repeated complaint has to do with account freezes and cancelations. A processor is extending a line of credit with their merchant accounts. Sometimes when suspicious activity arises, they must hold funds or freeze the account to save them and their merchants from fraud and theft. CDG tries to avoid these practices, but they do come up, and this can happen with any account provider.

Bottom line: CDG commerce is an all-around great processing company for small, U.S. based businesses, especially those in the eCommerce market. You can save money with bare-bones service, and add in specific services you want for reasonable prices each. CDG will make it affordable, and always be honest about the pricing. That 5-star, A+ rating was earned!

Don’t forget to ask for interchange-plus, the most transparent, fair-priced model around, they just don’t advertise it, and they have to have a manager’s approval to do it, but they do apply it, you only have to ask about it.

I would happily recommend CDGcommerce for the MOTO business, particularly the seasonal one. CDG’s low cost, month-to-month contract, virtually absent of fees might be just the right level of service and cost you need to harvest the rest of your income.