Review
In-Depth Analysis
4.5
Pros
- Zero set up fee.
- Excellent customer support.
- Annual billing saves costs.
- No hidden charges.
Cons
- Does not support payment
- Does not approve
Overview
Stax is a Florida-based company that provides credit card processing services for merchants of all sizes. Stax, formerly known as Fattmerchant, is now commonly referred to as Stax by Fattmerchant and is a payment processor offering an integrated payments platform. It includes merchant accounts, e-commerce, mobile processing, inventory management, invoicing, reporting, and more.
The company offers a flat-fee subscription-based pricing model to save merchants on their credit card processing fees. The company’s monthly subscription fees range from $99 to $199. Stax offers a “one-stop shop” model with customizations to fit the needs of businesses of all types. The pricing model provides value to merchants, particularly e-commerce merchants, who have historically been excessively priced by payment processors. Stax is taking a page from Host Merchant Services’ book by offering the sector competitive pricing and top-notch quality service. The company provides volume discounts for high-volume businesses; the more a business processes, the lower the percentage of overall card payment volume they pay.
Stax states on its website that it has processed over 23 billion dollars in payments for over 22,000 customers, having grown around 500% over three years up to early-2022. Stax is part of a growing cohort that is starting to offer a flat monthly fee and fixed per-transaction fee, with no percentage-based markup on top of the interchange fees. The company offers merchant accounts through mobile phone processing and a virtual terminal for e-commerce merchants. The Stax mobile app, available for iOS and recently released for Android, can be used as a standalone solution or integrated into a multichannel platform for card present and card not present transactions. The app syncs transactions, drafts, catalog items, and real-time inventory updates across all devices, including the virtual terminal
Stax is a reseller of payment processing services of Vantiv, which was rebranded as Worldpay after the former acquired the latter. However, the company offers these services without any long-term contract or additional fees. Stax’s acquiring bank is listed as Fifth Third Bank.
Stax History and Founder
Brother and sister duo Sal Rehmetullah and Suneera Madhani founded Stax, formerly known as Fattmerchant. Suneera is currently the company’s CEO, while Sal is the President. The company was established in 2013 but began operations in 2014. Over the past few years, Stax has been on a capital-raising rampage, with total funding of more than $263 million over five rounds of funding since 2015 from well-known venture capitalists such as HarbourVest Partners and Greater Sum Ventures, valuing the company at a highly coveted unicorn status, a company value at more than $1 billion.
Stax raised seed capital of $850 thousand in 2015, led by early-stage accelerator fund venVelo. In May 2016, the company raised Series A funding of $1.4 million, led by growth-stage private equity firm Fulcrum Equity Partners.
In July 2018, Fulcrum Equity Partners again led a venture funding round, this time the late-stage Series C, of $10.5 million
2021 was a busy year of acquisitions for Stax. The company acquired Fusebill, which offers automated invoicing, billing, and collections services for subscription-based businesses. In November of that year, Stax acquired CardX . This firm specialized in automated surcharging and made a name for itself by forging ahead into uncharted territory by providing the niche payment service when the sub-type was both contentious and riddled with legal uncertainty.
Months later, in March 2022, Stax raised a massive $245 million in a Series D funding round led by renowned venture capital firms such as HarbourVest Partners and Greater Sum Ventures, valuing the company at $1 billion, a rarity among minority-led businesses.
What Is Stax Best At?
Stax seems to have built a niche product for which customers have swarmed to the service provider. Businesses that can benefit from the pricing model have signed up in droves, helping the company grow 500% over three years as of early-2022.
Beyond the fixed fee pricing option, the model offers a distinct level of peace of mind through the simplicity of what is being billed. An interchange without any markup and no additional fees, which businesses may need to keep an eye on to control.
So, more than anything, Stax is best known for the pricing model and the savings it can help businesses accrue, as long as they have a sufficient amount of processing volume to benefit from the pricing arrangement offered.
Stax Products and Services
Stax has various solutions for businesses, ranging from payment processing to mobile and traditional point of sale solutions, along with a host of tertiary services such as integrations and numerous eCommerce and analytics-related options.
The breakdown of the company’s flat-fee subscription options is as follows:
Card-less Transactions
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Customer Support
From experience and the reviews left by the users of Payment Depot, this merchant service provider supports its customers via:
24/7 Help & Support
24/7 Live Phone Support Online Ticketing System via Support Form
Phone Support
24/7 Live Phone Support
Contact through contact form on website available
FAQ and Chat
Live Web Chat Support Stax Knowledge Base for Business Owners, Software Platforms and Developers
Features & Functionality General Features
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24-Hours Funding
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Advance Funding
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Built-In Payment Gateway for Online Transactions
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Virtual Payment Processing
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Features
- ACH Payment Processing
- Billing & Invoicing
- Cryptocurrency Processing
- Data Security
- Debit/Credit Card Processing
- Electronic Signature
- In-Person Payments
- Mobile Payments
- POS Integration
- Payment Fraud Prevention
- Payment Processing Services
- Integration
- Recurring Billing
- Reporting/Analytics
- Mobile Credit card processing
- Cash Transactions
- Contactless NFC
- Electronic Receipts
Hardware & Software
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Standard Terminals for Countertop Transactions
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Smart Payment Depot Terminals
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Mobile Hardware
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Features
- iOS
- Android
- Cloud-Based
- On-place Installation
- Windows
- Mac
Pricing Options Automations
Features
- Free Trial
- Freemium
- Monthly Subscription
- Annual Subscription
- One-Time License
Sales Channels
Features
- Instore Sales
- Online Sales
- Mobile Sales
Verdict
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Payment Depot
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