CSG Forte

Pros

The payments process quickly and are transferred to the bank fairly quickly.

Cons

Really can't think if anything troubling we ran into.

Pros

The system handles all the PCI requirements and offers very, very competitive one-time eCheck entries. VERY few companies I found will offer this so it is a GREAT benefit our church deeply appreciates.

Cons

Setup was a little involved, since we are not a typical storefront selling some kind of product. Our payments are all donations. As such, setting up to allow people to donate to various of our income stream was a little involved--regular donations, international fund, youth camp fund, assistance to the needy, etc. But we've been able to make it work for us.

Pros

It is the only tool that processes CAD ACH and integrates with Maxio

Cons

The sales process was VERY lengthy, the underwriting approval process was confusing and slow, the onboarding support was non-existent. I reached out to Forte on May 17. At this point on Oct 30 I still am not sure whether we have been set up on the system. We got an automated email from the processing dashboard but it has no functionality and no-one from the team has reached to let us know if our application was successful, or responded to my emails.

Pros

Onboarding was easy to use and food for customers

Cons

It was not able to interface with our property management system to post tenant payments

Pros

Reliability. It just works. Up time is very close to 100%.

Cons

It's not pretty and takes a little bit to learn your way around, but it always works. Pretty isn't always better. I've seen many software companies release new prettier versions and lose the comfortable flexibility.

Pros

We decided to add Forte to our merchant services suite to process ACH payments at lower cost. Getting our account setup with Forte was very easy as was integrating it in with our business management software (Zoho). Processing payments through Zoho onto the Forte platform was also very straightforward. In all, it had the potential to be a major improvement to our business and to significantly reduce our cost for payment processing, unfortunately it did not work out that way.

Cons

Forte's product operated as a bait and switch. We processed a grand total of one transaction on the Forte platform. The day after that first transaction, we received a poorly written email from someone at Forte thanking us for our cooperation with their investigation and indicating that it had now been concluded. That was the first we had become aware of any investigation. Forte indicated in their email that they had opted to close our account and that a subsequent email with additional information would follow. Shortly thereafter, the second email arrived. That email indicated that Forte had opted to close our account for one or more of a number of reasons. The vast majority of the reasons obviously didn't apply (for example, one of them was excessive returns and another was excessive chargebacks -- we'd only processed a single transaction and never had a return or chargeback). Several emails to Forte's "fraud investigator" and customer service failed to produce a more meaningful understanding of why Forte had chosen to close our account after a single transaction. All the personnel would do was parrot the account closing email that we had received that was itself less than helpful.

Either way, we accepted that the account was closed, moved on, and hired another vendor for ACH payments. Given Forte's lackluster customer service it seemed to be a blessing in disguise. That left, however, one final matter.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to CSG Forte

Pros

Setting up the account was a pretty smooth process. We were assigned a merchant ID and given access to a virtual client to manually charge credit cards. They offer ACH processing with our invoicing software. When we decided to move to a different ACH process we left Forte. I was expecting a hassle cancelling our account, but it was straightforward and easy.

Cons

The virtual credit card processing client is very dated as is the navigation for reporting. Unlike Square, Forte charges a different percentage for American Express credit cards (and many of our clients use their business AmEx which created a functionally higher credit card processing rate.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing CSG Forte

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to CSG Forte

Pros

NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONENONE NONE NONE NONENONE NONE NONE NONENONE NONE NONE NONENONE NONE NONE NONE

Cons

CUSTOMER SERVICE, INCONSISTENCY, RUDE, UNPROFESSIONAL

Pros

We like the real time data and the easy-to-use application.

Cons

The only item that I could say would be a faster response from support would be a benefit but we really have not had any issues.

Pros

I process hundreds or ACH transactions each month; I appreciate how easy it is to schedule recurring transactions. The very few times I've had issues the team is there to help me solve my problems quickly and painlessly

Cons

My only real complaint is the amount of time it takes to clear an ACH transaction; in these days of instant money transfers it would be nice to have quicker ACH clearing without a big price premium.

Pros

I like that for the most part it is easy to figure out and navigate though the sections. I had to call to figure out how to set up automatic payments but if I was more of a tech person I could have figured it out quicker.

Cons

I feel like there are to many steps to run a person. Searching for someone is better know that I figured out a faster way to find them but it would be nice to have the setting default to how I run them on the web option so it was 1 less step to go through. It can take up a lot of time when your running multiple people to have to go through the options on every person.

Pros

Giving the user so many options. The options reduces mistake. That's why I recomend Forte to all my franchisee.

Cons

Probably could be faster. They could have more people to work at customer service.

Pros

Very easy to use software. Have never had any problems. Customer service has always been very helpful with any of my questions, they are also very friendly and professional.

Cons

Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any cons.

Pros

A very secure site, yet still easy to learn and use

Cons

I have no negatives, haven't had any problems that couldn't be solved quickly

Pros

Easy to use. And was priced very competitive

Cons

Cost was less when I started. Now it is higher and has pci compliance

Pros

The transition support team was helpful in getting this set up and moving us from the platform we had been previously using. This platform also opened up additional payment methods for our customers to use. The fees we had been being charged then passing through to customers became a non-issue since Forte charges those fees directly to the customer making the payment.

Cons

There are no current suggestions for improvement.

Pros

Its so easy to use. It is easy to implement, its easy to bring up on the computer, its just fantastic. Ive been a user for 10 years. I tried another product last year and immediately cancelled. Hard to navigate, staff was not helpful. I love everything about my Forte Systems

Cons

I have nothing bad to say, everything easy

Pros

Very easy to use, although DEX is a bit difficult to get used to

Cons

How long it takes to get payments funded

Pros

Virtual Terminal and processing ACH (eCheck) transactions.

Cons

Quick training to help get started with using the online Virtual Terminal.

Pros

I could talk with a real person and they accommodated me and our needs expeditiously.

Cons

We're just starting with it but looks really good.

Pros

It is extremely useful to be in control of drafting and/or sending funds from my account to others without the large fees and inconvenience associated with banks.

Cons

The portal could be a bit more user friendly; now that I've learned to use it, it's fine, but, it took a bit of trial and error.

Pros

It has amazing recurring features which is critical for our business.

Cons

The interface seems a bit outdated and it was confusing to figure out how to use all of the features at the beginning. And it is a bit pricey!

Pros

Its flexibility, customer and technical support

Cons

Import, export options working with database programs

Pros

This is a great option for taking credit card and e-checks for the Town where budgets can be tight. There is no charge for the use of this product and it is very easy to use and set up.

Cons

I have not found anything yet that I do not like.

Pros

It’s easy to use and learn. The help desk is knowledgeable

Cons

It’s expensive compared to competition.

Pros

Easy to balance reports and user friendly.

Cons

Since the pandemic we are using contactless pay we lost google pay, apple pay, Contactless cards but it is so nice not to have to touch, swipe or dip card.

Pros

Easy to access any reports we may need, use of terminal for points of sale

Cons

Sometimes the fees aren't charged correctly

Pros

I LOVE the customer service and ease of the online terminal at Forte! Its easy to use (especially the newly released DEX platform). If I ever need assistance, I get it lighting fast. They are willing to hear suggestions and quick to find resolution with my issues (which are rare).

Cons

DEX is great but still needs to be developed. I am looking forward to custom reporting features.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to CSG Forte

Pros

Forte Payment Systems has a user friendly interface great for both large or small corporations. The cost of this payment system is highly competitive, and the system allows for easy payment processing. The variety of payment options, types, and payment schedules allows for a wide range of versatility and flexibility for our clients.

Cons

It takes roughly 6-7 days for the funds to hit the account. There are other same day and next day payment systems out there, so it would be wonderful if Forte could cut this down to 2-3 days.
If there is an NSF, we do not receive a notification for several days. Many times the clients have already alerted us before we receive the notification.

Pros

Once it's up and running there is little to no maintenance needed. The price for the service is great compared to some competition. The customer facing portal is easy to use.

Cons

The administration interface is not the best. There should be easier non-tech savy interactions. For example creating a confirmation letter for a transaction shouldn't require the effort of finding and clicking the right code on the side to input a customer name. Maybe adding templates would work just fine and leave the specialized make your own to those who are inclined. While I'm sure you can do just about anything I could need, I stick with the basics because I'm not as tech savy and don't intend to hire a programmer so I can accept payments.

Pros

The only pro about your product is that it allows for our developers to write their own code to reconcile the transactions processed in Forte with our Quickbooks software. We have had to spent an absurd amount of resources to get it to work, but at least you allow us the option and a sandbox as other companies require a 3rd party software or close this information off completely.

Cons

Pretty much everything else. The Dex platform is a slight improvement, however, everything needs to be initially set up in the Virtual Terminal prior to being available in Dex (example, email addresses). The Virtual Terminal is horribly designed (literally painful to look at) the amount of clicks it takes in order to complete a function is excessive, the character max for email addresses is unnecessary. If we could switch off of this platform we would, but unfortunately many of the other processors out there do not play well with Quickbooks Enterprise.

Pros

With our previous vendor, I would "miss" payments -- they would send an e-mail for each payment and that was almost impossible to keep track of. Forte sends a listing of payments that have come through each day, as a group, making it so much easier to track.

Cons

The equipment was a little expensive to begin with, but it's been worth every penny.

Pros

Forte makes it very easy to collect online payments and helps to identify any fraudulent payments.

Cons

I have yet to run into an issue with forte. So far so good.

Pros

The bank account verification service is fast, accurate and reliable. We have had almost zero downtime in 10+ years of using this product.

Cons

Initially the bank account verification service was limited to a handful of large banks with many verifications returning an "Unknown" status, but almost all bank accounts we verify now are in their network.

Pros

Easy to use. Can schedule rental payments for the entire year.

Cons

Wish I could connect directly with quickbooks accounting software. Wish I could get the payment sooner without incurring any fees. Would be nice if there was a online form that I could send my clients basically asking them for there bank account information and asking them to sign to authorize the transactions. I would be able to choose the dates that the money would come out and the amount.

Pros

The functionality has adapted well with our in house tax system; the customer service from [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] is what makes this the best for me and our team - she is always ready to trouble shoot any issues and we are committed to Forte because of the customer service we get.

Cons

Txt file manipulation can be a bit challenging when we have files with thousands of tax payers - it can be very time consuming but overall the "search and conquer" methods we apply work

Pros

It was easy to integrate with. Our [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] was supportive, worked with us to understand our unique needs, and went to bat for us to get us what we needed.

Cons

Reporting is not as open as we would like. Limited options for structuring the size and shape of deposits once they hit the destination account.

Pros

Ease of use, low fees, great customer service, ease of use for our customers.

Cons

Length of time it takes to be notified regarding a declined transaction. I am aware that there are multiple channels that the payment needs to be processed through.

Pros

API is very easy to understand and there is always. I mean always a customer service representative that knows VERY well the API and the business who can REALLY talk to a developer , not making me waste time and going always to the point. Much better that other competitors who usually to accomplish the same takes way longer. As a developer is is great to talk to someone who understands what is needed and always gives the right answer.

Cons

I have not found any issues with this implementation.

Pros

Easy to enter information and set up billing, both one time and recurring.

Cons

Inability to customize some fields and viewing/changing of scheduled transactions.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to CSG Forte

Pros

We use it a payment processing tool for Nexudus for our coworking space. It works. Great customer service

Cons

The admin interface is a bit clunky, but we're figuring it out

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing CSG Forte

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to CSG Forte

Pros

it's cheaper than most other ones, Offering next-day funding is a critical feature that not many of these companies have

Cons

UI needs work, code is a bit clunky, I'm just a small biz owner not a banker.

Pros

Pricing for local government was a key driver for us, since we absorb all of the processing fees.

Cons

We thought that the software would integrate with our billing and payment system seamlessly, and that our time of day cutoff would be accommodated. This is not true in all cases, particularly with echecks

Pros

We use Forte mainly for processing eCheck payments. The secure web pay feature is very useful for customers to make payments and was pretty straight forward to implement into our website. I also appreciate that their fees are low and transparent.

Cons

I feel like the forte checkout option should be easier to implement, similar to the secure web pay feature. It's not a big deal but it would be nicer to use since it looks more mobile friendly, but I'll probably need a web developer to put it on my website.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to CSG Forte

Pros

The APIs are easy to use and work well. Very well defined functions allow us to perform .

Cons

The first iteration was new, and functions were missing. All functions are working well now.

Pros

The forte support team is outstanding. Never have trouble contacting them, and they've always been a pleasure to work with

Cons

Android app needs major work. All other facets of their solution are outstanding.

Pros

It is friendly with the user, nice design and it is self-explanatory

Cons

When we try to export transactions they doesn't include the transaction ID which is very important for us to reconcile with our system, you should include a more robust reporting tool inside DEX.

Pros

Great pricing. Helpful customer services.

Cons

Customer service only open 7 AM to 7 PM EST

Pros

Simplicity and effectiveness. Exactly what we were hoping for.

Cons

Sometimes I do wish that it did a little bit more.

Pros

There is no much to tells , I hope with this you can know more

Cons

It fail a lot specially on cards purchases