Marketing
When we viewed Wirecard’s site, we saw nothing overtly misleading or deceptive. However, we saw nothing very clear or straightforward. There is lots of fluff about products and services but there is little substance. The website is confusing and it was difficult to navigate. Additionally, Wirecard is active on a variety of social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. It uses these channels to promote new products and endeavors. Also, it has a LinkedIn profile.
Honesty
With so little upfront information, we feel it is difficult to gauge Wirecard’s level of honesty. We like that Wirecard its partnership program pretty prominently on its site but it is unclear who participates in the program. Despite this, we didn’t see anything that was blatantly dishonest or misleading. Unless proven otherwise, we would have to consider this a positive.
Sales
Like many other merchant service providers, they use independent service agents (ISOs) to bring in new clients. As a partner, a reseller can set their own pricing. There have been no reports of resellers using misleading strategies to gain customers. This is a common customer service issues when businesses allow partners to set their own prices. Fortunately, Wirecard must keep a close eye on any deceptive practices because there are no complaints about resellers have failing to disclose any fee and pricing structures.
Availability
Wirecard is available via phone, email, and its online inquiry form. Also, we like that it offers a 24-hour online chat. Within seconds of perusing the site, you can expect to encounter the online chat, prompting you to see if you need help. However, like previously mentioned, though the chat is responsive, it offers little substance.
Support
Staff Interaction
Though customer service representatives were courteous and mostly professional, we did not trust anything they said. Every person we spoke to offered another version of what we had just been told. This is too common in the industry and the same rings true here. With Wirecard’s goals to continue at adding services and products that provide value to customers, we expected more from its sales and support staff. The staff was unable to even offer vague information about contract terms, processing rates. In fact, we were transferred so many times while on the phone, we honestly lost count. This is not surprising as a business grows and expands, but it doesn’t make it any less disappointing. Maybe their vagueness was intentional to get us to move a step closer in the process? Whatever the reason, we found this approaching sketchy and confusing. In our opinion, it sounded more like the team need more training and guidance.
Staff Responsiveness
One word sums up the responsiveness at Wirecard – frustrating. Several hours after emailing Wirecard, we received an automated response. However, none of our questions were answered. Instead, we were encouraged to call and speak with a representative. This was a nightmare.
We did like the online chat option. We were quickly engaged but we made little inroads in getting anywhere in terms of answers. Every responses was a canned, automated response, which really was a waste of time.
Calling, we would like to say, is the best option, however, that was just as frustrating. This also echoes other customers’ experiences, many of whom have said they wasted many hours on calls that left them in circles and no closer to resolutions.
Also, we find it important to note that Wirecard quickly answers complaints on TrustPilot. Most responses are not unique or offer anything other than a call for unhappy customers to call, however, it does shows that Wirecard has some interest in keeping customers engaged and satisfied.
Complaints
On Trustpilot.com, a website founded in Denmark in 2007 that publishes reviews for online businesses, Wirecard has a rating of 1.6 out of 5. It has 51 reviews, which with nearly 30,000 customers isn’t really too bad.
Customers complaints vary. Some complain that Wirecard doesn’t offer enough protection against fraud and chargebacks and that though it offers chargeback mitigation, customers claim it doesn’t notify them of issues. Also, the chargeback fee of 20 Euros is too steep.
Similar to what we experienced, customers also complained about the lack of responsiveness from Wirecard staff. Customers complained of “email ping-pong,” constantly being passed to the “correct” department but never getting to the bottom of their issues.
Failing to set up shops to accept the correct currencies also seem to be an issue that many customers have found frustrating. Another general complaint seems to be how long it takes the staff to respond to any question or complaint. Customers have said they have waited between 10 to three weeks for responses. Despite responses, many times, emails didn’t provide any helpful information.
Though all of these complaints are serious customer service issues that need to be addressed, they may not be a completely accurate picture of the issues sine Wirecard has a partnership program.
Since it doesn’t disclose any of its resellers, it hard to really say if this is a true portrayal of customer satisfaction.
Pricing
Wirecard provides no pricing details on its website. Potential clients will need to call directly to get an estimate.
In online forums, customers have complained that it charges a 5% reserve. However, the circumstances regarding the reserve are not clear.
The only information related to pricing that Wirecard is forthcoming about is its checkout portal. Wirecard says it charges no setup fee and monthly fee. Regardless, no other information is disclosed. We understand that is an approach used by many merchant service providers, however, we don’t like it and we don’t think it serves customers well. With that being said, this is definitely less misleading than providers that use rate quoting.
Termination Fees
It is unclear whether Wirecard charges early termination fees. The staff we talked to couldn’t say whether it did or not. That in and of itself, we found it to be very concerning.
Hardware Costs
This is another area where it is unclear if there are any hardware costs associated with working with Wirecard.
