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Best Credit Card Processing Companies In 2024

These credit card payment processors offer merchant services with reasonable costs, accessibility, transparency, and good overall value.

    Frank Kehl
  • Last updated onUpdated

  • Shannon Vissers
  • REVIEWED BY

    Shannon Vissers

    Lead Staff Writer

Advertiser Disclosure: Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity.

Credit card processing is essential for most small businesses, as many of your customers will surely want to pay with a card or another electronic payment method. However, finding the best small business credit card processor comes down to more than just cost—industry specialization, merchant agreement terms, and customer support quality are also considerations.

In this article, we review our top recommendations for credit card processing, based on our years of industry research and expertise, and explain how to find the best provider for your business.

Learn More About Our Top Picks

CompanySummaryNext StepsSummary
National Processing

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  • $12-$19+/month account fee
  • Offers flat-rate or customized pricing options
  • Month-to-month billing if equipment purchased outright
  • $12-$19+/month account fee
  • Offers flat-rate or customized pricing options
  • Month-to-month billing if equipment purchased outright

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PaymentCloud

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  • Variable monthly fees
  • Variable processing rates
  • Long-term contract may be required
  • Variable monthly fees
  • Variable processing rates
  • Long-term contract may be required

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Square

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  • No monthly fee (for standard account)
  • Offers predictable flat-rate pricing
  • No long-term contracts
  • No monthly fee (for standard account)
  • Offers predictable flat-rate pricing
  • No long-term contracts

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CDGcommerce

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  • $0-199 monthly fee (depends on plan)
  • Offers flat-rate, interchange-plus, or membership pricing options
  • No long-term contracts
  • $0-199 monthly fee (depends on plan)
  • Offers flat-rate, interchange-plus, or membership pricing options
  • No long-term contracts

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Clover POS

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  • $0.00-$94.85 monthly fee (depends on plan)
  • Offers flat-rate pricing through Clover Payments
  • No long-term contracts (through Clover Payments)
  • $0.00-$94.85 monthly fee (depends on plan)
  • Offers flat-rate pricing through Clover Payments
  • No long-term contracts (through Clover Payments)

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Host Merchant Services

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  • $14.99 monthly fee
  • Offers interchange-plus pricing
  • No long-term contracts
  • $14.99 monthly fee
  • Offers interchange-plus pricing
  • No long-term contracts

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Stripe Payments

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  • No monthly fee (for standard account)
  • Offers flat-rate pricing
  • No long-term contracts
  • No monthly fee (for standard account)
  • Offers flat-rate pricing
  • No long-term contracts

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Dharma Merchant Services

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  • $15 monthly fee (for basic account)
  • Offers interchange-plus pricing
  • No long-term contracts
  • $15 monthly fee (for basic account)
  • Offers interchange-plus pricing
  • No long-term contracts

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Helcim

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  • No monthly fees
  • Offers interchange-plus pricing
  • No long-term contracts
  • No monthly fees
  • Offers interchange-plus pricing
  • No long-term contracts

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Chase Payment Solutions℠

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  • $0 monthly fee (for standard account)
  • Offers flat-rate pricing (customized pricing also available)
  • No long-term contracts if equipment purchased outright
  • $0 monthly fee (for standard account)
  • Offers flat-rate pricing (customized pricing also available)
  • No long-term contracts if equipment purchased outright

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Table of Contents

The Best Credit Card Processing For Small Business

The best payment processors for small businesses offer a combination of affordable costs, flexible contract terms, and transparent sales practices. High-quality customer support additionally sets them apart from their competitors. Here are our picks for the best credit card processors for small businesses:

How The Best Credit Card Processing Providers Compare

Company Area(s) Of Specialty Monthly Fee Standard Card-Present Processing Fee
National Processing Retail, eCommerce, restaurants $12-$19+ 2.41-2.50% + $0.10
PaymentCloud High-risk industries Varies Varies
Square Retail, restaurants, services $0 2.6% + $0.10
CDGcommerce eCommerce, retail $0-199 Interchange + 0.25% + $0.10
Clover Retail, restaurants, services $0-$94.85 2.3-2.6% + $0.10
Host Merchant Services High-volume, high-risk $14.99 Interchange + 0.20-0.25% + $0.10 (low-risk rate)
Stripe eCommerce, omnichannel retail $0 2.7% + $0.05
Dharma Merchant Services Nonprofits, retail $15 ($12 for nonprofits) Interchange + 0.05-0.30% + $0.08-0.10 (low-risk rate)
Helcim Retail, eCommerce, international $0 Interchange + 0.40% + $0.08
Chase Payment Solutions Retail, restaurants, services, healthcare $0 2.6% + $0.10

National Processing: Best For Flat-Rate Pricing

National Processing

Total Rating 4.6
Fees & Rates4.8

Products & Services5.0

Contract4.6

Sales & Advertising Transparency4.4

Customer Service4.1

User Reviews4.4



Get a free Clover Go card reader from National Processing when you sign up. Claim your card reader.

Pros

  • Offers flat-rate pricing
  • Low-cost ACH & echeck processing available
  • No long-term contract if equipment purchased outright
  • Excellent online reputation

Cons

  • “Free” processing equipment may require a long-term contract
  • May charge an early termination fee for “free” equipment

Why We Chose National Processing For Flat-Rate Pricing

National Processing provides extensive pricing disclosures on its website, making it easy for merchants to calculate their costs in advance. The company currently offers three basic and advanced plans for small businesses that utilize flat-rate pricing. For merchants processing over $30,000/month, a custom pricing option is also available. National Processing also has a great reputation for customer service, a rarity in the payments industry.

National Processing Features

National Processing offers great service and pricing to small businesses. Key features include the following:

  • Offers full-service merchant accounts
  • “Free” credit card reader or terminal available
  • Offers ACH and echeck processing as an add-on
  • Offers flat-rate pricing (or custom pricing for merchants processing over $30,000/month)
  • Offers a variety of Clover and PAX terminals and POS systems
  • No long-term contract if processing hardware is purchased outright
  • Choice of proprietary National Processing Gateway or Authorize.Net

One point of caution with National Processing is that the “free” equipment offered with some of these plans also comes with long-term contract obligations, so make sure you know what you’re getting into if you decide to go that route. Fortunately, the company offers many exceptions to its early termination penalties if you promptly return any “free” equipment. You usually won’t have to worry about getting hit with an ETF if you close or sell your business. In fact, National Processing will usually only charge you an ETF if you cancel service to switch to a competitor.

National Processing Pricing

  • $12-$19+/month account fee (Basic In-Person, Basic eCommerce, or Advanced plans)
  • $0.00/month for cash discounting program (optional)
  • $15.00/month and 0-1.5% + $0.48/transaction for ACH and echeck processing (optional)
  • 2.5% + $0.10/in-person transaction (2.41% + $0.10 for Advanced Plan)
  • 2.9% + $0.30/online transaction
  • 3.5% + $0.15/keyed-in transaction

National Processing Is Best For ...

  • Low- or high-volume businesses
  • Low- or high-risk businesses
  • eCommerce businesses
  • In-person retailers that want to use Clover POS

Get Started With National Processing

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PaymentCloud: Best For High-Risk Businesses

Total Rating 4.1
Fees & Rates4.3

Products & Services5.0

Contract2.8

Sales & Advertising Transparency3.9

Customer Service4.2

User Reviews4.0



Exclusive Promo: PaymentCloud will give you $200 if they can't beat your current rate. Get Your Quote

Pros

  • High-risk specialists
  • Few public complaints
  • No account setup fee
  • No monthly minimums

Cons

  • No publicly disclosed pricing
  • Low-risk merchants can probably find a better deal

Why We Chose PaymentCloud For High-Risk Businesses

High-risk businesses can be hard to place, but PaymentCloud puts extra effort into helping you get approved for an account with one of its backend processors---without charging any account setup or application fees. Pricing is highly variable and customized for each business, but you'll generally pay less overall with PaymentCloud than you would with most other high-risk providers.

The company enjoys a great reputation in the industry, and other providers, such as Dharma Merchant Services, refer their high-risk applicants to PaymentCloud.

PaymentCloud Features

PaymentCloud is primarily a high-risk specialist, but offers a full range of services to low-risk businesses as well. Highlights include the following:

  • Mobile processing solution available
  • Virtual terminal included
  • Authorize.Net, NMI, or USAePay payment gateways are available
  • ACH and echeck processing are available
  • Paysley QR-code payment service available

PaymentCloud Pricing

Like most high-risk specialists, the company doesn’t disclose any standardized processing rates. You’ll have to get a quote from the sales team and do a little negotiating to see how the company’s offer stacks up against other providers. Here is what you need to know about PaymentCloud’s pricing:

  • No account setup fee
  • No monthly minimum (low-risk accounts)
  • Interchange + 0.05%-0.30% + $0.08-$0.10 per transaction (low-risk accounts)
  • Processing rates vary by acquiring bank/back-end processors (high-risk accounts)
  • $15/month account fee (low-risk accounts)
  • Account fees vary by the acquiring bank/back-end processor (high-risk accounts)

PaymentCloud Is Best For ...

  • Businesses in high-risk industries
  • eCommerce businesses
  • High-volume businesses
  • Mobile credit card processing

Get Started With PaymentCloud

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Square: Best For Retail & Restaurant Startups

Total Rating 4.8
Fees & Rates5.0

Products & Services4.7

Contract4.3

Sales & Advertising Transparency5.0

Customer Service4.9

User Reviews4.9



Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.

Pros

  • No monthly fees
  • Predictable flat-rate pricing
  • Ideal for low-volume merchants
  • All-in-one payments system

Cons

  • Account stability issues
  • Does not accept most high-risk industries

Why We Chose Square For Retail & Restaurant Startups

Square's ultra-simple online signup process and general lack of recurring fees or long-term contractual commitments make it the easiest and most affordable option for new business owners to begin accepting credit card payments. And since Square's flat-rate pricing system can actually be more expensive than a full-service merchant account at higher processing volumes, the system works best for startups with low sales volumes.

Square's product lineup covers all the bases for retail and restaurant businesses, although some features aren't as customizable or advanced as you can find elsewhere.

Square Features

Square has evolved from a basic, mobile-only processing solution to a full-featured payments ecosystem and now includes the following major features:

  • Aggregated account for credit and debit card processing
  • Mobile card reader (magstripe-only) included with each account
  • EMV and NFC-capable card readers are available
  • Square Register POS system available
  • ACH processing included with every account
  • Square Online for eCommerce businesses
  • Basic Square Invoices feature included at no extra cost
  • Analytics and reporting available through Square Dashboard

Square Pricing

  • No setup or application fees
  • $0/month for Square Free account ($29+/month for Square Plus accounts)
  • 2.6% + $0.10/card-present transaction
  • 2.9% + $0.30/online transaction
  • 3.5% + $0.15/manually keyed-in transaction
  • 3.3% + $0.30/invoice
  • 1%/ACH transaction (minimum $1 charge)
  • No ACH reject or chargeback fees
  • Square Contactless & Chip Reader — $59 each
  • Square Terminal — $299 (or $27/month for 12 months)
  • Square Register — $799 (or $39/month for 24 months)

Note that Square keeps costs low by aggregating accounts together rather than issuing each user a unique Merchant ID number. Because of this, you won’t get a true full-service merchant account, but you will likely be quickly approved for an account. The trade-off is that there’s a higher chance that your account will be frozen or terminated without notice if fraud is suspected.

Square Is Best For ...

  • Low-volume businesses in retail or eCommerce
  • Food service businesses with small average ticket size
  • Freelancers who want to take online payments
  • Mobile credit card processing

Get Started With Square

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CDGcommerce: Best For eCommerce Startups

Total Rating 4.7
Fees & Rates4.6

Products & Services5.0

Contract5.0

Sales & Advertising Transparency5.0

Customer Service3.5

User Reviews4.9



Pros

  • Transparent pricing
  • Month-to-month billing with no early termination fees
  • Free payment gateway and virtual terminal

Cons

  • Only available to US-based merchants
  • Some high-risk industries may not qualify (including CBD and cannabis products)

Why We Chose CDGcommerce For eCommerce Startups

CDGcommerce, which focuses on eCommerce processing, offers some of the most transparent, flexible pricing of any provider we've found. Depending on your monthly processing volume, you can choose between flat-rate pricing with no monthly fee, interchange-plus pricing, or four membership pricing options.

The company also uses an online application process that can get you onboarded very quickly, which can be very handy for a new startup. (Note that if you're in one of the high-risk industries that CDGcommerce accepts, you'll want to undergo the more lengthy traditional underwriting process to avoid suddenly having your account shut down later.)

CDGcommerce Features

While the company’s services are geared more toward eCommerce businesses, it also provides a full range of offerings for retail merchants. The company also offers top-notch customer service and support. Key services include the following:

  • Offers full-service merchant accounts
  • A hybrid risk structure lowers the chance of a held transaction
  • High-risk processing (some industries)
  • Free terminal with each account (requires $79 annual maintenance fee)
  • Offers proprietary Quantum payment gateway or Authorize.Net
  • PastePay Cloud POS software
  • Includes virtual terminal

CDGcommerce Pricing

All of CDGcommerce’s pricing plans come with month-to-month contracts. There’s no long-term commitment and no early termination penalty for closing your account.  CDGcommerce does not charge account setup fees, PCI compliance fees, or a monthly minimum. Here are some more details of CDGcommerce’s pricing:

  • $0.00 monthly fee (Simple, One Rate plan)
  • 2.90% + $0.30/in-person transaction (Simple, One Rate plan)
  • 3.50% + $0.30/online transaction (Simple, One Rate plan)
  • $19-$49 monthly fee (Interchange-Plus plan)
  • Interchange + 0.25% + $0.10/in-person transaction (Interchange-Plus plan)
  • Interchange + 0.30% + $0.15/online transaction (Interchange-Plus plan)
  • Interchange + 0.20% + $0.10/transaction (qualified nonprofits)
  • + 0.25% for American Express cards
  • + 0.15% for keyed-in transactions
  • 0.75% + $0.15/ ACH debit
  • $79/year terminal insurance/maintenance fee
  • $15/month for cdg360 security package (optional)

CDGcommerce also offers a choice of four membership pricing plans for high-volume businesses. Rates are as follows:

Plan Monthly Fee Transaction Fee Volume
Basic $49 interchange + $0.10 Up to $25,000/month
Standard $79 interchange + $0.10 $25,001-$75,000/month
Plus $99 interchange + $0.07 $75,001-$200,000/month
Premium $199 interchange + $0.05 Over $200,000

CDGcommerce Is Best For ...

  • Newer online retailers
  • Some high-risk industries (check company website for eligibility)
  • In-person retailers with basic needs
  • US businesses only

Get Started With CDGcommerce

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Clover POS: Best POS Hardware

Total Rating 4.3
Pricing4.0

Ease Of Use4.8

Features4.5

Customer Service4.4

User Reviews4.1

Pricing

Starts at $0/month

Contract

Depends on merchant services provider

Equipment Cost

$49-$1,799 per device

Pros

  • Excellent POS hardware
  • Expandable via Clover App Market
  • Available directly or through a large network of ISOs

Cons

  • Long-term contract may be required
  • Hardware cannot be reprogrammed
  • Not all Clover resellers are reputable

Why We Chose Clover For Best POS Hardware

Clover’s sleek POS hardware features the latest in payments technology, including wireless connectivity, color touchscreens, and an app market that allows you to expand the capabilities of your Clover device. In addition to industry-leading processing hardware, Clover offers credit card processing services through Clover Payments, offering flat-rate processing and reasonable monthly software fees.

Note that Clover hardware cannot be reprogrammed to use with a different merchant account.

Clover Features

Clover Payments offers basic credit card processing services and support for a few alternate payment methods. Here are the highlights:

  • Offers flat-rate pricing (custom pricing available for high-volume businesses)
  • Full line of Clover hardware
  • Access to Clover App Marketplace
  • EBT acceptance (on some devices)
  • eCheck processing
  • Scan-to-Pay QR code payments (Clover Dining plan only)
  • Virtual terminal included

Clover Pricing

  • 2.3%-2.6% + $0.10/in-person transaction (through Clover Payments)
  • 3.5% + $0.10/keyed-in transaction (through Clover Payments)
  • Variable processing fees (through Fiserv or Fiserv ISO)
  • Variable monthly and annual fees (through Fiserv or Fiserv ISO)
  • $0.00-$94.85/month software subscription fee (depending on plan chosen)

Note that while you can also obtain Clover’s terminals and POS systems through parent company Fiserv or its vast network of resellers, pricing, and contract terms will be highly variable.

For a more detailed breakdown of Clover’s various features and pricing options, please see our complete Clover pricing guide.

Clover Is Best For ...

  • Quick-serve and full-service restaurants
  • Omnichannel retailers
  • Grocery & convenience stores
  • Gyms & spas

Get Started With Clover POS

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Host Merchant Services: Best For High-Volume Businesses

Host Merchant Services

Total Rating 4.9
Fees & Rates5.0

Products & Services5.0

Contract5.0

Sales & Advertising Transparency4.7

Customer Service4.6

User Reviews4.8



Pros

  • Accepts low- and high-risk businesses
  • Month-to-month billing with no early termination fees
  • No monthly minimums
  • Offers Clover POS with interchange-plus pricing

Cons

  • Can be expensive for low-volume merchants
  • Can be expensive for high-risk merchants

Why We Chose Host Merchant Services For High-Volume Businesses

Host Merchant Services' transparent interchange-plus pricing rates will save most high-volume businesses a significant amount of money. The company fully discloses its pricing on its website, eliminating the need to negotiate these terms when setting up your account. Host also doesn't require a long-term contract or charge an expensive early termination fee to close your account.

Note that while the company also accepts high-risk merchants, your pricing and contract terms will be different (and, ultimately, more expensive) if you fall into a high-risk category. Nonetheless, it's still a great choice for high- or low-risk merchants looking for a company with honest, transparent sales practices and great customer support.

Host Merchant Services Features

Host Merchant Services offers its own proprietary payment gateway and POS system, as well as a broad range of third-party alternatives. It’s also one of the few merchant services providers that include free web hosting for eCommerce businesses as a standard account feature. Prominent third-party features include the popular Authorize.Net payment gateway and the full line of Clover terminals and POS systems.

Here are some more highlights:

  • Full-service merchant accounts
  • Accepts most high-risk industries
  • Full line of countertop and mobile credit card terminals
  • “Free” terminal available to merchants processing over $20,000/month
  • Vital and SwipeSimple mobile processing solutions
  • Proprietary Bonsai POS system available
  • Clover and Vital POS systems available
  • Authorize.Net payment gateway
  • Proprietary HMSExpress payment gateway
  • Virtual terminal included
  • Web hosting included with an account
  • Cash discounting program available

Host Merchant Services Pricing

  • No application or setup fees
  • $14.99/month account fee
  • Interchange + 0.25% + $0.10/retail transaction
  • Interchange + 0.20% + $0.09/restaurant transaction
  • Interchange + 0.35 + $0.10/eCommerce transaction
  • $5.00/month gateway fee (optional)
  • $15 chargeback fee
  • No PCI compliance fee
  • No early termination fee

Host Is Best For ...

  • High-volume retail, restaurants, & eCommerce
  • Web hosting or cloud provider businesses
  • Most high-risk businesses
  • Businesses that want to use Clover POS with interchange-plus pricing

Get Started With Host Merchant Services

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Stripe Payments: Best For eCommerce & Omnichannel Businesses

Stripe Payments

Total Rating 4.7
Fees & Rates4.7

Products & Services4.5

Contract5.0

Sales & Advertising Transparency5.0

Customer Service4.5

User Reviews4.1



Pros

  • Predictable flat-rate pricing
  • Excellent developer tools
  • Exceptional subscription tools
  • Multicurrency support

Cons

  • Account stability issues
  • Does not accept high-risk merchants
  • May need technical skills to implement

Why We Chose Stripe For eCommerce & Omnichannel Businesses

Stripe is a dominant player in the world of eCommerce payment providers and now offers retail processing through Stripe Terminal as well. Stripe's advanced and exhaustive list of features seems to grow every year, providing everything that US-based and international businesses need to accept virtually any type of payment. There are no long-term contracts and the company's website lays out all fees, so there should be no surprises.

As with any PSP, you won't have a full-service merchant account, potentially leading to account stability issues in some cases. Nonetheless, Stripe offers one of the most advanced, customizable solutions for eCommerce and omnichannel retail merchants we've found anywhere---without charging a premium price for it.

Stripe Features

Stripe offers an extensive variety of standard and optional features, including one of the most customizable APIs in the industry. Here are the major features that Stripe has to offer:

  • Stripe Payments integrated payments platform
  • Stripe Virtual Terminal
  • Stripe Radar anti-fraud protection
  • Stripe Terminal API & card readers for card-present transactions
  • ACH processing included with every account
  • Extensive library of APIs and developer tools
  • Broad support for international payments and local payment methods
  • Many ancillary services for establishing and running your business

Stripe Pricing

Like other payment service providers (PSPs), Stripe uses a pay-as-you-go billing model with flat-rate pricing and a general lack of monthly account fees for basic services.

Stripe’s pricing details are as follows:

  • No monthly fees for a basic account
  • 2.9% + $0.30/online credit/debit transaction (+0.5% for manually entered transactions)
  • 2.7% + $0.05/in-person credit/debit transaction via Stripe Terminal
  • +1.5% for international cards
  • +1% for currency conversion (if required)
  • 0.8%/ACH direct debit transaction ($5.00 maximum)
  • 1.2%/ACH direct debit transaction (two-day settlement)
  • $1.00/ACH credit payment
  • $1.50/instant bank account validation
  • Additional fees for optional add-on services

Please refer to our full breakdown of Stripe’s pricing for additional details.

Stripe Is Best For ...

  • eCommerce businesses with developer skills
  • Omnichannel retailers
  • SaaS businesses
  • International merchants

Get Started With Stripe Payments

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Dharma Merchant Services: Best For Nonprofits & Charitable Giving

Dharma Merchant Services

Total Rating 5.0
Fees & Rates5.0

Products & Services5.0

Contract5.0

Sales & Advertising Transparency5.0

Customer Service4.8

User Reviews4.5



Pros

  • Interchange-plus pricing is offered exclusively
  • No annual fee or monthly minimum
  • Discount pricing for qualified nonprofits

Cons

  • Not recommended for businesses processing less than $10,000/month
  • Not available to high-risk industries

Why We Chose Dharma Merchant Services For Nonprofits & Charitable Giving

We chose Dharma Merchant Services as one of our top small-business processors primarily for the significant pricing discounts the company offers to nonprofit organizations. However, Dharma is also an excellent choice for any low-risk small to medium-sized business that's looking for interchange-plus pricing and Clover hardware. Like our other top choices, you'll also enjoy month-to-month billing with no long-term contracts or early termination fees (although a fully disclosed $49 account closure fee is required if you close your account).

Be aware, however, that the company doesn't recommend its services to businesses processing less than $10,000/month and doesn't accept high-risk merchants.

Dharma Merchant Services Features

In addition to being one of the most ethical and transparent providers in the processing industry, Dharma Merchant Services offers a complete line of services for small and large businesses. Here are the highlights:

  • Full-service merchant accounts through Fiserv or TSYS
  • MX Merchant integrated payment platform
  • Choice of Authorize.Net or MX Merchant payment gateways
  • QuickPay virtual terminal
  • Full line of credit card terminals, including Verifone Engage V200c, Fiserv FD-150, Ingenico Desk/5000, Dejavoo Z11, and other models
  • MX B2B app for B2B processing
  • Full line of Clover POS systems
  • Credit card surcharging (no-fee, zero-cost credit card processing) program available

Dharma Merchant Services Pricing

  • $15/month account fee ($12/month for nonprofits)
  • Interchange + 0.15% + $0.08/card-present transaction (volume discounts available)
  • Interchange + 0.10% + $0.08/card-present transaction (qualified nonprofits)
  • Interchange + 0.20% + $0.11/card-not-present transaction (volume discounts available)
  • Interchange + 0.10% + $0.11/card-not-present transaction (qualified nonprofits)
  • No gateway fees with MX Merchant
  • $10/month for recurring billing (MX Merchant)
  • $15/month for B2B processing (MX Merchant)
  • No annual fee
  • No PCI compliance fees
  • No monthly minimum
  • $49 account closure fee

Our guide for nonprofit payment processing discounts has more information for charities looking to save money on credit card acceptance.

Dharma Is Best For ...

  • Nonprofit businesses
  • Low-risk restaurants and retail
  • High-volume businesses
  • US businesses that want to use Clover POS with interchange-plus pricing

Get Started With Dharma Merchant Services

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Helcim: Best For International Businesses

Total Rating 4.9
Fees & Rates5.0

Products & Services4.4

Contract5.0

Sales & Advertising Transparency5.0

Customer Service4.8

User Reviews4.5



Pros

  • No long-term contracts
  • Exclusive interchange-plus pricing
  • No monthly fees

Cons

  • Does not accept high-risk businesses
  • Not suited for very low-volume businesses

Why We Chose Helcim For International Businesses

Helcim stands out from the crowd as one of the very few credit card processors in the industry to offer a full-service merchant account without requiring a monthly fee. It also offers numerous perks for merchants who do a lot of sales remotely, including overseas. Helcim's interchange-plus pricing rewards higher volumes of transactions, though lower-volume businesses can use Helcim as well.

Helcim distinguishes itself from many other providers by offering true month-to-month billing, exclusive interchange-plus pricing, and no monthly account fees---all of which the company fully discloses on its website.

Helcim Features

Helcim offers a robust suite of proprietary products and services to meet the needs of most retail or online businesses. The versatile Helcim Card Reader, in particular, is both affordable and can function as either a mobile card reader or countertop terminal. Helcim also provides an excellent suite of features for eCommerce, including hosted payment pages for secure online checkouts, menu embedding, and buy-now buttons.

Your Helcim account comes with a full range of essential payment processing features, including the following:

  • Full-service merchant account
  • Proprietary Helcim Card Reader or Helcim Smart Terminal for in-person payments
  • Helcim Payments app for mobile processing
  • Virtual terminal included with each account
  • Helcim POS software (requires tablet, laptop, desktop, or Helcim Smart Terminal)
  • Access to Helcim API for customized credit card payments

Helcim Pricing

With no monthly account fee and no long-term contracts, Helcim offers one of the lowest points of entry to a full-service merchant account:

  • Interchange + 0.40% + $0.08/card-present transaction (volume discounts available)
  • Interchange + 0.50% + $0.25/card-not-present transaction (volume discounts available)
  • Helcim Card Reader — $99/unit
  • Helcim Smart Terminal — $329/unit
  • No monthly or annual account fees
  • No PCI compliance fees
  • No monthly minimum

Helcim Is Best For ...

  • Low-risk, high-volume businesses
  • Online & in-person retail
  • Offshore businesses or US merchants who do international sales
  • Mobile processing

Get Started With Helcim

Read our in-depth review

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Chase Payment Solutions℠ : Best Bank Merchant Account

Chase Payment Solutions℠

Total Rating 4.4
Fees & Rates5.0

Products & Services4.0

Contract4.5

Sales & Advertising Transparency3.7

Customer Service3.9

User Reviews3.7



Pros

  • Large direct processor
  • No monthly fee with a standard account
  • Month-to-month billing available
  • Customized pricing available upon request

Cons

  • “Free” credit card terminal requires a long-term contract
  • High chargeback fees

Why We Chose Chase Payment Solutions For Best Bank Merchant Account

Merchant services from large banks and direct processors often end up being very poor deals for small businesses due to high processing rates, numerous additional fees, and long-term contracts. Chase Payments Solutions, however, is a notable exception. The company offers all the same small business-friendly features as our other top choices, including month-to-month billing, flat-rate pricing, and very low fees.

Chase Payment Solutions Features

Chase Payment Solutions offers a full range of products and services for most small online or retail businesses, including the following:

  • Full-service merchant account
  • Month-to-month billing with no long-term contracts
  • Authorize.Net payment gateway
  • Virtual terminal included with each account
  • Chase Point of Sale (POS) app and Chase Card Reader for mobile payments
  • Next-day funding for Chase business bank account holders
  • Choice of processing hardware, including Chase Card Terminal or Ingenico models
  • Level II/Level III credit card processing for B2B payments
  • Support for international payments

Chase Payment Solutions Pricing

Chase Payments Solutions offers small business owners a surprisingly good deal on credit card processing. If you sign up for the company’s standard plan, you’ll receive a full-service merchant account with flat-rate pricing and an array of products and services to run your business. If you buy your hardware outright, you’ll enjoy a month-to-month contract with no long-term commitment and no early termination fee:

  • 2.6% + $0.10/card-present transaction
  • 2.9% + $0.25/online transaction
  • 3.5% + $0.10/keyed-in transaction
  • Custom pricing also available
  • $0 monthly fee (for standard account)
  • No PCI compliance fee
  • No gateway fee
  • $99.95 Chase Card Reader
  • $299 Ingenico Desk/5000 countertop terminal
  • $399 Ingenico Move/5000 wireless terminal
  • $499 Chase Card Terminal (Ingenico DX8000)
  • $10/chargeback

Chase Is Best For ...

  • Businesses that like Square's pricing & services but want a full-service merchant account
  • Low-risk startups
  • Low-volume small businesses in general
  • Businesses that need mobile processing & eCommerce

Get Started With Chase Payment Solutions℠

Read our in-depth review

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Payment Processing Rating Methodology

Merchant Maverick has been researching the payment processing industry since 2009. Our writers have reviewed hundreds of credit card processors, merchant account services, and mobile payment apps, evaluating each provider carefully on several different metrics.

When comparing different payment processing companies and applications to one another, we consider numerous data points. Our experts start by comparing credit card processing rates, the presence of additional fees, contract length, sales practices, and the presence or absence of additional features and services, like point of sale software. Each provider is judged on its own merits and how well it stacks up to industry standards; then it is weighed against the other providers on the list.

We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure every company or application included meets our internal standards for quality and reputation. Any list of recommended payment processors on our site might contain a mix of standard merchant accounts, third-party payment processors, mobile payment devices, and high-risk payment processors, depending on what our expert feels is the best fit for certain scenarios or business types.

For additional details about Merchant Maverick’s review and rating processes, please refer to any or all of the following methodology pages:

15

Years reviewing payment processors

100+

Providers evaluated

25

Attributes and features assessed per vendor

40+

Years combined experience


What Is Credit Card Processing?

Credit card processing—also commonly called “payment processing”—refers to the sequence of steps for approving and processing credit and debit card transactions. Merchants can accept payments in person, online, or by manually entering a customer’s card information. The credit card processing network checks for indicators of possible fraud and ensures that merchants get paid for approved transactions.

In today’s complex and competitive payments environment, almost all providers offer a variety of services in addition to basic credit card processing. These include a payment gateway for eCommerce transactions, a virtual terminal for manually keying in payments, and support for alternative payment methods such as digital wallets or QR codes.

How To Choose The Best Credit Card Payment Processing Company

Determining the best credit card processing company for your business involves evaluating many factors to narrow your search down as much as possible before reaching out to a provider’s sales department. Learn about the top things to look for in a merchant account:

Account Stability & Type Of Merchant Services

The first (and perhaps most important) factor to consider will be whether your business needs a full-service merchant account for payment processing or if you’d be better served by signing up with a payment service provider (PSP), such as Square. For very small or newly launched businesses, PSPs offer an easy and affordable way to begin accepting credit cards without the confusing pricing and extensive onboarding requirements of a full-service merchant account. At the same time, account stability can be a concern, as you’re more likely to experience sudden account issues. You will want to avoid merchant account holds, freezes, and terminations.

Full-service merchant accounts are more stable and offer many additional features, but they tend to be more expensive and take longer to set up. Your monthly processing volume will be the main factor in choosing between these two options. Generally, PSPs are a better choice if your processing volume is less than $5,000 per month. However, this “tipping point” can be anywhere from $1,500/month to $10,000/month, depending on the nature of your business and the processing rates your merchant account provider offers.

Fees & Pricing For Credit Card Processing

The credit card processing industry is notorious for charging merchants a bewildering variety of rates and fees for their services, often making it nearly impossible to estimate your costs in advance. Payment service providers eliminate much of this confusion by offering a combination of predictable flat-rate pricing and no monthly fees for basic services.

Merchant account providers, on the other hand, may use either tiered pricing, interchange-plus, or membership pricing. They also usually charge several recurring and incidental fees that can come as an unpleasant surprise if you haven’t thoroughly reviewed your contract in advance.

Tokenization & Card-Not-Present Processing Rates

eCommerce sales have surged in recent years, and incidents of fraud have surged with them. One critically important way to protect yourself is to implement credit card tokenization as a security feature on your website. You’ll reduce your chances of letting a fraudulent transaction slip through, and interchange rates and fees for tokenized payments are significantly lower than for other card-not-present transactions. Tokenization also works with card-present transactions, but requires a payment gateway to implement.

Speed & Flexibility Of Account Setup

New merchants are frequently frustrated with the length of time needed to get their merchant accounts approved and set up. Onboarding can take as long as several weeks, during which you’ll be unable to process any credit or debit card transactions. Technology and automation have improved this process dramatically in recent years, and in some cases, you can apply online and have your account approved overnight.

Payment service providers typically offer the quickest approval time, but they usually only accept low-risk businesses. Fast approval also increases the risk of account instability, as the detailed underwriting process is deferred until you start processing transactions. At the other end of the spectrum, high-risk merchant accounts can take as long as two or more weeks to approve and require much more information about you and your business.

Funding & Deposit Times

Getting the funds from your credit card sales deposited into your bank account quickly is important to any business — particularly if you’re dependent on a steady, day-to-day cash flow coming in. While the standard deposit time in the payments industry is two to four business days, many providers now offer next-day (or even same-day) funding. There’s usually an additional fee, so you’ll want to carefully evaluate whether you really need it before signing up for this service.

Selling Online & In Person

While most businesses have traditionally been either retail-only or eCommerce-only, today, it’s more common for a business to have both in-person and online sales channels. Regardless of how you make your sales, you’ll want the appropriate hardware and software to process transactions, provide analytical data, and help you run your day-to-day business operations.

While some small businesses can still get by with just a payment gateway or countertop credit card terminal, processing companies are increasingly offering integrated payment platforms that support in-person and online sales. These systems offer enhanced security, additional features such as scheduling and inventory management, and the ability to manage your business remotely from any internet-connected device with a browser.

How To Negotiate A Good Credit Card Processing Agreement

After you’ve chosen a credit card processor, the next step is to negotiate a good processing agreement with your provider. While you may not necessarily be able to negotiate lower processing fees—especially if you have a low sales volume or belong to a high-risk industry—you can still take certain precautions such as calculating your effective rate to ensure you negotiate a fair deal.

Learn more about what to do when negotiating a credit card processing contract.

Start Accepting Credit Card Payments At Your Small Business

Once you’ve selected a processor and negotiated a fair merchant services contract, you are almost ready to start accepting credit card payments. But before you take your first sale, you will need to decide which channels you want to sell with—for example in-store, mobile, and/or online. You will also need to set up your processing hardware and point of sale software.

Learn more about how to set up credit card payments at your small business.

FAQs: Small Business Credit Card Processing Companies

Why does my business need to accept credit cards?

Accepting credit and debit cards gives your customers more ways to pay you and increases sales. Numerous studies have consistently found that offering credit card payments can raise your overall sales volume by 20% or more. Offering the option to pay by credit card can also shorten the time it takes to get paid, improving your cash flow and reducing the need to track down unpaid invoices.

Who are the largest credit card processing companies?

The largest credit card processing companies in the United States are direct processors such as Fiserv (formerly First Data), Global Payments, and FIS Worldpay. However, these companies are usually not a good choice for small businesses due to their high costs, long-term contracts, and expensive early termination fees.

What do credit card processing companies do?

Credit card processing companies provide access to processing networks that can authorize a credit/debit card transaction and distribute funds to the merchant from approved sales. Today, most credit card processors also offer a variety of additional services, including processing hardware, payment gateways for online transactions, support for ACH transfers and other payment methods, and detailed analytics and reporting features.

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Frank Kehl

Frank Kehl

Senior Staff Writer at Merchant Maverick
Frank has been writing about payment processing and business services since 2015. He is a retired Air Force officer and a former practicing attorney. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law, and currently resides in Paso Robles, California.
Frank Kehl
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