The Best Merchant Accounts For Canadian Small Businesses
Canadian business owners should check out these great merchant account options and learn which companies they should avoid at all costs.
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WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Senior Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
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REVIEWED BY
Senior 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.
Finding the best merchant services in Canada is complicated because there aren’t nearly as many processors operating there as there are in the United States. Canadian businesses will need one of the best credit card processors for small businesses that can handle both the big international credit card networks and local payment methods, such as Interac.
Whether you select a homegrown Canadian payment processor or an international company that offers Canadian merchant accounts, you’ll want to choose a service that provides the most overall value for the lowest total cost.
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Read more below to learn why we chose these options.
Table of Contents [hide][show]
- The Basics Of Payment Processing For Canadian Small Businesses
- The 8 Best Merchant Services & Payment Processors In Canada
- Helcim: Best For Cost-Plus Pricing
- Square: Best For Startups
- Clearly Payments: Best For Membership Pricing
- KIS Payments: Best For Cash Discounting
- Shopify: Best For eCommerce Businesses
- Chase Payment Solutions: Best Large, Direct Payment Processor
- PayPal: Best For Seasonal Or Low-Volume Businesses
- Durango Merchant Services: Best For High-Risk Merchants
- Our Methodology For Choosing The Best Canadian Payment Processors
- How To Find A Good Merchant Services Provider In Canada
- Which Canadian Credit Card Processing Company Is Right For Your Small Business?
- Common Questions About Payment Processing In Canada
- In Summary: The 8 Best Merchant Services & Payment Processors In Canada
Table of Contents
- The Basics Of Payment Processing For Canadian Small Businesses
- The 8 Best Merchant Services & Payment Processors In Canada
- How The Best Canadian Payment Processors Compare
- Helcim: Best For Cost-Plus Pricing
- Helcim Features
- Helcim Pricing
- Square: Best For Startups
- Square Features
- Square Pricing
- Clearly Payments: Best For Membership Pricing
- Clearly Payments Features
- Clearly Payments Pricing
- KIS Payments: Best For Cash Discounting
- KIS Payments Features
- KIS Payments Pricing
- Shopify: Best For eCommerce Businesses
- Shopify Features
- Shopify Pricing
- Chase Payment Solutions: Best Large, Direct Payment Processor
- Chase Payment Solutions Features
- Chase Payment Solutions Pricing
- PayPal: Best For Seasonal Or Low-Volume Businesses
- PayPal Features
- PayPal Pricing
- Durango Merchant Services: Best For High-Risk Merchants
- Durango Merchant Services Features
- Durango Merchant Services Pricing
- Our Methodology For Choosing The Best Canadian Payment Processors
- How To Find A Good Merchant Services Provider In Canada
- Which Canadian Credit Card Processing Company Is Right For Your Small Business?
- Common Questions About Payment Processing In Canada
- In Summary: The 8 Best Merchant Services & Payment Processors In Canada
The Basics Of Payment Processing For Canadian Small Businesses
To process credit cards, you’ll need a merchant account or a third-party payment processor, which aggregates businesses into large merchant accounts. Various network, bank, and processor fees are drawn from a sale from this account before the remaining money is routed to your bank account.
The 8 Best Merchant Services & Payment Processors In Canada
Canadian merchant services providers accept both Canadian and international payment methods and have month-to-month plans with no early termination fees, comprehensive feature sets, and either flat-rate or interchange-plus pricing. Some of the best payment processing companies in Canada we’ve found include the following:
How The Best Canadian Payment Processors Compare
| Company | Application/Setup Fees | Monthly Fee | Processing Rate Plan(s) | Contract Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square | None | None | Flat-Rate | Month-to-month billing |
| Helcim | None | None | Interchange-Plus | Month-to-month billing |
| Clearly Payments | None | $21 (INT+) or $99 – $189 (membership) | Interchange-Plus or Membership | Month-to-month billing |
| KIS Payments | $99 – $299 | Not disclosed | Interchange-Plus | Month-to-month billing |
| Shopify | None | $9 – $399 | Flat-Rate | Month-to-month billing |
| Chase Payment Solutions | Not disclosed | $0.00 | Flat-Rate or Interchange-Plus | Month-to-month billing |
| PayPal | None | None | Flat-Rate | Month-to-month billing |
| Durango Merchant Services | None | Variable | Variable | Variable |
Helcim: Best For Cost-Plus Pricing
Helcim |
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Pros
- Exclusive interchange-plus pricing for all merchants
- Month-to-month billing & no early termination fees
- All-in-one payments platform
- Excellent customer support
Cons
- Doesn’t accept high-risk businesses
Why We Chose Helcim As Best For Cost-Plus Pricing
Helcim is arguably the best merchant account provider available in Canada today. Helcim offers detailed pricing disclosures, so you won't need to negotiate to secure the best possible deal for your business. The company's website also includes in-depth articles explaining how credit card processing works and exposing other providers' deceptive advertising tricks. Everything is completely laid out on the table with crystal-clear fee disclosures, and you'll get transparent cost-plus (interchange-plus) pricing right out of the box with no additional hassle.
Helcim offers a proprietary payment gateway and its own Helcim Card Reader for in-person transactions. A new smart terminal, the Helcim Smart Terminal, is also available and provides numerous additional features, including the ability to run Helcim's POS software.
Square: Best For Startups
Square |
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Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.
Pros
- Predictable flat-rate pricing
- Ideal for low-volume merchants
- No monthly fees
- Massive feature set
Cons
- Account stability issues
- Not available to high-risk merchants
Why We Chose Square As Best For Startups
Square has made waves in the US market as a convenient payment solution for small businesses and serves small Canadian merchants similarly well. How does Square work? Well, it is a third-party processor that offers simple pricing schemes and a wealth of business productivity software, often at no additional cost.
Square provides enormous value for what is, essentially, no cost of entry. That makes it a great first payment processor for small businesses that may have infrequent transactions and want access to top-rated business tools as part of the package. Square also has great, affordable hardware.
Note, however, that Square's card readers and terminals cannot be reprogrammed to work with any other provider.
Clearly Payments: Best For Membership Pricing
Clearly Payments |
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Pros
- Pay-as-you-go billing
- Interchange-plus & membership pricing
- Good terminal selection
- Good customer service
Cons
- Monthly fees
- Plans may not be suitable for low-volume businesses
Why We Chose Clearly Payments As Best For Membership Pricing
There's a lot to like about Clearly Payments. The company claims its mission is to drive down the cost of cheap credit card processing. The option to choose between membership or interchange-plus pricing makes Clearly Payments an excellent choice for high-volume businesses that want to minimize their processing costs.
Clearly Payments offers a wide variety of products and services for both online and eCommerce businesses. Merchants can choose between either cost-plus or membership pricing. Processing hardware options include either Clover products or a variety of universal credit card terminals and mobile card readers.
Get Started With Clearly Payments
KIS Payments: Best For Cash Discounting
KIS Payments |
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Pros
- Exclusive interchange-plus pricing
- Month-to-month agreements
- Excellent customer service
Cons
- Limited pricing disclosure online
- There may be enrollment fees
Why We Chose KIS Payments As Best For Cash Discounting
KIS Payments is a small company that offers Canadian merchants a better deal than what they've had to accept from traditional processors. The company has an excellent reputation for providing top-notch, personalized customer support and service after you've set up your account. Merchants are assigned a dedicated account manager for customer support, meaning you'll always be able to reach someone at the company who truly understands your business's needs.
While credit card surcharging is prohibited in Canada, KIS Payments offers a cash discounting program through its affiliate, NoPay.ca. Merchants looking to reduce their payment processing costs by passing them on to their customers may be interested in this program.
Shopify: Best For eCommerce Businesses
Shopify |
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Pros
- Easy to use
- Advanced design tools
- Predictable flat-rate pricing
Cons
- Add-ons are often necessary
- Additional fees
- Variable customer support
Why We Chose Shopify As Best For eCommerce Businesses
Shopify provides just about every feature eCommerce merchants might need to run an online business, including accepting credit and Interac debit card payments in Canada. It's unusual to see a convenience-focused platform that simultaneously has so much depth while still being flexible. Shopify can scale effectively with your business as it grows.
In selecting which plan is best for your business, you'll want to carefully evaluate the processing costs associated with each plan and how important the additional features are to your business. The Shopify Lite plan, for example, doesn't include an online store or telephone customer support. You can sell in person, via Facebook, or using "buy" buttons on existing websites, but that's it. You'll also have to rely on email and chat for any customer service issues that come up.
Chase Payment Solutions: Best Large, Direct Payment Processor
Chase Payment Solutions Canada |
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Pros
- Usually offers month-to-month contracts with no early termination fees
- Credit card terminals available for sale or rent
- Next-business-day funding for business checking customers
Cons
- A long-term contract may be required for some merchants
- Reports of mediocre customer service
Why We Chose Chase Payment Solutions As The Best Large, Direct Payment Processor
For Canadian merchants running larger, more established businesses, Chase Payment Solutions is a surprisingly good choice for such a large company. You'll get a far more robust line of products and services than you will with a smaller provider, plus it's a direct processor.
Chase offers competitive rates and low account fees -- something we don't often see in a large processor. If your scaling plans include the payment processing services of a large processor like Chase, Chase Payment Solutions provides a convenient on-ramp for small businesses with its QuickAccept program.
Get Started With Chase Payment Solutions Canada
PayPal: Best For Seasonal Or Low-Volume Businesses
PayPal |
|---|
Pros
- Pay-as-you-go billing
- Predictable flat-rate pricing
- No monthly fees (in most cases)
- Extensive eCommerce products & features
Cons
- Flat-rate pricing is not suitable for mid-sized/larger businesses
- Virtual terminal feature is an expensive add-on
- Inconsistent telephone support
Why We Chose PayPal As Best For Seasonal Or Low-Volume Businesses
Hundreds of millions of people have a PayPal account today, although you don't need one to make a purchase from a merchant using the company as their payment processor. PayPal is one of the biggest names in online payment processing and offers a vast assortment of additional services beyond simple payment processing. Additionally, PayPal's digital wallet is one of the more popular payment methods besides credit and debit cards.
As a payment service provider (PSP), PayPal offers predictable flat-rate pricing, pay-as-you-go billing, and a month-to-month account with no long-term commitment. Although it's not easy to decipher, PayPal provides a complete and thorough disclosure of all its numerous fees and additional charges on its website.
Durango Merchant Services: Best For High-Risk Merchants
Durango Merchant Services |
|---|
Pros
- High-risk merchant accounts
- Offshore merchant accounts are available
- No early termination fee in most cases
- Good customer service
Cons
- No public pricing disclosures
Why We Chose Durango Merchant Services As Best For High-Risk Merchants
High-risk merchants have fewer options for payment processing, but that doesn't mean they should settle for poor service. Durango Merchant Services is one of our favorite high-risk payment processors, offering reasonable rates and contract terms to industry segments that can easily be exploited.
Durango offers a meaty selection of perks, including shopping cart integration, a proprietary Durango Pay gateway, and support for cryptocurrency payments. It's a particularly good choice for online-only businesses in Canada.
Get Started With Durango Merchant Services
Our Methodology For Choosing The Best Canadian Payment Processors
More aggressive regulation of the payments industry by the Canadian government makes credit card processing generally less expensive than it is in the United States. Nonetheless, it’s still possible to pay too much or find yourself stuck in a long-term contract. For our choices of the best Canadian payment processors, we selected companies that offer transparent pricing and pay-as-you-go billing with no long-term commitment. (Note that we made an exception for high-risk providers, which are always going to be more expensive.)
Not every Canadian payment processor made the cut (particularly Moneris). Nonetheless, the companies profiled above should be able to offer you high-quality service at a fair price.
How To Find A Good Merchant Services Provider In Canada
Canadian businesses need most of the same things from their payment processors as businesses everywhere else. When choosing a merchant services provider, you’ll want to consider the following:
Which Canadian Credit Card Processing Company Is Right For Your Small Business?
While Canadian merchants don’t have nearly as many choices for payment processing as US-based businesses, they still have a variety of excellent providers that will be a good fit for just about any type of business. As always, there is no best, one-size-fits-all solution. The best provider for your business is the one that best matches your needs and provides the most overall value for your money.
While we highly recommend Square for startups and smaller companies that don’t need a full-service merchant account, those merchants ready to step up to a true merchant account can get the best prices through Helcim. Larger enterprises might get lower processing rates from Chase Payment Solutions or Clearly Payments.
We also strongly recommend that you shop around and come up with a reasonable estimate of your overall costs before deciding on a specific merchant services provider. Most of our top choices make this easy with transparent pricing disclosures. For providers with variable pricing, it’s always a good idea to obtain a customized quote and compare it to what your other candidates have to offer.
Good luck!
Common Questions About Payment Processing In Canada
In Summary: The 8 Best Merchant Services & Payment Processors In Canada
- Helcim:
- No monthly fee for basic account
- Uses interchange-plus pricing exclusively
- Month-to-month billing with no long-term contracts
- Square:
- No monthly fee for basic account
- Uses flat-rate pricing
- Month-to-month billing with no long-term contracts
- Clearly Payments:
- $21+/month account fee
- Uses cost-plus and membership pricing
- Month-to-month billing with no long-term contracts
- KIS Payments:
- Variable monthly fees
- Uses interchange-plus pricing
- Month-to-month billing with no long-term contracts
- Shopify:
- $9-$299/month fee
- Uses flat-rate pricing
- Month-to-month billing with no long-term contracts
- Chase Payment Solutions Canada:
- Variable monthly fees
- Uses either tiered or interchange-plus pricing
- Usually offers month-to-month contracts
- PayPal:
- No monthly fee for basic account
- Uses flat-rate pricing
- Month-to-month billing with no long-term contracts
- Durango Merchant Services:
- Variable monthly account fees
- Processing rate plans not disclosed
- Usually offers month-to-month billing for most businesses
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.
View Frank Kehl's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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