The 6 Best Free Merchant Accounts For Small Businesses
A free merchant account allows you to process credit card payments without a monthly fee. Find out which free merchant account is right for you.
Davina joined Merchant Maverick in 2022, covering small business payroll and accounting. She began writing for small businesses in 2018 and has since gained expertise in the SaaS industry. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature from SUNY Geneseo in 2018. She currently resides in New York.
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Davina WardDavina joined Merchant Maverick in 2022, covering small business payroll and accounting. She began writing for small businesses in 2018 and has since gained expertise in the SaaS industry. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature from SUNY Geneseo in 2018. She currently resides in New York.
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Advertiser Disclosure: Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity.
A good free merchant account can help cut added payment processing costs, such as monthly fees and payment security costs.
All of the merchant accounts and third-party processors in this post have easy-to-understand rates, no sign-up fees or binding contracts, and lots of great business tools for little to no cost.
Here are our picks for the best credit card processing companies with zero monthly fees and some of the best supporting features available.
A free merchant account allows you to process payments with no monthly fee. Merchant account providers may offer no or low-cost merchant accounts, but they do not offer free payment processing or related merchant services. Free merchant services don’t really exist, as all credit card transactions incur an interchange fee (at minimum).
Credit card processing fees are charged by payment processor providers and cannot be avoided without completely eliminating credit card processing from your business.
Free or low-cost credit card processing doesn’t make payment processing fees go away — these fees are typically passed on to your customers through surcharging or convenience fees. They may also utilize a cash discounting program in which customers using non-cash payment methods are charged an additional fee.
Is It Possible To Get Free Payment Processing For Small Business?
No, it is not possible to get free payment processing for small businesses when accepting credit card payments.
There are several credit card processing fees that businesses are required to pay for accepting credit card payments, including markup, interchange fees, and assessment fees.
Small businesses may process non-credit card payments for free. If you’re running an eCommerce business or have an online storefront, you may accept ACH transfers and eCheck payments without cost.
In addition to eCheck payments and ACH transfers, businesses accepting in-person payments may accept cast without any additional fees.
How To Save On Credit Card Processing Costs
Although it’s not possible to process credit card payments for free, it is possible to save on your payment processing costs. To lower your business’s payment processing costs, you can attempt to directly reduce how much it costs your business to process payments or try to offset your business’s processing costs.
How To Lower Credit Card Processing Costs
There are several ways to lower your business’s payment processing costs. However, as there are many options, so you’ll need to take time evaluating to determine which solution would best suit your business’s budget and current state.
Sometimes lowering payment processing costs is as easy as having your customers cover the processing costs of their credit card payments. To offset payment processing fees, you’ll need to implement a convenience fee or practice credit card surcharging.
Both convenience fees and surcharging are designed to help businesses offset payment processing costs by adding additional fees to customer transactions that are paid via credit card.
However, there are several legalities involved in the practice of both surcharging and charging convenience fees. If you intend to offset credit card processing costs via surcharging or convenience fees, you’ll need to do your due diligence to ensure that you implement the practice legally and avoid scaring your customers away.
The 6 Best Merchant Accounts With No Monthly Fees
The best free merchant accounts have no monthly fee, no monthly minimums, affordable processing rates, zero startup costs, and built-in payment security. They can scale with your business as it grows. Our picks for the best free merchant accounts include Square, Chase, Stripe, PayPal, and more.
1. Square: Best Free Merchant Account For Small Businesses
Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.
Pros
No Monthly Fees
Flat-rate pricing
Fully integrated merchant services
No long-term contracts
Cons
High-risk businesses are usually not accepted
Some users report account instability issues
Why We Chose Square
Square is one of our favorites because it offers a sweet spot of low processing fees, virtually no merchant account fees, and many freebies that just seem to grow each year. For instance, with a basic account, you can now get simple employee management, inventory management, and reporting, set up a website and accept payment online, and a lot more.
Square offers predictable processing rates, a free POS with basic reporting, and a full suite of tools to help you manage your small business, including employee management, reporting tools, a free web front, and invoicing.
You can also build on even more options if you want them, which provides greater flexibility to only pay for what you need. If your business is in need of a truly affordable payment processing solution, Square is the way to go.
2.6% + $0.10 for any card that is swiped, dipped, or tapped during the transaction
3.5% + $0.15 for keyed-in transactions
2.9% + $0.30 for online transactions (including invoices and eCommerce sales)
Additionally, Square charges 1.75% of the transfer amount for same-day deposits. Square also offers plenty of add-on services and custom pricing for those vendors with annual sales that exceed $250,000 with an average ticket size of over $15.
Square Features
When it comes to free merchant accounts with a plethora of features, Square doesn’t have a lot of competition. Square’s features include:
PCI compliance at no extra cost
Accept multiple payment methods for your business, including ACH, cryptocurrency, and credit card processing
A native suite of business software, including POS integrations
Accept contactless payments
Same-day account creation and verification
Afterpay for in-person and online transactions (2.6% + $0.10 per transaction
Chase Payment Solutions is a great option if you want a traditional merchant account while keeping the recurring monthly account fee at bay. Additionally, Chase processing comes with a great toolbox for small businesses like free online reporting, gift card programs, and eCheck (ACH) processing.
Chase Merchant Services offers small business owners a dedicated merchant account, has few complaints relative to its size, and offers a flat-rate processing plan with no monthly fee. Chase checking account holders can enjoy next-day funding at no extra charge.
Chase Payment Solutions Pricing
Chase is a traditional merchant account and offers exceptionally low flat-rate pricing. Chase Payments Solutions for payment processing are:
2.6% + $0.10 per transaction for card-present transactions
3.5% + $0.10 per transaction for card-not-present transaction
Chase has partnered with Authorize.net to enable its customers to accept online payments or those made over the phone at a rate of 2.9% + $.025 per transaction.
Additionally, you will have to pay at least $10/mo if you go with Chase’s interchange-plus rate plan.
Chase Payment Solutions Features
Chase’s features allow small businesses to accept payments on the go and keep processing costs impressively low. Here’s a look at Chase Payment Solution’s features:
Single company for merchant bank account and payment processing
Sign up for an account online
POS hardware available starting at $49
Chase mobile app with payment requests and mobile-powered payment acceptance
eCommerce website integration
Free Orbital Virtual Terminal (use your computer as a card terminal)
International payment acceptance
Next-day funding for Chase business bank account customers
Stripe is an excellent choice suited best for small eCommerce businesses. While Stripe is built with the developer in mind, you’ll find loads of integration options and subscription tools that allow you to fully customize your customer experience without always needing advanced technical expertise.
Stripe offers robust features, including developer tools, advanced reporting tools, marketplace and subscription tools, as well as multi-currency support.
Stripe is behind the eCommerce and processing presence of some of the biggest brands around, including Under Armor, Lyft, Wish, and more. Stripe is truly an innovator in the online space and offers immeasurable potential in customization, affordable business intelligence, fraud protection, and much more.
Stripe Pricing
Stripe’s payment processing rates are very straightforward:
2.9% + $0.30 per online transaction
ACH payments for 0.8% (capped at $5).
Stripe also offers plenty of options for additional tools and services, including billing, invoicing, tax support, identity verification, and more. These costs can add up for businesses with complex payment needs. Fortunately, Stripe offers very transparent pricing across all its services, so estimating costs should be a breeze.
Stripe Features
Stripe’s features are pretty generous for its price range. Here’s what you can expect from Stripe’s payment processing:
Buy Now, Pay Later support
Tons of eCommerce integrations
3D Secure authentication
Instant payouts option
Comprehensive developer platform, SDKs, and client libraries
As of August 2, 2021, PayPal has changed its pricing for online payment processing, affecting new and existing merchants. The new rates are complicated and not easy to summarize, so we recommend reading our article on PayPal's pricing to understand how the new prices will affect your business.
Why We Chose PayPal
We like that PayPal’s pricing is very transparent. Although PayPal’s payment processing fees are on the higher end of the pricing spectrum, businesses will appreciate that PayPal boasts no cancellation fees, no monthly fees, and no long-term contracts. However, PayPal’s biggest selling point is how ubiquitous the service is, including its impressive payments support in over 200 countries.
PayPal also boasts one of the most extensive arrays of payment options, including a built-in Buy Now, Pay Later option, QR code payment links, cryptocurrency payments, international payments, and Venmo. Although accepting these payment methods may incur additional charges, giving your customers the option is worth it.
Finally, if your customers are leery about online payment security, PayPal offers a way for your customers to pay you without feeling like they are doling out their credit card information at every turn. These things matter big time when it comes to reducing cart abandonment.
PayPal Pricing
PayPal’s processing fees are definitely on the higher end of the pricing spectrum. US-based businesses accepting credit and debit cards on PayPal’s free business account will pay 3.49% + $0.49 per sale for all online sales, card-present sales are 2.99% + $0.49 for swiped, dipped, and tapped.
PayPal charges a $20 chargeback fee, refund fees, instant transfer fees, and a fee for PayPal checkouts.
PayPal Features
As one of the most recognizable names in payment processing, PayPal has the market on payments democratization and customer trust. You’ll get simplicity and ease of use, alongside reliable payment processing and impressive seller protections.
We love Helcim’s completely free merchant account with zero monthly fees or startup fees. We also love the month-to-month billing that Helcim offers. Helcim utilizes an interchange-plus pricing model where processing costs go down as payment processing volume goes up. Helcim’s pricing model can help businesses with higher processing volumes save big.
However, pricing isn’t the only area where Helcim shines. Helcim also offers POS software, customer relationship management tools, inventory management options, and secure card storage for businesses that are looking for a full-fledged payments, inventory, and CRM management system.
Helcim Pricing
Helcim states that its average in-person per transaction fee sits at 1.94% + $0.08, while its keyed and online transaction costs average out to 2.51% + $0.25 per transaction. However, these rates are dependent on your monthly processing volume which will determine the pricing tier your business falls under.
Helcim uses an interchange-plus pricing model for all accounts and rewards businesses with lower processing rates as they increase their processing volume. Helcim also offers POS hardware for retail businesses.
Helcim Features
Helcim’s free merchant account comes packed with lots of built-in features, plus useful add-ons that won’t break the bank. Here’s a look at Helcim’s features:
No monthly fees, PCI compliance fees, setup fees, or other miscellaneous fees related to just having a merchant account
Clearly disclosed incidental fees
Month-to-month billing with no cost if your account is inactive
Accept international payments
Inventory management, CRM, and secure card storage services
Chargeback refunds if you win the dispute ($15 otherwise)
Integration with Wave Accounting and Wave Invoicing (both free)
Set up recurring billing schedules with customers
Cons
Comparatively high processing costs
Bank deposit schedule is up to seven days
Why We Chose Wave Payments
We love that Wave offers payment processing services without the monthly fee, but we believe that Wave shines brightest as one of the most affordable (free) accounting and invoicing software options on the market. All said and done, Wave boasts free services that can fully support a small business or freelancer’s payment processing, invoicing, and accounting needs.
Wave offers some solid features for the price of $0, including unlimited invoicing and fast pay outs. Wave’s payment processing costs are on the higher end of the spectrum, but we believe the pricing balances out for businesses that are looking for affordable integrated invoicing and account features to go alongside their payment processing services.
Wave Payments Pricing
Wave Payments’ pricing is more expensive compared to other options on this list and starts at 2.9% + $0.60 per Visa or Mastercard transaction. and 3.4% + 0.60 per AMEX transaction.
Businesses may also process bank payments with Wave for a 1% fee for each transaction or a minimum $1 fee, whichever is greater. Wave also offers payroll services and professional bookkeeping services for an additional monthly fee.
Wave Payments Features
Wave Payments features include:
Set recurring billing schedules for faster payments
No monthly fees
Accept Apple Pay, all major credit cards, and bank payments
Send email invoices with a “Pay Now” button
Accept payments in-person, online, or via phone
Seamless integration with Wave’s accounting software
Our Methodology For Choosing The Best Free Merchant Accounts For Small Businesses
We evaluated ten of the most popular merchant accounts with no monthly fees to come up with our best picks. Each free merchant account on our list had to be just that — free.
While businesses would be responsible for covering payment processing costs, they would not be required to pay a monthly fee to access their payment processing service or to maintain their merchant account.
We also looked for software that wasn’t tied to a larger service plan. For example, QuickBooks Payments, Shopify Payments, and Clover did not make our list of the best free merchant accounts because users had to subscribe to each option’s subscription pricing plan to access the service.
Further, we ranked pricing transparency very high when considering the best free merchant accounts for small businesses. We believe that small business owners should estimate their potential processing costs when they sign up for or switch merchant accounts — pricing transparency makes that possible.
In short, our picks for the best free merchant accounts have no monthly fees and transparent pricing models.
Why We Don't Recommend These Free Merchant Accounts
Braintree: Very Limited In-Person Processing Options & High Rates
While Braintree is a great merchant services provider, it’s on the high-end of the payment processing cost spectrum and offers very limited in-person payment processing options. As these two significant issues occur concurrently, we couldn’t recommend the service as one of the best free merchant accounts.
There are vendors with cheaper payment processing rates that also have strong in-person payment processing options. Although eCommerce transactions are increasingly common, many small businesses still rely on in-person payment processing within their brick and mortar stores. However, if your business operates solo as an eCommerce seller, Braintree could be a great option.
Check out our Braintree review for a deep dive into Braintree’s features, pricing, and integrations.
QuickBooks Payments: Only Free For QuickBooks Subscribers
QuickBooks Payments doesn’t include a monthly fee for payment processing, but it isn’t a truly free merchant account because users need an active QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop subscription to use the service.
However, if you are already a QuickBooks subscriber or are looking to become one in the near future, we recommend QuickBooks Payments as one of the best payment processing options available for QuickBooks users. Not only does QuickBooks Payments offer complete integration with QuickBooks’ accounting software suite, but it also offers next-day payment deposits.
Check out our QuickBooks Payments review for a more in-depth breakdown of the features QuickBooks Payments offers.
Shopify Payments: Monthly Fee For Shopify Plan
While Shopify offers a free trial, the service is not free. When you sign up for a paid Shopify plan, you can access Shopify Payments and enjoy the processor’s straightforward pricing, seamless integration with the Shopify eCommerce platform. You’ll also avoid being hit with the additional per transaction fee Shopify charges on transactions completed with third-party processors.
We recommend Shopify Payments for Shopify users who want to take full advantage of the software’s eCommerce ecosystem from designing your website to accepting your first payment. Check out our Shopify Payments review to learn more about what Shopify Payments can offer your business.
Clover: Monthly Fee
Clover previously earned a spot on our list of free merchant account services, but we’ve since updated our requirements for what we consider a free account. Clover’s monthly fee is why it dropped from our list, if you have to pay anything beyond processing fees and related costs, we don’t consider the account to be free.
However, we love Clover’s POS system for small businesses. If you’re in the market for a solid POS system with online processing options, we recommend you check out our Clover POS review for an in-depth look at Clover’s features and pricing for small businesses.
Which Free Merchant Account Is Right For Your Business?
While you can’t avoid totally avoid payment processing fees while accepting card payments, you can significantly reduce your financial burden by choosing a free merchant account. Free merchant accounts keep fees down and offer month-to-month billing that allows you to pay for what you use — they are great cost-cutting options.
Despite an enticing price point, sometimes free isn’t the way to go. Paid merchant accounts with monthly fees often include a wealth of additional features that extend beyond payment processing.
For growing or larger businesses with a less limited budget, we recommend checking out some of the best small business credit card processing companies for a look at some of the top payment processing options on the market.
However, if you’re looking for a payment processing option that offers a better balance between cost and features, we recommend looking at some of the best cheap payment processing companies, instead.
Are merchant accounts free?
Yes, there are several merchant account providers that allow businesses to sign up for merchant accounts for free — however, you’ll still need to pay for merchant services, namely payment processing.
How can I create a free merchant account?
To create a free merchant account, you’ll need to sign up for a merchant account with a merchant account provider that offers free merchant accounts. The best free merchant account providers include Square, Stripe, Chase, Helcim, Wave Payments, and PayPal.
What is a free merchant account?
A free merchant account does not charge setup fees, monthly fees, monthly minimums, or tie customers to long-term contracts. Free merchant accounts allow businesses to process card payments and only pay for the payment processing and limited related fees.
How to avoid merchant service fees?
To completely avoid merchant service fees, your business may only accept cash or check payments. However, if you just want to lower your merchant service fees, consider a merchant account with no monthly fees, no startup costs, and no monthly minimums.
How much does a merchant account cost?
Merchant account costs vary greatly depending on the merchant services provider your business uses, your payment processing volume, whether you’re a high-risk merchant, which cards you choose to accept, and more. Payment processing fees typically average out to 2.96% +$0.10 per transaction on the higher end of the pricing spectrum.
In Summary: The 6 Best Merchant Accounts With No Monthly Fees
Davina joined Merchant Maverick in 2022, covering small business payroll and accounting. She began writing for small businesses in 2018 and has since gained expertise in the SaaS industry. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature from SUNY Geneseo in 2018. She currently resides in New York.
View Davina Ward's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
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