💳 Save money on credit card processing with one of our top 5 picks for 2025
These mobile payments apps provide reasonable and transparent pricing and robust features for almost any industry.
WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Expert Contributor
Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Expert Contributor
Credit card processing apps can be powerful tools for merchants. Instead of investing in an expensive POS system, a credit card processing app works on a smartphone or tablet, allowing merchants to use low-cost hardware with an affordable (or even nonexistent) software fee.
The terminology can be a bit inconsistent — sometimes credit card payment apps are called point of sale/POS apps or even mPOS (mobile point of sale) apps. But in the end, we’re talking about applications you can run on your phone to process credit cards, typically with the aid of a small reader.
Learn More About Our Top Picks
| Company | Highlights | Next StepsHighlights |
|---|---|---|
Square
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Show Deal |
SumUp
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QuickBooks GoPayment
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PayPal Zettle
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Toast POS
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Helcim
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| Show Fewer Options |
Read more below to learn why we chose these options.
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Table of Contents
A credit card processing app can be the primary service a credit card processor offers or a secondary feature. Either way, you’ll want one that meets your particular business needs.
| App Cost | In-person Transaction Fee | Hardware Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square | $0+/month | 2.6% + $0.10 | $0+ |
| SumUp | Free | 2.6% + $0.10 | $54+ |
| QuickBooks GoPayment | $0 or $20/month | 1.6% + $0.30 to 2.5% | $49.50 |
| PayPal Zettle | Free | 2.29% + $0.09 | $29+ |
| Toast POS | $0+/month | 2.49% - 3.09% + $0.15 | $0 |
| Helcim | Free | Interchange + 0.4% + $0.08 (volume discounts available) | $99+ |
Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.
Pros
Cons
Square is one of the best-known names among credit card processing apps. Just about anyone can sign up for a Square account and start accepting credit card payments.
We've found the Square Point of Sale app to be one of the most advanced mPOS options available, with an extensive array of supported features on both iOS and Android. Square began with a focus on simple, accessible mobile processing, and it remains among the best in its class for that purpose. It's also among the most affordable entry points for merchants who want to accept credit cards, and spells out its fees and terms in clear, transparent language.
The free magstripe reader that comes with every account doesn't hurt either.
Pros
Cons
While SumUp is somewhat lean on features, it has the essentials merchants need for in-person sales. If you don't need any fancy features and just want a simple, well-designed mobile processing app similar to Square, SumUp is a great choice.
SumUp has the same transaction rate as Square---2.6% + $0.10--- making this mPOS solution best for small transactions and low-volume businesses in general. Overall, because it is so similar, SumUp is a good Square alternative if you like Square but can't use it for whatever reason. SumUp's processing hardware, which includes both Bluetooth card readers and standalone touchscreen devices, are also slightly cheaper than Square's.
SumUp uses a pay-as-you-go model, so you can cancel at any time without penalty. Just be aware that SumUp will automatically terminate inactive accounts after two years, so be sure to empty your account of funds before that happens.
Pros
Cons
QuickBooks is still one of the most recognizable names in accounting software, so it's no surprise that Intuit has leveraged the brand into mobile payment processing. Unlike many of the other options on this list, QuickBooks GoPayment is not a third-party processor. Instead, you'll get your own comparatively stable merchant account.
As you might expect, GoPayment integrates seamlessly with the rest of the QuickBooks software suite, making it an extremely convenient solution for QuickBooks users.
GoPayment pricing can get a little confusing because it depends on whether you use QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop. However, GoPayment's flat transaction fee for QB Online users is lower than Square's and SumUp's; GoPayment transaction fees for QuickBooks Desktop users are such that merchants with high average tickets (such as service-based businesses like plumbers, mechanics, or contractors) can save a lot in transaction fees.
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Pricing
No monthly feeContract
NoneEquipment Cost
$29 for your first card readerPros
Cons
Formerly PayPal Here, PayPal Zettle represents the eCommerce giant's foray into in-person payment processing. Ironically, as PayPal's eCommerce pricing has become more expensive, PayPal Zettle remains a competitive POS option with some of the lowest flat-rate processing costs for mobile payments.
PayPal leverages its extensive infrastructure to make the most of Zettle. In addition to processing credit and debit cards, you'll be able to process PayPal and Venmo transactions by scanning QR codes. Throw in inventory management, reports, and at-register discounts, and you have a well-rounded app that integrates with PayPal's longstanding features, such as invoicing, same-day funding, and recurring billing.
Overall, we think PayPal Zettle is a great value for the average mobile merchant. With no monthly fee and a transaction fee that isn't too expensive for either small- or high-value transactions, it can accommodate a wide variety of circumstances.
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Pricing Range
$0 - $69/month with custom plans availableOnline Ordering
YesEquipment Cost
$0+ if you agree to a higher processing ratePros
Cons
Toast is an Android-based POS system built specifically for restaurants. While it's not the cheapest way to process mobile transactions by any means, we do believe the highly honed feature set is a good fit for full service restaurants that want to bill at the table.
Toast provides a comprehensive, industry-focused toolset that can scale to restaurants of just about any size and accommodate online and delivery orders as well as in-house transactions. Getting "free" processing equipment with a Pay-As-You-Go plan is a nice perk for new restaurants that may not have a lot of spare cash to throw around. (However, businesses on the free plan will pay higher transaction fees.)
Pros
Cons
Mobile processing is typically a low-volume transaction solution, but if your business happens to process a lot of transactions and some or all of these are mobile transactions, you probably want a solution that offers interchange-plus pricing.
Enter Helcim, a mobile-friendly processor that offers high-volume discounts and an extremely versatile app. Best of all, there's no monthly fee for using it, so you'll only pay fees when you process a transaction. We also love that the more transactions you process, the lower your per-transaction cost will be. Just be prepared to pay a little more upfront in hardware costs. While the Helcim card reader is a great piece of hardware, it's substantially more expensive than the other entry point mobile readers on our list.
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
There are far more credit card processing apps than the ones we’ve covered above. Let’s look at two apps that didn’t quite make our list.
To accept credit card payments on your phone, you’ll need to open an account with a payment processor that supports your device. After you’ve done this, you can accept credit card payments on your phone. To process transactions as card-present transactions (tapped, dipped, or swiped) you’ll need a mobile card reader, ideally a NFC-capable device.
Mobile card readers are increasingly unnecessary for mobile payments, though be aware that transaction fees may be higher if you don’t use one. Other ways to process payments on your phone include:
While mobile credit card readers are no longer a requirement for cost-effective mobile credit processing, they are still often the best solution for secure, high-volume transactions. It’s also the interface that asks the least of your prospective customers. They can simply present their credit or debit card to be dipped, swiped, or tapped.
Our guide to credit card readers can get you started. If you have a favored device, you can easily find a credit card reader for iPhone or a credit card reader for Android.
Mobile credit card readers generally add upfront costs in exchange for security and convenience. As you might expect, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world of mobile credit card processing. With some rare exceptions, like Square’s free magstripe reader (and you’ll only get one), getting “free” hardware usually means locking yourself into long-term contracts.
If you’re looking to minimize mobile hardware costs, our guide to free card readers can help.
Credit card processing apps can make it easy to take non-cash payments without a complicated hardware setup. When looking for the best credit card processing companies, take stock of your needs, budget, transaction volume, and even how you physically take transactions at POS.
When choosing a credit card payment app, you’ll want to consider several factors:
The best credit card payment processing app will be the one that makes your life easier and increases your sales.
Looking for a more stationary setup? Check out our list of the best POS systems for small business.
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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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