Best MOTO Merchant Accounts For Taking Payments Over The Phone

Helcim’s full set of merchant services comes standard with every unique merchant account it provides.

• Proprietary Helcim Virtual Terminal for taking MOTO payments
• Helcim Card Reader for taking mobile card-present payments
• Helcim Smart Terminal for taking mobile payments from a touchscreen device that runs POS software natively
• Free Helcim POS app
• International payment acceptance without currency conversion
• ACH/EFT processing
• Hosted online store
• Hosted payment pages
• Access to Helcim API should you need a custom payments solution

• Interchange + 0.50% + $0.25 for MOTO and other card-not-present transactions (volume discounts available)
• Interchange + 0.40% + $0.08/card-present transaction (volume discounts available)
• Helcim Card Reader — $99/unit
• Helcim Smart Terminal — $329/unit (or five monthly payments of $68 for US customers)
• No annual or monthly account fees
• No PCI compliance fees or monthly minimums

Helcim is great for many business types, but the company does not accept high-risk merchants. Also, those with low processing volumes will likely be able to find a cheaper processor.

You’ll get the following features with PaymentCloud no matter what back-end processor you’re matched with:

• A virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
• One free terminal per merchant account (it’s free so long as you immediately return it upon closing your account)
• Mobile payments and card readers
• Your choice of payment gateways
• ACH processing
• Online store integrations
• Cryptocurrency processing
• Customized application guidance

PaymentCloud currently provides no pricing information on its website for high-risk merchants. Ordinarily, we don’t like this practice, but high-risk processing rates are exceedingly variable and will differ from one merchant to the next, making it difficult to estimate what a typical merchant will end up paying.

We’re not fans of multi-year contracts and early termination fees (ETFs), and the low-risk payment processing industry has been moving away from these practices. However, high-risk merchants will likely have to agree to these terms, whether with PaymentCloud or with another high-risk merchant services provider. It’s worth asking if you can get your ETF waived or lowered, though.

High-risk merchants may also have to accept a tiered pricing scheme, which is unfortunate. However, it’s another way payment processors hedge against the risk of taking on high-risk clients.

• Full merchant accounts underwritten by Fiserv and TSYS
• QuickPay virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
• MX Merchant integrated payments platform + reporting system
• B2B payment processing
• Surcharging/cash discounting program available
• Mobile payments and card readers available
• ACH processing

Dharma advertises all of its standard rate and fee information on its website. For MOTO (virtual/eCommerce) rates, Dharma charges the following:

• $15 monthly fee
• Interchange + 0.20% + $0.11 per transaction (interchange + 0.30% + $0.11 per Amex transaction)
• Closure and chargeback fees disclosed on Dharma’s website

As mentioned, Dharma also offers discounted pricing for nonprofits:

• $12 monthly fee (Payment gateways are an additional $10/month + $0.05/transaction)
• Interchange + 0.10% + $0.11 per transaction (interchange + 0.20% + $0.11 per Amex transaction)

Rate discounts are also available to those processing over $100K/month or who process over 5,000 transactions per month.

Dharma’s pricing model isn’t a great fit for businesses processing under $10K/month. Thankfully, Dharma acknowledges this on its website. The company even recommends that newer, low-volume merchants consider Square and PayPal as they build their businesses and then consider “graduating” to a full merchant account provider like Dharma.

One of Square’s biggest selling points is that it offers such a vast array of features with your easily obtained account, most of which are free. As for Square’s Virtual Terminal, it comes free with every account, supports MOTO payments, and includes the following:

• Support for credit/debit cards, ACH transfers, and payment links
• Support for split transactions and BNPL financing
• Integrates with Square Dashboard
• Compatible with Square Terminal for in-person payments
• Square Virtual Terminal app available for Windows or Mac
• Square Charge digital payments app available for Macs (Windows app coming soon)

• No monthly fee for standard accounts
• $29/month for Square Plus (offers advanced features for restaurants, retail, and appointment-setting businesses)
• 3.5% + $0.15 per MOTO/keyed transaction
• 2.6% + $0.10 per card-present transaction
• 2.9% + $0.30 per online transaction
• Magstripe-only card reader — free
• Online store — free
• Contactless/chip reader — $59/unit ($49 for the older 1st generation model)
• Square Terminal — $299/unit ($27/month with financing)
• No incidental fees or monthly minimums

Square’s closest competitor in the third-party processing space is PayPal, which offers most of the same features Square offers. However, PayPal charges $30/month for its virtual terminal, skewing the Square vs PayPal debate in Square’s favor for MOTO merchants.

The account stability issues inherent to third-party processors are Square’s biggest drawback, though we must note that most Square users do not encounter these issues. Doing your due diligence will mean that you’ll be unlikely to face these issues; still, they bear thinking about.

Additionally, Square’s flat-rate pricing, while easy to understand, is relatively expensive once you’re processing over $10K/month, which is when you might think about switching to a provider of full merchant accounts.

• “Free” credit card terminal available if you accept a multi-year contract
• Offers ACH and eCheck processing as an add-on
• Offers mobile processing with a Clover Go card reader
• No long-term contract if processing hardware is purchased outright
• A virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
• Cash discounting program

For an eCommerce/MOTO-focused plan, National Processing charges as follows:

• $12/month account fee
• 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
• 3.5% + $0.15 per keyed-in transaction

National Processing now advertises flat-rate pricing on its website with rates similar to those of Square. This is disadvantageous to high-volume businesses, but NP does offer a premium package with custom pricing to businesses processing over $30/month, so you may still be able to get interchange-plus pricing.

National Processing doesn’t charge any account setup fees or annual fees.

Note that the above pricing pertains to low-risk businesses. National Processing does accommodate many high-risk business types, but high-risk businesses nearly always have to pay a premium for merchant services.

National Processing’s newly posted flat rates for processing are better suited to low-volume businesses than to higher-volume businesses. Thankfully, businesses processing over $30K/month can get custom pricing. If this is your business, remember to contact the company and ask if interchange-plus pricing is available.

• Credit card terminals available for purchase or for “free” if you pay a $79/year insurance fee
• Mobile payments and card readers
• Free payment gateway
• Free virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
• Recurring billing
• PastePay Cloud POS, CDGcommerce’s integrated POS
• High-risk merchant accounts available

Here’s what you’ll pay with CDGcommerce’s flat-rate starter plan:

• No monthly fee
• 3.5% + $0.30 per keyed-in/online transaction
• 2.9% + $0.30 per in-person transaction

Here’s what the interchange-plus plan will cost you:

• $19-$49 monthly fee
• Interchange + 0.30% + $0.15 per keyed-in/online transaction
• Interchange + 0.25% + $0.10 per in-person transaction

Lastly, here are the details of CDGcommerce’s membership pricing:

• $49-$199 monthly fee
• Interchange + $0.05 to $0.10 per transaction (separate rates for keyed-in transactions are not listed)

Note that while CDGcommerce does accept some high-risk businesses, it won’t accept as many high-risk business types as PaymentCloud.

Other than that, CDGcommerce has very few drawbacks. Just remember that the “free” credit card terminals aren’t entirely free and that you’ll have to pay that $79/year insurance fee.

Chase offers the following features for healthcare businesses:

• HIPAA-compliant payment processing
• Patient billing management
• Scheduling tools
• Integrates with InstaMed for online patient payments

You’ll also get:

• A virtual terminal for MOTO payments
• ACH payments
• Developer tools/API access
• Recurring billing

• No monthly fee (Starts at $10/month for interchange-plus pricing)
• 3.5% + $0.10 per keyed-in transaction
• 2.6% + $0.10 per card-present transaction
• 2.9% + $0.25 per eCommerce transaction

Interchange-plus pricing is available for larger businesses, but you’ll have to contact Chase for pricing details.

Note that while you won’t need to sign a long-term contract to use Chase as your payment processor if you accept “free” equipment, you may well have to agree to a multi-year contract.