💳 Save money on credit card processing with one of our top 5 picks for 2025
When it comes to instant processing, there is no magic bullet--but some credit card processors can move more quickly than others.
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Accepting credit card payments is key to survival for restaurants, retailers, and many other businesses. Whether you are opening a brand-new business or you have an established business but need a new merchant account, same-day merchant account approval means you can accept credit card payments online instantly—or at least within minutes.
However, there are some downsides to instant merchant account approval. Keep reading to learn what you need to know before applying for an instant merchant account and find out the best credit card processing companies for small businesses that offer same-day approval or approval in about a day.
Learn More About Our Top Picks
| Company | Summary | Next StepsSummary |
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Stax
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Show Deal |
Wave Payments
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Stripe Payments
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Square
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Show Deal |
Payment Nerds
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Helcim
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PayPal
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| Show Fewer Options |
Read more below to learn why we chose these options.
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Table of Contents
With a traditional merchant account provider, risk assessment is done upfront. You have to submit documents and be subject to credit checks, but your ability to take payment cards is less likely to be interrupted later. This due diligence takes time, which translates to no instant approval—typically it takes three to six business days to be approved for a merchant account.
In contrast, with so-called “instant merchant accounts,” you can open an account, start taking payments, and transfer funds to your bank account, all in the same business day. However, third-party processors, which tend to make up the bulk of providers that offer fast approval, come with some trade-offs.
Third-party processors (also called payment service providers or PSPs) typically assess that risk after you’ve signed up and have started to take payment cards. This allows them to approve your account quickly, which makes them a convenient credit card processing option for startups. Unfortunately, your business’s ability to process payment cards might be interrupted later after the processor has assessed the risk of doing business with you.
You might be required to establish a rolling reserve account with the processor and deal with account holds or terminations. That’s not to say that every merchant who uses these services will have a problem, but almost any merchant could run into trouble.
If you have determined you want a same-day merchant account despite the potential risks, keep reading.
Below are the best payment processing companies that offer same-day approval, as well as fast funding with same-day or next-day deposits. Some are top-rated third-party processors suitable for low-risk businesses, though we also included a few traditional merchant account options that offer same-day approval.
| Same-day approval | Accepts high-risk businesses | Contract | Third-party or merchant acccount | Processing model | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stax | Sometimes | Month-to-month | Merchant account | Membership | |
| Wave Payments | Month-to-month | Third-party | Flat-rate | ||
| Stripe Payments | Month-to-month | Third-party | Flat-rate | ||
| Square | Month-to-month | Third-party | Flat-rate | ||
| Payment Nerds | Sometimes | Month-to-month | Merchant account | Flat-rate | |
| Helcim | Sometimes | Month-to-month | Merchant account | Interchange-plus | |
| PayPal | Month-to-month | Third-party | Flat-rate |
Exclusive Promo: Get your first month free with Stax. Learn More
Pros
Cons
Stax offers businesses a true dedicated merchant account with speedy approval, and while approvals aren't quite as fast as a third-party processor (Stax typically takes about 24-48 hours to approve accounts from the time of application), Stax provides more account stability than you will get from PSP like Square. Additionally, Stax's membership pricing model is simple to understand and offers considerable savings for midsize and higher-volume businesses processing at least $10,000/month.
In addition to its quick, easy approval process and simple, affordable processing rates, yet another thing to like about Stax is that it's equally suitable for eCommerce businesses as it is for brick-and-mortar stores. Stax also offers strong features for mobile, B2B, and subscription-based businesses.
Pros
Cons
Wave offers flat-rate credit card processing as an integrated feature for its suite of accounting tools. Wave Payments will appeal to a relatively narrow market segment, specifically businesses using Wave accounting software, a great product for independent contractors whose customers pay with digital invoices.
While not as fully featured as many other services offering flat-rate credit card transactions, Wave Payments does offer fast approvals and instant payouts. You can withdraw any amount so long as it's greater than $25 at the cost of 1% of the amount transferred, and funds are usually available within 30 minutes.
Get Started With Wave Payments
Pros
Cons
Stripe is a payment gateway focused on eCommerce transactions. Like other third-party processors, Stripe's approval process is fast and relatively easy, making it a good option for businesses that need to be up and running quickly. As with Square, you can get set up your Stripe account to start accepting payments online in minutes.
While account activation is fast, Stripe does do some risk mitigation upfront. New accounts should know there's a seven-day delay in receiving your first deposit---or longer for high-risk merchants.
Get Started With Stripe Payments
Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.
Pros
Cons
Square is a third-party processor and comprehensive payment ecosystem that allows new businesses to accept credit card payments without a merchant account. Though established businesses can also use Square, Square has a basic and intuitive setup designed to quickly onboard new businesses, including freelancers and budding entrepreneurs who have never accepted credit card payments before.
Merchants can set up a Square account online and start accepting payments within minutes. Immediately, you can use Square's virtual terminal to take credit card payments online, send customers invoices they can pay online, or use Tap to Pay to accept in-person contactless payments with just your smartphone (you can also order Square POS hardware through the mail, though that will take a little longer).
Pros
Cons
Payment Nerds is a newer merchant account provider from the founder of Payment Cloud, another favorite processor of ours. Payment Nerds is unique in that it caters to businesses of all risk levels, and is exceptionally transparent with its pricing, even for high-risk businesses. What's even better is that there's no monthly fee or long-term contract.
Payment Nerds offers fast account approvals to all merchants, but approvals are even faster if your business has a great track record; Payment Nerds can potentially offer same-day approvals for established businesses with excellent credit and a lengthy time in business.
Startups are eligible, too; you'll just have to wait a little longer for approval. Payment Nerds' standard approval process typically takes 24-48 hours, which still makes them a pretty fast high-risk processor.
Get Started With Payment Nerds
Pros
Cons
Growing businesses looking for fast approval should consider Helcim, a provider with an interchange-plus pricing model that offers savings for mid-volume and higher-volume merchants (processing ~$10K+/month). Because there is no monthly fee or penalty for low volume, Helcim can also work for fast-growing new businesses that haven't yet hit that processing threshold.
Helcim is also one of the few traditional merchant account providers offering approvals within 24 hours or less.
If you also need to quickly transfer funds to your bank account, Helcim offers next-business-day deposits as standard for $10/month, which is different from many other processors.
Pros
Cons
PayPal is a breeze to get started with, allowing you to apply for an account and start accepting payments right away---either online or in person using the PayPal Zettle app. PayPal is a bit more expensive than its third-party processor competitors, but this processor offers near-instant access to your money from credit card payments. By default, funds are available in your PayPal account almost as soon as the transaction is complete.
You can spend the money online anywhere that PayPal is accepted, and if you have a PayPal debit card, you can spend your money anywhere that accepts Mastercard. You can also initiate an instant deposit to your bank account for an additional fee.
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
Account approval and funding are not the same thing.
Being instantly approved/signed up to take payment card sales does not mean you will instantly receive the money from your first credit/debit card sale.
Getting the money from your payment card sales mostly involves the mechanics of bank-to-bank money transfers, though your risk profile may also be taken into account when it comes to how long it will take you to receive the funds from your first sale. Some processors can provide instant or same-day funding for an additional fee, such as 1.5% of the amount being transferred, while next-day funding may be offered as standard.
Getting a same-day merchant account approval requires using merchant services with an expedited vetting process. This usually means going through a third-party processor, such as Square, Stripe, or PayPal. Just be aware that if you go this route, you’re not getting your own merchant account but are instead being aggregated into a large pool of merchants.
While third-party processors can be an excellent option for low-risk businesses, high-risk businesses won’t be able to use them. You should also be aware of the account stability issues that tend to plague third-party processors. Likewise, merchant services that offer expedited approval will usually only do so for low-risk businesses.
Learn more about instant merchant accounts for high-risk businesses.
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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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