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.
There are so many processing companies, they all seem to be doing more or less the same thing, and they all have both glowing testimonials and terrible complaints. How are you supposed to choose the best company under these circumstances? Who can you trust? Read on to find out.
While merchant account fees are definitely irritating (and expensive!), they're often an inevitable cost of doing business. Even if you sign up with a payment service provider like Square that doesn't charge monthly fees, you'll still be paying the costs associated with maintaining your account in the form of higher transaction processing rates.
Credit card surcharging has rapidly gained in popularity in recent years as court decisions, and legislative changes have gradually removed legal barriers to the practice. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated this trend. Nonetheless, the question remains: Should you add a surcharge?
There's a lot to love about Helcim. What we love is that you won't have to worry about the bait-and-switch tactics and long-term, binding contracts that plague the industry. Helcim distinguishes itself from many other providers by offering no binding contracts, exclusive interchange-plus pricing, consistently good customer service, and low account fees.
Choosing a high-risk merchant account provider isn’t the same as working with other payment processors. You can expect different pricing and contract terms — but you shouldn’t compromise on customer service. Here are six great providers that offer great service, fair pricing, and reasonable contracts for small businesses.
If you plan to rely on ACH transfers for a significant portion of your sales, we recommend getting an ACH processing account through your regular merchant services provider. Most providers offer ACH processing as an optional paid feature, although there are a few high-quality credit card processors that will include it for free.
With its bespoke approach to credit card processing, Corepay can offer specialized services to many high-risk businesses that might otherwise struggle to get approved for an account at all. Corepay’s emphasis on eCommerce makes it a particularly good choice for online-only businesses.
Overall, Clearly Payments receives a score of 4.5 out of 5 stars. We strongly recommend the company for larger businesses that need a full-service merchant account and can benefit from the company’s pricing structure. For a look at other great choices in payment processors for Canadian merchants, check out our article on the best merchant accounts for Canadian small businesses.
Both Stripe and Shopify Payments are excellent choices for a multichannel business, but both providers offer several unique features that will make one a better choice than the other for businesses that need those features. Stripe is generally less expensive overall due to the lack of a monthly subscription fee for a basic account.
In this article, we’ll compare Helcim and Square feature-by-feature, showing you the benefits and drawbacks of each provider and explaining where each company excels and where it falls short.
Both a woman-owned and veteran-owned business, Gregg and Katie DuFort are examples of a successful COVID-pivot with their outdoor-based escape room business.
This article will explain what cash discount programs are, how they work, and how they differ from credit card surcharges. We’ll also go over the pros and cons of cash discounting to help you make a more informed decision about whether such a program is right for your business.
Shift4 Payments is a merchant services provider that has been around under various business names since 1997. While previously best known for its Shift4 payment gateway, today it offers a complete line of products and services for almost any retail or eCommerce business. But does it work for small businesses?
If you’re a small business owner trying to run an online business — and particularly if you don’t already have specialized coding knowledge — a hosted payment page is an excellent option that allows your customers to complete their purchases securely and conveniently.
A First Data contract can be hard to cancel right away. The main problem is that it has an early termination fee (ETF), which could get pretty hefty if you cancel at the wrong time. To pay less of the ETF, you might have to wait a few months. But there are other obstacles as well. In this article, we’ll explain how the cancellation process typically works. You’ll still have to read some of that contract, but we’ll help you find the relevant parts more quickly for quick lookups.
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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.
