Wave Payments Review

Wave is known for its accounting software, but it also offers integrated credit card processing. Is it a good choice for your business?

WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Shannon Vissers
Expert Contributor

Last updated onUpdated July 19, 2026

REVIEWED BY

Editor & Senior Staff Writer

Our content reflects the editorial opinions of our experts. While our site makes money through , we only partner with companies that meet our standards for quality, as outlined in our independent .

Wave Payments

Visit Site

Total Rating	4.5
Fees & Rates4.7
Products & Services3.4
Contract5.0
Sales & Advertising Transparency5.0
Customer Service4.2
User Reviews3.1

Wave Payments At A Glance

Easy-to-use payments platform
Best for self-employed and small businesses to accept online payments
Free and paid plans available

Payment service provider (PSP) model can result in account instability

No in-person processing available

Hide

Pros

Transparent flat-rate pricing
Month-to-month contract with no monthly minimum
Free Starter plan with unlimited invoicing
Integrated accounting, invoicing, and online payments
Ideal for low-volume freelancers & independent contractors

Cons

No card reader or in-person payment processing
No phone support
Mixed customer reviews

Table of Contents

What Is Wave Payments?
Products & Services
Fees & Rates
Sales & Advertising Transparency
Contract Length & Early Termination Fee
Customer Service & Technical Support
User Reviews
Final Verdict Of Wave Payments

What Is Wave Payments?

Wave Payments is an online payment processing service built into Wave’s accounting and invoicing platform. It’s designed primarily for freelancers, independent contractors, and small service businesses in the US and Canada.

Businesses can add an online payment option to Wave invoices, allowing customers to pay remotely by credit or debit card, Apple Pay, ACH bank transfer in the US, or EFT bank transfer in Canada.

Wave does not support card-present payments or offer credit card readers, so it’s best suited to businesses that primarily bill customers through invoices.

Products & Services

Products & Services3.4
Software & Services 4.3
Hardware & Equipment 2.4

Wave’s payment features are limited compared to those of full-service payment processors. Wave does not offer a card reader, countertop terminal, or other way to accept card-present payments.

However, freelancers and small service businesses that primarily get paid through invoices may find that Wave provides all the essential payment tools they need, especially when paired with its built-in accounting software.

Credit Card Processing

When you opt in to Wave Payments, you can attach a “Pay Now” button to your emailed invoices. Customers can pay with any major credit card and Apple Pay.

Credit card payments generally take two business days to process for US businesses and one business day for Canadian businesses. Eligible merchants may also be able to use Wave’s Instant Payout option for an additional fee.

Bank Transfers

Your customers can also use the “Pay Now” button to make an ACH (bank transfer) payment or an EFT payment if they’re in Canada.

ACH payments generally take two to seven business days to process in the US, while EFT payments generally take one to six business days in Canada.

Recurring Payments

Wave users with the Pro plan or online payments feature can set up recurring billing and automatically charge repeat customers.

You can customize recurring invoice schedules and automatically charge a customer’s saved payment method. Wave can also send invoices and receipts automatically.

Wave Accounting Integration

As you might expect, Wave Payments integrates fully with Wave Accounting.

You can learn more about Wave’s bookkeeping and invoicing features in our Wave Accounting review.

Wave Mobile App

Wave offers mobile apps for iOS and Android that allow you to create and send invoices, manage customers, track payments, and access eligible Instant Payouts.

Third-Party Software Integrations

Wave connects with third-party business software through integrations and automation platforms such as Make and Zapier. These connections can automate tasks such as creating customer records, sending invoice alerts, and transferring information between Wave and other applications.

Some partner integrations and Make connections require a Wave Pro or Wave Advisors subscription.

Fees & Rates

Fees & Rates4.7
Pricing 5.0
Affordability 4.4

Wave’s fees and rates are fully in line with industry averages, though you will need to purchase a paid plan and add-ons in order to unlock all features. The paid Pro plan also waives the fixed portion of the processing fee for the first ten card transactions during each monthly subscription period.

Pricing Overview

Item	Value
Pricing Starts At	$0/month
Contract Length	Month-to-month
Processing Model	Flat-rate
Card-present Transaction Fee	N/A
eCommerce Transaction Fee	2.9% + $0.60 (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex); On Pro plan, first 10 transactions per month are 2.9% (3.4% for Amex)
Keyed-in Transaction Fee	2.9% + $0.60 (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex); On Pro plan, first 10 transactions per month are 2.9% (3.4% for Amex)
Equipment Cost	N/A

Monthly Plans

Wave Payments Plans	Price	When To Use
Starter	$0/month	If your business needs only basic invoicing, accounting, and payment processing services.
Pro	$19/month (or $190/year)	If your business needs additional invoicing, accounting, and payment processing features.

Extra Costs

Wave Payments Extra Costs	Price
Upload Receipts	$8/month (or $72/year) with Starter Plan; $0 with Pro Plan
Payroll	$20+/month
Wave Advisor (Personalized bookkeeping services)	$149+/month
ACH/ETF Transfers:	1% of the transferred amount (minimum fee of $1)
Instant Payouts	1% of the transferred amount (minimum fee of $1)
Chargebacks	$15 per chargeback
Late Payment Fee	$25 per late payment

To learn more about Wave’s Payroll add-on, please check out our Wave Payroll review.

Wave Pricing vs. Square & PayPal

Square and PayPal offer competing invoicing and online payment processing services, also with “freemium” plans that charge no monthly fee for basic features. Payment processing fees for these three vendors are all pretty similar, but there are some differences.

Wave’s standard transaction fees on the free Starter plan are lower than those you’ll pay on the free Square Invoices plan. However, the PayPal Invoicing transaction fee is slightly lower than Wave’s.

Also, notably, Wave charges higher fees on Amex transactions, whereas Square and PayPal do not.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

Sales & Advertising Transparency5.0
Sales Practices 5.0
Web Presence 5.0

Wave has pretty excellent sales and advertising transparency. The Terms of Service on Wave’s website features a “translation” of the legalese into plain, friendly language, making it easy to decipher just what you can expect and what’s expected of you as a Wave merchant.

Contract Length & Early Termination Fee

Contract5.0
Commitment 5.0
ETF & Other Fees 5.0

All Wave contracts are month-to-month with no early termination fee. You can cancel your account at any time without penalty.

Customer Service & Technical Support

Customer Service4.2
Personal Support 3.8
Self-Service 4.6

Wave offers multiple customer support options to its Wave Payments users, including live chat and email support during business hours, as well as a detailed Help Center and chatbot you can access to answer any questions that arise after hours.

Wave does not offer general phone support. However, users may have access to limited telephone assistance for specific payment or statement-related issues.

Wave Payments Customer Service	Availability
Phone Support
Email Support
Support Tickets
Live Chat
Dedicated Support Representative
Knowledge Base or Help Center
Videos & Tutorials
Company Blog
Social Media

User Reviews

User Reviews3.1
Customer Feedback 4.0
Review Site Aggregate 2.8

User reviews for Wave are rather mixed, and it can be difficult to separate complaints and praise of Wave Payments from those regarding Wave Accounting.

On TrustPilot, Wave has a rating of 3.6/5 (based on 500+ reviews). On GetApp, Wave earns an impressive 4.4/5 stars (based on 1,700+ reviews) and a 4.3/5 on G2 (based on 320+ reviews).

Negative Reviews & Complaints

The most common complaints include:

Unexpected account closures
Slow response times from customer support
Bank syncing issues
Must upgrade to paid Pro plan to access all features

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

While many of Wave’s positive reviews are about its accounting software rather than its payment processing services, most software users do seem to use Wave’s payment processing. Wave is commonly praised for:

Free plan
User-friendly
Great for solopreneurs
Useful reports

Final Verdict Of Wave Payments

Wave is best suited to low-risk, lower-volume freelancers and service businesses that primarily collect payments through invoices and do not need in-person payment processing. Existing Wave users and freelancers who already use its accounting and invoicing tools may also appreciate the convenience of keeping payment processing within the same platform.

However, if you have a high-risk business or a larger business with a high volume of transactions, there are better options out there for getting paid online.

Something to keep in mind is that even if you are approved for a Wave processing account, your account could get frozen or even shut down if Wave’s fraud detection system deems a transaction suspicious. A traditional merchant account generally completes more extensive underwriting before approval, which may provide greater account stability. However, merchant accounts can still be restricted or terminated if a business violates its agreement or experiences unusual transaction activity.

To evaluate more payment processing options that offer online invoice payments, head over to our list of the best payment processing companies.

Bio
Twitter
LinkedIn
Latest Posts

Shannon Vissers

Expert Contributor at Merchant Maverick

Shannon has been writing for Merchant Maverick about small business software and financing since 2015. She started writing professionally about business topics in 2005. Shannon has been featured in the Washington Post, Reader's Digest, US News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and other publications. She has a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University and currently resides in San Diego, California.