Merchant services provide businesses with the ability to process credit and debit card payments from customers. They use payment technology to securely transmit your customer’s card info to payment networks and then they transfer funds into your bank account.
Many of the best merchant services go beyond payment processing and also include point-of-sale features like inventory management, loyalty programs, multi-location support, analytics & reporting, and marketing tools to help you run your business.
To find the best merchant services we reviewed dozens of payment providers, eliminating many, while focusing on important factors including:
- Rates & Fees: Low rates and processing fees are most important.
- Contracts: Providers that offer flexible contracts without long-term commitments are best.
- Hardware Options: Support for in-person, mobile, online, and invoicing for maximum flexibility.
- Integrations: Merchant services that integrate with bookkeeping software and online checkout systems.
- Customer Support: Knowledgeable and friendly customer service staff that is available to assist when needed.
Best Merchant Services for Payment Processing
1. Stax
Stax Payments is designed to make payment processing easier and more cost-effective for small businesses. They are our top pick because of their no markup flat-rate subscription pricing for small business owners processing up to $500k annually.
Stax allows businesses to accept payments from customers with all major credit cards, debit cards, NFC, Apple Pay and Google Pay. They also have options to accept payment via invoice, subscription, and ACH.
Stax has a team of about 300 people, mostly based in Orlando, Fl.
Best Features
Our favorite feature of Stax is that they offer same-day funding, including on holidays and weekends. Most other merchant services take 2-3 days to receive payment.
Additional features of Stax include:
- Store cards on file (Pro & Ultimate plans)
- Custom branding
- Terminal protection
- Digital gift cards
Hardware Options
Stax is compatible with a wide variety of modern hardware from Clover, Dejavoo, First Data, and Ingenico. The terminals should be able to cover any use case from stand-alone or semi-integrated to mobile contactless.
Clover Station Duo
Dejavoo QD Series
View all Stax Equipment.
Stax Integrations
Integrations are important to enable automations, sync’ing Stax connects with many popular apps including:
- HubSpot
- WordPress
- Calendly
- QuickBooks® Two-Way Sync
- Asana
- Microsoft Teams
- Slack
- Zapier
View all Stax Integrations.
Customer Support
Stax has a US-based dedicated customer support team that can be reached by phone, chat, and email.
Technical support for Stax is available 24/7 through an online ticketing system. Just enter your merchant ID, choose a support category, and fill in relevant details about your question (including adding files and/or screenshots). Then the Stax team will follow up with you to help with a resolution.
Stax also has a self-service online knowledge base with detailed support articles covering everything from interchange optimization to terminals with multi-merchant capability.
Stax Processing Fees
Instead of adding a markup on the interchange rate charged by credit card companies, Stax charges a monthly subscription fee and a processing fee. This pricing model may be more cost-effective for some businesses, as their monthly savings from the lower interchange rates could offset the subscription cost.
| Transaction Type | Processing Fee |
|---|---|
| In-person credit card, NFC, Apple Pay, Google Pay | IC + 8¢ |
| Online, card not present, keyed-in | IC + 15¢ |
* IC (Interchange Fee)
2. Dharma Merchant Services
Dharma Merchant Services offers a full-service payment solution and was founded on the principle that business can be a force for good. They aim to reduce frustration by using simple pricing and being up front about their practices. Happy merchants make for a happy workplace.
Dharma Merchant Services provides the most value for merchants that process at least $10,000 per month. If you process less, you are probably better off using a provider with no monthly fees like Stripe or PayPal.
After submitting all the required documentation, new merchant accounts with Dharma normally take 2 to 3 business days to get setup. They can also rush the approval process to complete it in one day.
Best Features
The best features of Dharma are their fully transparent policies and fair pricing. All accounts also come with free access to MX Merchant which includes a full set of tools to help you handle all types of payments and reporting.
MX Merchant Features
- Virtual terminal
- Online reporting
- Mobile processing
- Online payment links
- Customer database
- Credit card storage
Hardware Options
Verifone Engage V200c
Clover Mini
View all Dharma terminal options.
Integrations
Since Dharma Merchant Services is a payment provider and not a POS system, they don’t have many integrations with third party software. They do integrate with many POS systems which will greatly expand your capability for integrations.
Supported POS Systems
- Aloha
- Breadcrumb
- Lavu POS
- Micros
- NCR Silver
- Revel
- Shopkeep
View all Dharma supported POS systems.
Customer Support
Dharma Merchant Services provides dedicated customer support including detailed assistance with complex integrations and troubleshooting.
Hundreds of online reviews mention fair pricing, great service, and professionalism. After hours of research, we are confident Dharma is one of the best options.
During our research, Dharma’s customer service team picked up the phone quickly and was always friendly.
Dharma Merchant Services Fees
Dharma has a fee of $25 per month. Their pricing is interchange-plus based on the transaction types listed below.
| Transaction Type | Processing Fee |
|---|---|
| Retail / Card Present (Visa/MC/Discover) | IC + 0.15% + 8¢ |
| Retail / Card Present (Amex) | IC + 0.25% + 8¢ |
| Online / Card Not Present (Visa/MC/Discover) | IC + 0.2% + 11¢ |
| Online / Card Not Present (Amex) | IC + 0.3% + 11¢ |
| Chargebacks | $25 |
For non-profits and high-volume businesses (processing over $100,000 per month or over 5,000 transactions), Dharma Merchant Services has special pricing with rates as low as interchange + 0.1% + 8¢.
Dharma also has no long-term contracts, no monthly minimums, no cancellation fees, no startup fees, and no hidden fees.
3. Helcim
Helcim is a no-fee all-in-one merchant service similar to Square, but uses transparent interchange plus pricing. With interchange plus pricing, Helcim passes the interchange fees from card networks to merchants, along with an additional fee. This type of pricing give you more control over your costs and makes it possible to understand the fees associated with each transaction.
Sign up with Helcim is free, then you’ll have access to a range of services such as credit and debit card processing, eCommerce solutions, point-of-sale (POS) solutions, mobile payments, and more. They offer competitive fees and no long-term contracts.
Helcim offers discounts for merchants processing $25k or more each month. As your business grows, you can qualify for lower rates and pricing tiers.
Best Features
Helcim offers a range of features and tools to help manage your business, including customer insights, analytics, fraud protection, and more.
- Interchange plus pricing
- Invoicing
- Subscriptions & recurring payments
- Virtual terminal
- Card vault
- SMS payments
- Payment links
- Point-of-Sale system
Feature for Trust Accounts
Helcim allows businesses like law firms requiring separate trust and operating bank accounts to configure deposits and fees go into the correct accounts.
Helcim Hardware
Helcim Card Reader
Lightweight Thermal Printer
Helcim is also planning to launch a new standalone terminal option later this year that combines POS features, inventory management, a card reader, and a thermal printer in a single device.
Integrations
Helcim offers some integrations, but not as many as other providers.
- QuickBooks
- Xero
- Magento
- WooCommerce
- Foxy.io
- Great Exposure
View all Helcim integrations.
Customer Support
Helcim support is available by phone or email 24/7. Each time we called for research and fact checking, we were greeted by friendly team members.
They also have an online learning center covering account management, fraud prevention, and creating invoices.
Helcim Processing Fees
Helcim pricing is based on Interchange Plus and they are known for being fair and transparent with their fees and pricing. They have no monthly fee, no setup fees, no cancellation fees, no deposit fees, no PCI fees… you get the idea.
| Transaction Type | Processing Fee |
|---|---|
| In-person credit card, NFC, Apple Pay, Google Pay | IC + 0.3% + 15¢ |
| Online, card not present, keyed-in | IC + 0.5% + 25¢ |
| ACH and EFT | 0.5% + 25¢ |
| Chargeback (refunded if you win the dispute) | $15 |
Helcim offers reduced rates for high-volume merchants. Discounts kick in at $25k per month and get progressively more affordable as you scale up to $5M+ each month (IC + 0.1% + 5¢).
4. National Processing
National Processing a a top-rated payment processor based in Orem, UT that’s been in business since 2008. Their financing department is known to be flexible and helpful in getting competitive rates, however they do require contracts.
Along with getting some of the lowest interchange-plus rate, National Processing lets you process payments in person, online, or via mobile devices.
Best Features
- Low rates
- Virtual terminal
- ACH processing
- Fraud prevention
- Chargeback prevention
- API integration
- Accepts high-risk merchants
Hardware Options
National Processing primarily relies on Clover hardware, but also works with other vendors like SwipeSimple and Dejavoo.
POS System
Smart Terminal
View all National Processing hardware options.
Integrations
National Processing has native integrations with many popular platforms and CRM systems. They also have APIs and can help build custom integrations.
- QuickBooks
- WooCommerce
- WordPress
- BigCommerce
- Ecwid
- Zendesk
- Shopify
- Opencart
View all National Processing integrations.
Customer Support
Tech support is