Best Credit Card Processing Services for December 2024

You need a method to get paid when you run a small business. Credit-card processing services are financial products enabling businesses to collect payment via debit or credit card. Today, when many customers shop online and don’t carry cash in their wallets, finding an easy-to-use payment service is critical to your ability to sell to businesses and consumers alike.

To choose the best credit-card processing service for your business needs, it’s important to consider cost, features, and supported payment methods. Keep reading to learn about the best payment gateways for businesses seeking card-based payments.

Our recommendations

Best for simple online payments: Paypal

PayPal is a veteran in the online payments industry, making it easy for businesses to register and accept payments online quickly. PayPal also offers mobile and in-person payment solutions, among other financial services.

Online card payments typically cost $0.49 plus 3.49%. When paying through a QR code, costs drop to 1.90% for transacts above $10 or 2.40% for transactions of $10 or less, plus the $0.49 fee. Other qualifying “standard” card payments cost $0.49 plus 2.99%.

A major benefit of PayPal is that most businesses have no monthly recurring fee. In-person payments cost 2.70% for card-present or 3.50% plus $0.15 for keyed transactions. If you want to avoid recurring fees due to low card-processing volumes, or any other reason, PayPal may be a good fit.

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Best for mobile payments: Square

Square is a pioneer in mobile payments and noteworthy for not charging recurring monthly fees for most card processing services. If you buy a Square register or terminal, you’ll have to buy the hardware or pay a monthly fee until the device is paid off. But for payments, you only pay a per-transaction fee.

Card-present transactions, whether in-store or at a mobile location, cost 2.6% plus $0.10 per transaction. Online payments cost 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. Keyed-in transactions cost 3.5% plus $0.15. When you send an invoice to a customer through Square, related payments come with a 3.3% + $0.30 fee.

In addition to its mobile and in-person payment products, Square offers payroll, banking, inventory, restaurant management, retail inventory, and other software and solutions for nearly any industry.

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Best for monthly fee only: Payment Depot

If you don’t want to pay a percentage of every transaction, Payment Depot may be your best option. Payment Depot charges a flat monthly fee starting at $79 for unlimited payments up to $250,000 annually. According to Payment Depot, its fee structure saves businesses an average of $400 monthly in payment processing fees.

However, you’ll still have to pay interchange rates set by Visa and Mastercard. Those cost around 2% + $0.10 or $0.22 per transaction.

Payment Depot works with Clover terminals and other brands. Depending on your processing volumes, Payment Depot could be a good choice.

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Best for monthly subscription pricing: Stax Payments

Stax Payments also follows a subscription model rather than a larger fee per transaction. The subscription includes an impressive package of features and an intuitive dashboard to track and manage your payments. Costs are $99 per month for up to $250,000 in annual payments and $199 per month for up to $500,000 in annual payments. Beyond $500,000 in annual payments requires a custom price quote.

It works with a number of terminals, including Clover terminals, plus offers an API for integration with your website or mobile app. Stax Payments offers the ability to add surcharges to offset your payment processing fees. It also features a lending platform for businesses to access capital.

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Best for surcharge compliance: CardX

CardX is a payment processing platform focused on keeping costs low for merchants. The processor automatically adds a surcharge to your transactions to customer payments to offset what your business pays. That makes credit card processing completely free on a per-transaction basis, while debit cards cost 2.91%.

CardX charges a monthly fee starting at $29 for online payments and $35 for in-person payments. It’s highly focused on compliance and works in most states nationwide, with a few exceptions (most notably New York).

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Best for diverse payment methods: Paysafe

Paysafe is a diversified payments company with several brands under its umbrella, including international peer-to-peer payments app Skrill. It offers in-person and online payments. Paysafe offers extensive support for gaming companies among other industries. Using the interchange plus mode, merchants pay $0.10 and 0.30% to Paysafe, plus whatever interchange fees are required based on the payment method.

As a standout service, Paysafe facilitates far more than just card payments. It also supports foreign currencies, cryptocurrency, digital wallets, and other payment products. If you’re a business owner looking for a single payment vendor that can handle many types of payments, Paysafe could be a good option.

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Best major national bank provider: Chase Payment Solutions

Chase Payment Solutions is the merchant-services offering from Chase Bank, the largest bank in the United States. It offers a robust payment solution suitable for small businesses up to large enterprises. Chase makes it easy for small businesses to accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Apple Pay, and Google Pay networks.

There’s no monthly charge (outside of e-commerce) if you have payment deposited directly into a Chase business bank account, and payments may be available as soon as the same day. Standard pricing is:

Swipe/tap/dip: 2.6% + $0.10
Key-in: 3.5% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.25

Volume discounts are available for qualifying businesses.

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Best for high-risk merchants: Flow

Flow is a payment processor that offers services to a wide range of business types, including those that may struggle to find a payment provider elsewhere. Industries include traditionally cash-based businesses such as auctions, CBD and hemp products, and e-cigarette sellers, as well as high-risk loan businesses including debt services, loans and debt consolidation. Some businesses with sometimes murky regulations—including dietary supplements and adult products—are also supported.

While pricing isn’t transparent and is available only on a customized basis when you request a quote, Flow offers an easy-to-use online form and a toll-free number to get started. If you’ve struggled to find a provider willing to work with your business, Flow may be a good option to consider.

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Best for low rate guarantee: National Processing

National Processing offers “guaranteed lowest rates” to business processing at least $10,000 per month. Processing fees are 2.5% + $0.10 card present; 3.5% + $0.15 manual processing; 2.9% + $0.30 e-commerce; 2.41% + $0.10 advanced plan with a $9.95 per month for basic or $19.00+ per month for advanced monthly fee. The advanced plan costs depend on payment volumes and needs. You can get more customized pricing at $30,000 in monthly payment volume.

In addition to Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and Plaid support, National Processing offers integrations with third parties, including Quickbooks, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Ecwid, Zendesk, Shopify and others. Some businesses will qualify for free terminals. If you have equipment you already like, National Processing will reprogram with no extra fees.

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Best for B2B travel payments: PayParc

PayParc is a business-to-business (B2B) payment provider focused on the travel industry. It offers fast payment processing for businesses, including tourism companies, airlines, hotels, car rental companies, train operators, and ferry services.

Behind the scenes, PayParc goes beyond traditional payment processing with its digital wallet product. Because it doesn’t use traditional payment networks for most payments, it can offer near-instant processing at a low cost. If you’re a travel provider or a tour booking company, PayPac is an interesting payment option worth reviewing.

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Best for robust payment features: U.S. Bank Merchant Services

If you’re looking for a payment gateway that can handle any combination of online and offline sales, you may be interested in the merchant services offered by U.S. Bank. This bank is one of the largest in the United States, and offers a strong combination of banking and merchant services for businesses of all sizes.

For mobile payments, there’s no recurring software fee. Cafes, restaurants, retail, and other brick-and-mortar businesses can access packages ranging from $29 to $99 per month, plus $29 per month for additional payment terminals. Each plan has varying limits and features, so the best option depends on the size and type of business.

For card-present payments where the card is tapped, dipped, or swiped, the business pays Swipe/tap/dip: 2.6% + $0.10; Key-in: 3.5% + $0.15; Online: 2.9% + $0.30. If you mix and match online and offline sales, this robust offering is reasonably priced and works very well.

As a bonus for new businesses to U.S. Bank Merchant Services, if you open a new Platinum Business Money Market account and meet other account requirements, you’ll get 2.50% back on transaction fees through 2024.

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Best for online payments: Stripe

Stripe is a good choice for businesses with their own apps or existing websites wanting to integrate payment processing. Stripe features developer-friendly payment solutions that plug into many different marketplaces and online payment solutions using application program interfaces (APIs). If you use a sales platform optimized for Stripe, linking your app or website is as simple as copying and pasting a code from Stripe into your app.

The standard Stripe online payment processing service costs 2.9% plus $0.30 per payment with no recurring fees. High-volume sellers may qualify for discounts through customized pricing plans.

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Best for single-location businesses: Clover

Clover is a major payment processing service offered directly to businesses and through several banking partners. Citi, PNC, SunTrust, and Wells Fargo are among more than 3,000 financial institutions offering Clover.

This payment processor offers terminals that are great for small businesses with a single location, including retailers and restaurants. Clover payment systems are a major up-front investment. While some businesses can start without upfront costs, systems can cost as much as $2,000 to $4,000 for many others. Monthly fees range from $14.95 to $114.85.

Payment charges vary by industry. Most pay 2.3% to 2.6% plus $0.10 for card-present and 3.5% plus $0.10 for card-not-present purchases. Depending on the features you need, those costs may be worthwhile.

As of this writing, some businesses may qualify for up to $1,400 off from startup costs, a major savings on card processing hardware.

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Best for digital wallet integrations: Braintree

Owned by PayPal, Braintree is an integrated payment processor that works with credit cards, digital wallets, PayPal, and Venmo. It supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, and all major credit cards. It’s designed for website and mobile app payments.

Mobile wallet and card payments cost 2.59% plus $0.49 per transaction for standard payments. Payments processed through Venmo cost 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction. It also works with ACH (bank account) payments, with a 0.75% fee up to $5 per transaction. There is no recurring monthly fee.

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Best payment gateways compared

Our methodology

To choose the best credit card processing services for businesses, we reviewed providers focusing on pricing and fees, supported hardware and software, and other payment processing features.

As processing costs can take a large chunk of business profits, particularly businesses on a thin margin, pricing was a main focus area while reviewing. We also looked for processes that work with diverse industries and are easy to set up and work with. The largest and most popular processors generally took precedence over small, niche services.

How to choose the best credit-card processing service

​​Picking the right credit-card processing service is critical for any business. Here are steps you might consider when choosing the best for your needs:

• Assess business needs: The first step in picking a credit-card processing service is understanding your business requirements. Consider the types of transactions you expect (for example, one-time purchases, recurring subscriptions, etc.), your projected volume of transactions, the geographic locations of your customers, and the payment methods they prefer.
• Compare pricing: Credit-card processing services typically charge per-transaction fees and may also charge setup, monthly, or incidental fees. Compare the pricing structures of different providers to see which fit your budget and transaction patterns.
• Evaluate security: The credit-card processing service will handle sensitive customer information, so it's crucial that it follows best practices for data security. Look for a service that is payment-card industry (PCI) compliant and offers fraud protection measures. If your business deals with customers in the European Union, ensure that the credit-card processing service is also General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant.
• Check integrations and compatibility: Ensure that the credit-card processing service easily integrates with your existing platform or website. Many services offer plugins or APIs for popular ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, or WooCommerce, but it's important to confirm this. Consider how well the company’s setup integrates with your other systems, such as your accounting software.

TIME Stamp: Choose the right combination

Credit card processing services handle a critical task for your business, so it’s important to pick one that works well, is reasonably priced, keeps your data and customer data secure, and is available when you need customer support. When you take the time to pick the right credit-card processing service, or combination of processing services, for your unique business needs, you can confidently move forward knowing each card payment will go through without any trouble. That’s a win for you and your customers.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How do credit-card processing services work?

Credit-card processing services facilitate online transactions by securely transmitting information between a website or mobile application and the bank or payment processor. They encrypt sensitive data, like credit card numbers, to ensure that information passes securely between the customer, the merchant, and the bank.

Can credit-card processing services accept multiple currencies?

Accepting multiple currencies with a credit-card processing service allows businesses to offer a more localized shopping experience, enhancing customer satisfaction by letting them pay in their preferred currency. Depending on your business, selecting a credit-card processing service that supports multi-currency transactions is crucial, enabling your business to reach a global audience and increase sales.

Are there any transaction limits with credit-card processing services ?

Some credit-card processing services may impose transaction limits based on such factors as your business type, transaction volume, or perceived risk level, potentially limiting the amount a single customer can spend in a specific timeframe. However, these limits can often be increased or lifted entirely once the business establishes a history of reliable, secure transactions and builds trust with the credit-card processing service provider.