The Best Merchant Account Comparison of 2022

Wednesday, June 8th, 2022

Whether you accept customers’ credit card payments in person or online, it’s important to be able to accept every payment type. Customers today expect to have an exceptional experience with every brand they choose, and that experience includes payment processing services.

In truth, payment processing plays a huge role in a customer’s satisfaction, loyalty, and the likelihood of referral. If a customer is disappointed with the checkout process they may choose to forgo a purchase. If they’re trying to make a purchase with you online and you don’t accept their payment type of choice, you may experience increased cart abandonment and lost sales. 

Having the best payment processing services and merchant provider is essential. To ensure you can offer what your customers want, you need a merchant services provider that understands your business type and industry. You also need a payment processing company that has transparent pricing, competitive rates, and reasonable contracts.

To help you partner with the right provider, we’ve compiled our recommendations for the best merchant services providers for different business types below:

Helcim

The best overall option is Helcim. This provider offers transparent pricing, volume discounts, low processing fees, and a free virtual terminal. Its lack of monthly fees, no contract, or cancellation fees are also a big reason why they’ve topped our list. Possible disadvantages include no free card reader and customer support is not available 24/7.

Square

Square wins the award for best flat-rate option. This pricing model charges 2.6% plus 10 cents per in-person transaction, and 3.5% plus 15 cents per keyed transaction. Online transactions are 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. In addition to accommodating all types of credit card transactions, it involves no monthly fees, low transaction rates, and a free virtual terminal. However, 24/7 support is not available.

Dharma

Specializing in helping e-commerce businesses, Dharma has one of the lowest rates for card-not-present transactions on the market today. Unlike other payment processing companies, Dharma does provide 24-hour helplines. They also offer volume discounts that benefit restaurant owners, and funding is guaranteed in two business days.

PaymentCloud

Finding payment processing is always a challenge for businesses lumped into the “high risk” category. PaymentCloud has stepped in to offer services for high-risk industries (they also work with low and medium-risk businesses). With their services, merchants also gain chargeback prevention tools and 24/7 customer support.

If you’re searching for the right merchant services for your business, be sure to complete a thorough merchant account comparison. Make sure you compare each provider, their fees, contracts, support, and other services.