TOP 15

PAYMENT PROCESSING

COMPANIES

Payment processing companies are virtually everywhere. If you own whether a brick and mortar or an eCommerce store, you know that your website needs a payment processor to become a fully-functioning, money-making machine. But how, exactly, do you pick your business partner? Do you know which ones are the most secure, reliable, and better performing?

To help you decide, our experts listed their top 15 best payment processing services picks that impressed us in terms of performance,security, PCI compliance, and distinctive features. These options are the ones who can give you a seamless experience, whether you’re an online entrepreneur, freelancer, or a consumer who loves shopping online.

1. CloudBanking
2. WePay
3. Stripe
4. Due
5. Square
6. Authorize.net
7. SecurePay
8. 2Checkout
9. CardConnect
10. PaySimple
11. Flagship Merchant Services
12. Fattmerchant
13. Fiserv
14. Payline
15. Dharma Merchant Services

BEST PICKS

BEST FOR SMALL BUSINESS OVERALL

FLEXIBLE TERMS

BEST FOR GLOBAL SALE

BEST POINT OF SALE INTEGRATION

COMPARE OUR PICKS

Company	Transparent Pricing	Pricing Model	Monthly Fees	Contract Length	24/7 Phone Support
CloudBanking	Yes	Flat rate / Interchange	No	Pay as you go	No
WePay	No	Flat rate	No	Pay as you go	No
Stripe	Yes	Flat rate	Yes	Pay as you go	Yes
Due	No	Flat rate	Yes	Month to month	No
Square	Yes	Flat rate	No	Pay as you go	No
Authorize.net	Yes	Flat rate	Yes	Pay as you go	Yes
SecurePay	Yes	Flat rate	No	Pay as you go	No
2CheckOut	Yes	Flat rate / Interchange	Yes	Month to month	Yes
CardConnect	No	Flat rate / Interchange	Yes	Month to month	No
PaySimple	Yes	Flat rate	Yes	Pay as you go	No
Flagship Merchant Service	Yes	Flat rate	Yes	Month to month	Yes
Fattmerchant	Yes	Flat rate	Yes	Month to month	Yes
Payline	Yes	Flat rate / Interchange	Yes	Pay as you go	No
Dharma Merchant Services	Yes	Flat rate / Interchange	Yes	Pay as you go	No

OUR REVIEWS

1. CloudBanking

CloudBanking may be new in the industry, but it has earned a good reputation for being an innovative end-to-end cashflow solution provider. It has everything you need to process credit cards on- and off-line with low rates and offers a choice of interchange-plus or tiered pricing plans. Plus, it also has features like recurring billing, hosted checkout, fraud protection, and integration with the most popular accounting software. Further, you can set up automatic invoicing/email payment reminders and has a dashboard that tracks your accounts receivables.

HITS:

All-in-one payments system; has very responsive API
Best for businesses doing basic credit, debit, and ACH processing; affordable rates with no monthly minimums
Major accounting software integration feature (QuickBooks, MYOB)
More than just a payment processing platform. It also offers time tracking, project management, and customized online invoicing options
Accepts high-risk merchant accounts
Allows user to accept all major credit and debit cards on both desktop and mobile platforms
Feature a customizable or pre-built checkout form. The dashboard system can also save card details so returning customers can pay with just few clicks
No additional fees for setup, cancellation, and account maintenance

MISSES:

2. WePay

WePay is a payment processor that you can directly integrate into your website, which makes it somehow an extension of your brand. You can actually customize everything from it — checkout forms, confirmation emails, customer support emails, credit card statements, and mobile transactions. Plus, WePay offers on-the-go payment capability chip card reader, mobile SDKs, and fulfillment service. This feature gives you the capability to embed payments into a single mobile app for complete and more seamless user experience

HITS:

MISSES:

Not suited for businesses processing over $5K/month
Does not support eCommerce businesses that want to accept PayPal payments
A payment aggregator, not a dedicated merchant account. Hence, it may be susceptible to sudden account freezes.
Does not offer much support for processing payments at brick and mortar locations

3. Stripe

Stripe offers its services to online businesses in 25 countries. It allows its users to structure payment flows that accept all major credit and debit cards on both desktop and mobile platforms. Its developer toolkit also gives you the freedom to customize your checkout or simply use their pre-built, conversion-optimized form called Checkout. Further, the platform also enables your website to store card details so returning customers can pay with just one click.

HITS:

Highly compatible with ACH, Apple Pay, Alipay, WeChat and bitcoin; and has a very good API
2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, with no monthly fees or minimums
Has customize checkout or pre-built, conversion-optimized form called Checkout. The platform also enables your website to save card details so returning
Customers can pay with just one click
Flat-rate fees, competitive with top alternatives
Highly customizable with many integration options
Great for international payments

MISSES:

4. Due

Due is not just an online credit card processor that offers several payment options, it is also an end-to-end payment solution platform. You can use it with your online store and digital invoices, and it allows you to process domestic and international credit card processing, ACH payment processing, and PayPal and Stripe integration. Plus, Due comes with time tracking, online estimates, and invoicing tools, as well as online database management capabilities.

HITS:

Renders low-cost processing solution; hence, it’s a billing and payment service widely used by freelancers, small business owners, and large corporations
Provides an end-to-end service that encompasses the entire billing and payment process for freelancers, small business owners and companies
The invoicing and payment processing features include more than 100 languages, currencies and tax systems, as well as international credit card processing
Has web-based invoicing tool that assists businesses with invoice creation, payment processing, recurring billing and data management

MISSES:

5. Square

Square is known as one of the most versatile payment solutions for small businesses. It offers a simple and fast way to accept credit cards with a smartphone or tablet. Thanks to its clear, affordable pricing with no contracts, credit checks, or complicated setup processes, businesses can get started right away. With the Square app, you can build a customized register, as well as issue receipts and invoices, track inventory, view sales reports, and manage timesheets.

HITS:

MISSES:

6. Authorize.net

Authorize.Net is another popular payment gateway service provider that lets you accept credit cards through the platform itself or integrate payment with your existing merchant account. It works with your existing merchant account so you can accept credit cards, electronic checks, and digital payments like Apple Pay or PayPal via your business’s website. Mobile credit card processing is also available. Features include advanced fraud detection, customer information management, invoicing, recurring billing, and e-check processing.

HITS:

Has advanced fraud detection suite great at preventing chargebacks and fraudulent transactions
Doesn’t have transaction limits with a a super user-friendly administrator site
Can process transactions is many different currencies, which is especially helpful for a global company such as the one I work for

MISSES:

7. SecurePay

SecurePay offers a straightforward but efficient way to pay online. It’s a complete online payment solution for ecommerce business owners, offering a number of useful tools. It became popular for its wide variety of eCommerce tools. Once you have a merchant account, you’ll enjoy security, fast online payments, detailed payment reports, and versatility as it can be integrated with most ecommerce shopping carts.

HITS:

MISSES:

8. 2Checkout

2Checkout, formerly Avangate, is a global payment platform that provides a secure and compliant gateway in 87 currencies and 15 languages. It allows companies to accept online payments for physical goods, digital software, and subscriptions from buyers worldwide. It also provides a preintegrated payments gateway, PCI compliance, international fraud prevention and integration with more than 100 shopping carts.

HITS:

MISSES:

Not suitable for card-present merchants
Held funds
Not good for high-risk merchants
Growing number of merchants report dissatisfaction with 2Checkout’s reserve policy
Poor/slow customer service based on customer reviews

9. CardConnect

CardConnect is a new name in the industry but has already an established name. It offers a variety of solutions based on your needs and budget. For instance, it has CardPointe for businesses that accept and process payments in a secure way and the Clover for small shops that offers point-of-sale tailored to your requirements. Plus added other solutions. It commits to its promise to maintain the highest level of security in the industry.

HITS:

MISSES:

10. PaySimple

PaySimple allows you to accept payments online, in person, and on the go. By using PaySimple, you can generate and send invoices via email and your customers can use the click-to-pay buttons to remit payments online. It also supports recurring billing and has a dashboard that tracks your accounts receivables.

HITS:

MISSES:

11. Flagship Merchant Services

Flagship Merchant Services can be easily set you up with a merchant account. It has everything you need to process credit cards on- and off-line with low rates, month-to-month terms and offers a choice of interchange-plus or tiered pricing plans. It sells processing equipment such as terminals and offers 24/7 customer support.

HITS:

MISSES:

12. Fattmerchant

Fattmerchant is an integrated payment technology platform allowing you to accept credit cards in-store, on the go, over the phone, and online. It provides real-time data analytics and integrations for accounting software, e-commerce platforms, and POS systems. However, it has slightly higher monthly subscription fee, but lower transaction fees than many of Payment Depot’s plans, making it a good fit for large businesses.

HITS:

MISSES:

13. Fiserv

Fiserv, formerly known as First Data, offers merchant services and Clover equipment to businesses of all types and sizes. It also caters its services to banks and independent sales organizations that resell them to small and mid-size businesses. Apart from credit card processing, Fiserv offers to check acceptance, ACH transfers, and advanced security. Rates, fees, and contract terms vary, depending on the agent or reseller and the specific needs and qualifications of your business.

HITS:

MISSES:

14. Payline

Payline is one of the payment solutions that allows you to pay however and whenever you want to: on-the-go, on a website, in your eCommerce store, or through a platform of your choice. It offers cost-effective credit card processing solutions with no lengthy contracts to businesses of all sizes. It has multiple plans, each featuring interchange-plus pricing with rates transparently posted on its website. Custom solutions are also available.

HITS:

MISSES:

Monthly fee
$25 monthly minimum processing requirement
More difficult to predict payment processing costs
Fees for losing a chargeback dispute and not completing a PCI compliance survey
Limited customer support hours

15. Dharma Merchant Services

Dharma is a traditional merchant services provider that specializes in working with independent businesses and offers solutions for accepting online and offline payments. Dharma offers extremely low interchange-plus pricing, particularly for storefront and restaurant payments. Dharma is one of the cheapest options for retail and restaurant businesses processing over $10,000 per month with average transaction sizes above $20.

HITS:

Interchange-plus pricing offered exclusively
No annual fee or monthly minimum
Month-to-month billing with no early termination fees
Discounted pricing for qualified non-profit companies
Exceptional sales transparency and highly ethical business practices

MISSES: