By reducing the need for physical cards or cash, it streamlines the payment process while offering peace of mind through its advanced security measures. Credit card transaction fees, flat fees, and incidental fees can significantly impact your bottom line unless you pass the expense to consumers. Each company sets its rate, with Visa and Mastercard leading the what is the best online payment system for a small business way, followed by American Express and Discover. Millions of companies use Square to take payments, manage staff, and conduct business in-store and online.
With its integrated online selling platform, completely transparent pricing, and stellar reputation, Helcim should be considered by any online merchant needing a full merchant account. As for processing rates, Stax charges between 8 and 15 cents on every transaction (plus interchange fees), depending on how you take the payment. To accept online or keyed-in payments with Stax you will pay $0.15, plus interchange fees. This platform allows your business to collect money via credit card, contactless payment, and even electronic checks to better suit your customers’ needs.
- On the other hand, positive user reviews note Stripe’s wide range of features and support for third-party integrations.
- Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews.
- The system enables fast financial operations and removes human labor through automatic AI-based procedures that deliver precise results.
- Every Helcim account includes a free virtual terminal, free access to Helcim’s proprietary payment gateway, a free online store builder, and free in-person POS software.
- As a high-risk merchant, you’ll have a better chance of getting accepted by PaymentCloud than you will with other merchant service providers, even those that nominally accept high-risk businesses.
Automated Level 2 and 3 card data capture reduces payment processing fees because the card-issuing banks lower interchange rates when you give them more transaction information. This is a great feature for B2B and B2G businesses that include more transaction information such as tax IDs and accept Level 3 interchange eligible credit cards. Helcim stands out as one of the few full-service merchant account providers to offer interchange-plus pricing to all businesses without charging a monthly account fee. Square also offers several card readers and POS registers at an affordable price, making it easy to sell in-store and on the go. A typical payment processing fee for small businesses can range from 2.5% to 3.5% per transaction, though it depends on the processor and payment method. For example, Square charges 2.6% + 10¢ for swiped card transactions, and PayPal charges 2.9% + 30¢ for online payments.
Best All-in-One Payment Solution
- Square is generally one of the best POS systems with eCommerce features and includes lots of third-party integrations so you can add the Square payment gateway to third-party software.
- And with wholesale interchange rates, Stax is certainly the best value for money for full-service restaurants that process over $21,000 in sales a month.
- Integrating with payment gateways and shipping providers is seamless, so you can keep operations smooth without breaking a sweat.
- I especially like the Text2Pay tool for home deliveries, but if you supply larger clients, you can send invoices and even recurring payments.
- Customers need to provide their bank account and routing numbers to complete an ACH transfer.
Cash and credit card sales require you to tally up the total price, including taxes. But the best online payment methods do this automatically, saving you time and reducing the risk of error. You’ll need to pay fees to accept payments online, but these fees are generally more affordable than what credit card companies charge. PayPal is one of the world’s best-known online payment systems for small businesses. Their brand name alone is enough for businesses to feel like they can trust them, and they have a strong feature set that entices people to use the platform. While personal accounts let you manage your money and make payments online, business accounts come with features to help you accept payments and financial services to manage your business.
heckout: Best Global Payment Gateway
However, your choice of payment gateway will be limited to whatever services your provider offers, and the gateway itself might not have a robust feature set or extensive customization options. The former charges 0.75% for e-checks, and both gateways charge 10 cents plus another 10-cent batch fee for each transaction. Additional payment services from Authorize.net include invoicing, recurring payments and a customer information manager.
High-end systems with enterprise resource management (ERP) and accounting cost more than bookkeeping software with invoicing and expense tracking. The best online payment method is the one that works best for your online business and your clients. You must weigh each system’s pros and cons and consider which payment method best suits your business and your customer base. QuickBooks Payments is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses across industries, including online retailers, service providers, and brick-and-mortar stores. Google Pay is an excellent choice for businesses looking to provide a seamless, secure payment experience for Android users.
If you’re on Shopify, Shopify Payments is the easiest option, while Stax offers savings for high-volume businesses with its membership model. When a customer makes a purchase, the online payment gateway securely sends the transaction data to the processor, which connects with the customer’s bank for authorization. Braintree, a PayPal company, is a powerful online payment gateway that allows businesses to accept, process, and split payments globally.
Power your business with Square
We also appreciate Helcim’s AI-powered tool that helps identify qualifying Level 2/3 business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) transactions. These transactions are more secure and result in lower payment processing fees, making Helcim an attractive option for B2B/B2G businesses. Also, processors like Square and Payment Depot have cheaper transaction rates.
Her areas of expertise include accounting system and enterprise resource planning implementations, as well as accounting business process improvement and workflow design. Jami has collaborated with clients large and small in the technology, financial, and post-secondary fields. Checks are common among small business owners who own rental properties and lawn service companies. Often deal directly with individual customers, who may prefer checks for their convenience, security, and ability to provide a paper trail for payments. Checks are documents that authorize banks to transfer funds from your customer’s bank account to your business bank account.
At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don’t guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services. To really up your mobile-processing game, check out our picks for the top mobile card readers.
PayPal – Best for E-Commerce Businesses
You also need a payment solution that makes it as easy as possible for customers to check out, or you risk ending up with some extremely high bounce rates and less than ideal profits. Fortunately, there are plenty of payment systems for small businesses to consider in 2025, so whether you’re unhappy with your current provider or setting up for the first time, you’ve got plenty of choice. Hosted PBX is one of the best business phone systems for small businesses with features like texting, calling, and automation workflows. Because it works on mobile devices, it’s more mobile than traditional phones (not to mention more cost-effective since you’re not paying for extra hardware). A few retail industries are known for their fierce (and sometimes nefarious) competition. If you’re in one of those spaces, a Canadian payment gateway option with heightened security may be the answer for you.
We like that National Processing offers simple payment processing and a free Clover POS terminal with every plan. National Processing works with a variety of business types and integrates with several popular third-party software such as eCommerce store builders. The accounts payable software enables business entities to track payments toward vendors and suppliers as well as service providers.
What is the best online payment gateway for small businesses?
However, several payment options that many companies will consider mandatory are sold as add-ons by Stax, including ACH payment processing, next-day funding and customer branding. Many Stripe users criticize the company’s customer service and account management practices, which they describe as opaque and unresponsive. The complaints cite accounts being closed with no clear explanation and funds being withheld for extended periods, which disrupts their operations.
With the right ecommerce platform, your small business becomes a well-oiled sales machine—saving you time, expanding your reach, and making growth feel effortless. In a world where people expect to buy anything, anywhere, ecommerce platforms let small businesses show up, sell, and succeed. The platform also makes order management a breeze, allowing you to track shipments and edit order items before finalizing. Its in-depth sales reports can be filtered by product, customer, coupon, and more, giving you the insights needed to make smarter business decisions. PrestaShop is highly flexible and can be customized to suit the needs of businesses of all sizes, making it a popular choice among small and medium-sized enterprises and startups.
Common complaints about Clover in user reviews include ineffective interactions with its customer service reps, undisclosed fees and high prices in general. Some customers cite difficulties in keeping their operations going because of the service’s poor handling of their funds. Other areas of concern involve long wait times for support, inconsistent service quality and conflicts related to the terms of Clover’s user agreement. Conversely, many users are pleased with the system’s ease of use and setup, and some report positive interactions with specific Clover support reps. However, the Square Reader device for taking swipe payments using a mobile device is available for free, and Square doesn’t charge for inactive periods or account takeover protection. However, fast payments are pointless if they aren’t easy for consumers to make!
Online payments seem to be the way of the future in terms of cost and convenience. They offer a cheaper and faster way to get paid and give consumers options when they check out. Some banks hold merchants responsible for credit card fraud, which adds another expensive liability, especially if your reputation is tarnished as a result.