What to Know Before Getting Started
The primary credit card processing challenge facing insurance agencies is the need to affordably manage income and outflow across hundreds or thousands of clients and consumers. This typically calls for a traditional merchant account with enterprise-scale client management solutions and low per-transaction fees. Another desirable payment processing service for insurers is the ability to serve underbanked claimants by disbursing payments in the form of preloaded debit cards. The key with any payment solution is to find the features you need while avoiding common contractual drawbacks like long-term agreements, high rates, and unnecessary fees.
To help you find the right service package for your company, we’ve compiled the following list of the best merchant accounts for insurance carriers. The companies on this list offer business management tools, online invoicing, client management integration, accounting integration, payment gateways, virtual terminals, prepaid card programs, and other features that make it easier for you to manage your income and disbursement streams. More importantly, though, they are also known to provide low-commitment contracts with transparent pricing and quality customer service. To find the right provider for your employment agency, be sure to research each processor’s products and features and compare pricing and terms.
Our unbiased articles are supported in part by helping you find highly reviewed merchant accounts. You can learn more here.
Why These Merchant Account Providers
Fattmerchant
Active since early 2014, Fattmerchant is a merchant account provider leading the industry’s move toward flat-rate, subscription-style pricing. The company’s products and services include EMV-compatible countertop terminals, a virtual terminal, an online payment gateway, an online shopping cart, mobile phone processing, QuickBooks integration, online invoicing, and recurring billing. Fattmerchant is capable of serving all standard-risk insurance carriers and offers a comprehensive dashboard for tracking all payments and customers.
Fattmerchant offers multiple pricing plans with different rates. Merchants can select either a plan that charges a flat fee on all transactions or a plan that charges a fixed monthly fee plus a fixed per-transaction dollar amount above interchange. In other words, merchants can choose whether or not they are charged a percentage markup on each transaction. Fattmerchant currently has an “A” rating on CPO and an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau.
For more information, visit the Fattmerchant website, or call (866) 397-9826.
Host Merchant Services
Host Merchant Services is a Newark, Delaware-based merchant account provider that is well-suited for high-volume and low-volume insurance carriers. The company’s products and services include online marketing tools, mobile credit card processing, gift and loyalty programs, an online payment gateway and virtual terminal, custom third-party software integrations, and recurring billing. Host Merchant Services specializes in e-commerce businesses and provides a free website and business-class email to interested merchants. Host is an ideal option for insurance companies that would like to build a strong web presence and accept online and in-person payments at a reasonable cost.
Host Merchant Services has received only positive feedback on public forums, with most reviewers singling out the company’s customer service for praise. Host offers interchange-plus pricing with no early termination fees to all of its merchants, meaning that users will enjoy the most transparent pricing model and can cancel service without penalty. The Better Business Bureau gives Host an “A+” rating, and CPO also gives the company an “A+.”
For more information, visit the Host Merchant Services website or call (888) 727-4538.
CDG Commerce
Located in Chesapeake, Virginia, CDG Commerce is another reliable option for insurance providers of all sizes and types. CDG has been privately owned since 1998 and offers a proprietary online payment gateway (as well as a discount on Authorize.Net’s payment gateway), recurring billing, a virtual terminal, QuickBooks integration, mobile phone processing, sales reporting, security breach protection, and vulnerability scanning. CDG Commerce is ideal for mid-size insurance agencies that require a simple, low-cost, fully integrated processing solution across all payment channels.
CDG Commerce only charges a low, fixed fee per transaction and offers competitive contractual terms, including no annual fees, monthly minimums, or termination fees. CDG also offers next day funding to most business types. CDG has earned an “A+” rating in our review as well as an “A+” rating with the Better Business Bureau.
For more information, see the CDG Commerce website or call (888) 393-1079.
Our unbiased articles are supported in part by helping you find highly reviewed merchant accounts. You can learn more here.
Why These Merchant Account Providers
Helcim
NXGEN Canada
Other Merchant Account Options
The providers in this section may not have been researched as thoroughly or may lack a quality that prevented them from being listed above. We have listed them here to provide a broader view of potential merchant account options. Are you a decision maker with your company and believe that you should be listed below? Tell us here.
Payline Data
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Payline Data has consistently rated as one of the best merchant account providers on CPO since we first reviewed the company. Payline is a great all-around processor that is capable of serving insurance providers of all sales volumes and specialties. The company offers an online payment gateway and virtual terminal, mobile phone credit card processing (via Flint), QuickBooks integration, recurring billing, gift and loyalty programs, online invoicing, and API integration for online payments. Payline Data is a good general option for any insurance agency, regardless of size or specialty.
In addition to its wide array of services, Payline Data offers interchange-plus pricing with month-to-month contracts and no early termination fees. As a result, the company enjoys a large number of positive testimonials from its clients on this website and in other consumer protection forums. The Better Business Bureau currently assigns Payline Data an “A+” rating, and CPO also gives Payline an “A+.”
Dharma Merchant Services
Based in San Francisco, California, Dharma Merchant Services is a highly rated merchant account provider that places a corporate emphasis on social consciousness and community outreach. The company’s products and services include mobile device payment processing, an online payment gateway (Authorize.Net), QuickBooks integration, and small business financing. Dharma also donates a percentage of its profits to non-profits of its choosing every year, which may be appealing to socially active insurers. Dharma is best equipped to provide savings for insurance providers that process over $10,000 per month.
Dharma scores highly in our review and elsewhere due to its positively reviewed customer service, transparent marketing practices, competitive interchange-plus rates, and fair service agreements. The BBB currently assigns a rating of “A+” for Dharma Merchant Services, while CardPaymentOptions.com also gives the company an “A+.”
For more information, see the Dharma Merchant Services website or call (888) 404-1237.
ProPay
Headquartered in Levi, Utah, ProPay is an e-commerce merchant account provider that provides robust billing and payment options for insurance carriers. ProPay users can utilize digital invoicing to collect payments from clients via email and automate their billing. ProPay is also able to process ACH transactions through its virtual terminal and online payment gateway. ProPay is an ideal choice for insurance agencies that require a fully-featured digital payments option without the physical equipment offered by traditional providers.
ProPay’s pricing will vary depending on each merchant’s business type, size, time in business, and preferred method of payment acceptance. The company is a TSYS subsidiary and has a very low complaint total in the past three years for a provider of its size. Our review of ProPay currently gives the company an “A” rating, while the Better Business Bureau gives ProPay an “A+.”
For more information, see the ProPay website.
If your business offers merchant services for insurance agencies, please leave a comment in the comment section below or contact us through our contact page in order to get listed in this article.
About Phillip Parker
Thank you for reading my review. I hope that it has helped you with your research.
Why I'm Qualified to Write About Credit Card Processing
I'm a former credit card processing sales director who left the industry to start my own a small business. From the time that I starting working in the merchant services industry to when I left to write about it, I've been on the pulse of payments for nearly 15 years. It didn't seem fair to keep this insider knowledge to myself, so built this website to help small business owners research which service providers to use and how to save money on rates and fees. I've reviewed hundreds of companies, read thousands of user reviews, and learned the pricing tricks of every provider. If you have questions about credit card processing, you can find the answers here. I can help you save money with your current merchant account or help you find a new one. Message me here to get started.
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