Find the Right Payment Processor for Your Restaurant
Restaurant credit card processing is an incredibly specialized industry addressing a wide variety of merchant needs. From one-register food trucks to national chains, the diversity of restaurant payment processing means that there is no single best provider for all restaurant types. Some locations may need a single iPad POS, while others might require hundreds of traditional countertop terminals. The sheer number of possibilities can make it tough for you to settle on a single option for your business.
Here Are Our Top Recommended Options
To help with your search, we’ve compiled the following list of the best restaurant credit card processors. These providers offer restaurant POS software and hardware in addition to fair, transparent pricing and positively reviewed customer service. Some of them are ideal low-cost choices for small mom and pop locations, while others offer scalable options for large and growing food service enterprises. Be sure to check out each company’s product and service offerings before giving them a call to make sure they’re the best fit for you.
Best Merchant Accounts for Restaurants
Host Merchant Services is a Newark, Delaware-based merchant account provider that is well-suited for most business types, including restaurants. The company’s products and services include point-of-sale solutions, online marketing tools, mobile credit card processing, gift and loyalty programs, and merchant cash advance. Host Merchant Services also offers a wide array of e-commerce solutions for restaurants that cater to special events.
Host Merchant Services has received only positive feedback on public forums, with most reviewers singling out the company’s customer service for praise. The company 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 BBB 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.
Based in Woodland Hills, California, PaymentCloud is a merchant account provider that specializes in serving restaurant businesses of nearly any type. This includes “high-risk” dining establishments such as new and experimental restaurants. The company’s products and services include point-of-sale solutions, mobile phone swipers, an online payment gateway and virtual terminal, EMV-compatible terminals, and merchant cash advances. PaymentCloud provides a dedicated account rep to all new merchants for the life of the account.
The company has not received any negative complaints on consumer forums, and it customizes its pricing according to each merchant’s business type and processing history. The BBB does not maintain a profile for PaymentCloud at this time, but CPO gives the company an “A.”
For more information, visit the PaymentCloud website or call (888) 506-7859.
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 for restaurants include EMV-compatible countertop terminals, tablet-based POS integration for food trucks, a virtual terminal, an online payment gateway, an online shopping cart, mobile phone processing, QuickBooks integration, and an integrated dashboard for all payment methods. Fattmerchant is the exclusive payment processing partner for Dining Alliance, RestaurantLink, and Restaurant Purchasing Solutions.
Fattmerchant offers multiple pricing plans with different rates, but all of its plans charge a fixed monthly fee and a fixed per-transaction dollar amount above interchange. In other words, none of Fattmerchant’s plans charge a percentage-based fee on each transaction, meaning that merchants will not pay more to process a large transaction than they will a small 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.
Additional Options
National Processing offers several restaurant credit card processing options and can assist restaurant owners with identifying the right POS systems for their needs. The company offers two pricing options: one an interchange-plus program or a “zero-fee” program, both of which offer competitively priced rates.
National Processing has a clean reputation with just one complaint filed in the last three years, which is not concerning in nature. Our independent review finds National Processing to be a solid option for most restaurant businesses.
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 capable of serving merchants of all sizes and types, including some high risk business industries. The company offers traditional retail credit card terminals, mobile phone credit card processing, an online payment gateway and virtual terminal, QuickBooks integration, third-party shopping cart integration, API integration, and various point-of-sale solutions. Payline Data is a great option for any restaurant, from small, single-register locations to large, enterprise-level chains.
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+.”