Best Merchant Account Providers For All Industries

Our Top Merchant Account Picks For 2021

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A Little Research Goes a Long Way

Finding the right merchant account provider for your business can be a real chore. The credit card processing industry is notorious for having hidden fees, deceptive sales tactics, and unsavory contract terms that penalize business owners who do not take the time to educate themselves before shopping.

Even if you are wise enough to read through your contract before signing, you might find that you’ve accidentally purchased the wrong equipment or that the rates you pay are not as competitive as you thought they were. Arming yourself with knowledge is the first step to getting a good deal, but it isn’t the only step. You will also want to find a provider that can identify your business’ needs and supply a solution that fits your sales environment, your budget, and your customers’ expectations.

Picks With No Cancellation Fees, Low Rates, and Great Support

Below we’ve compiled a list of the best merchant account providers in the United States and Canada. The companies in this list are able to supply industry-leading products and services serving a wide range of business sizes and types. More importantly, though, these providers are some of the best processors that CPO has reviewed when it comes to transparent pricing, positive merchant feedback, and helpful customer service. In short, you can expect these providers to understand your your business and provide the appropriate solution for a fair price. You don’t have to take our word for it, though. We encourage you to contact multiple companies on this list and compare their pricing and services in order to get the best deal for your business.

We’ve Compiled The Best

We’ve done a lot of research to narrow down the best processors based on need, industry, features and cost. The top of the list begins with generalized picks that will work for most businesses and then we get more specific as we go along. You may see some of the same picks repeated more than once. This is because the best providers often serve a wide array of needs and industries. Our goal with this list is to make your life as a business owner easier and we welcome your feedback in the comment section at the bottom of the page.

Table of Contents – Best For:

U.S. Businesses Processing Over $120,000/yr
U.S. Businesses Processing Less Than $120,000/yr
Restaurant Touchless Payments & Ordering
“High-Risk” Payment Processing
International & Cross-Border Payments
Canadian Payment Processing
All-In-One E-Commerce Store & Payments
PayPal Alternatives

U.S. Businesses Processing Over $120,000/yr

PaymentCloud

PaymentCloud Website

Accepts Most Industries
No Junk Fees
Highly Rated Support

top pick

Why PaymentCloud Is A Top Pick

PaymentCloud has consistently scored as top performing payment processing provider for several years in our reviews of the company. This processor has consistently achieved high marks on everything from fast account approval, low rates and fees, and solid customer support. PaymentCloud also offers a wide array of software integrations with customer relationship management systems, virtual software, and open source e-commerce platforms. Not only does the company offer these integrations, but can also implement such needs for its merchant customers with a dedicated technical team, thereby making setup seamless and easy.

We recommend PaymentCloud to nearly any industry that is in need of a reliable and helpful payment processor.

How To Contact PaymentCloud

For more information, visit the PaymentCloud website or call (888) 506-7859.

Best Suited For:

Retail
E-Commerce
Software Integrations
Mobile
High Volume & Enterprise
Professional Services
And most other industries

U.S. Businesses Processing Less Than $120,000/yr

Helcim

Helcim Website

Easy Sign-Up
Low and Transparent Pricing
Great and Easy-to-Use Technology

top pick

One of Our Longest-Standing Top Picks

Helcim has consistently ranked as one of our top choices for nearly a decade. The company has no monthly fees and only a small markup over the wholesale cost of accepting credit cards, known as Interchange. This makes it an excellent choice for new and low volume businesses as there are no costs if no payments are taken.

In additions to exceptional pricing, Helcim does a great job serving various business types using mostly its own technology. This means that there are no other third party fees for things like online payment gateways, invoicing systems, or equipment fees. If you are processing less than $120,000 per year, you can’t go wrong with Helcim.

Contact Helcim

Simply visit Helcim’s website for more information or to start an application.

Best Suited For:

Automotive
Mobile
Beauty & Wellness
Contractors
Healthcare
Invoices
Food & Beverage
Online Sellers
Professional Services
Retailers
Software & Apps
Wholesalers

Square

Square Website

Easy Sign-Up
Clear Pricing
Broad Service Offering

Runner-Up

Why Square?

We often get asked why we recommend Square when the company has thousands of complaints from users on our review of the company. The reason for this is that despite having numerous complaints, Square is still one of the best options for new businesses. It is one of the easiest processing applications to sign up for, has simple pricing, and enables almost anyone to accept credit cards extremely quickly.

This ease of sign-up comes with some drawbacks and many users begin using Square without first understanding the companies policies around funding and permitted business types. When users run afoul with these policies they are often surprised and file complaints.

That not to say that Square is perfect. With millions of users, the company has struggled with customer support and communicating its policies in a way that reaches all of its users.

Most new business owners are not aware of how complex and expensive credit card processing can be. The most important aspect of a first merchant account for most new business owners will be that the account has no monthly fees and no commitment.

Additionally, most traditional credit card processing providers require new applicants to undergo a credit check and underwriting process. Add to this that even the lowest cost merchant account providers have monthly fees, a traditional credit card processor can be more of a burden then a blessing for new businesses.

If you have an established business processing less than $10,000 per month, the cost of a traditional merchant account often outweighs its benefits due to a host of additional monthly and annual fees not found with Square.

Square Offers Ease And Flexibility

Square has the easiest signup process of any credit card processing provider in the industry. There is no credit check or underwriting process. Simply fill out a short form, pay for a card reader attachment (aka: dongle) and you are all set you begin accepting payments from customers. Is your business online? Square has services for e-commerce needs as well. There are no monthly fees, minimum processing requirements or cancellation fees. You only pay processing fees when you accept payments.

The only drawbacks to Square is its customers support, which is often cited as a pain-point for business owners experiencing problems. In our opinion, the tradeoff is justified until a business begins processing $10,000 or more per month at which time we recommend switching to one of the traditional processing companies in this list of providers.

Beware Funding Holds

Before signing up with Square, we highly recommend reading Square’s prohibited industries list (found at the end of this article) as running afoul with this policy can cause a business owner a great degree of grief and frustration.

How to Contact Square

Simply visit the Square Website to get more information or to start an application.

Best For:

Mobile
Retail
Scheduling & Appointments
Invoicing
E-Commerce
Food & Beverage

Square's Prohibited Industries

Any illegal activity or goods
Paraphernalia that may be used for illegal activity
Buyer or membership clubs, including dues associated with such clubs
Credit counselling or credit repair agencies
Credit protection or identity theft protection services
Direct marketing or subscription offers or services
Infomercial sales
Internet/mail order/telephone order pharmacies or pharmacy referral services (where fulfilment of medication is performed with an Internet or telephone consultation, or a physical visit with a physician including re-importation of pharmaceuticals from foreign countries)
Unauthorised multi-level marketing businesses
Inbound or outbound telemarketers
Prepaid phone cards or phone services
Rebate based businesses
Up-sell merchants
Bill payment services
Betting, including lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, Fantasy Football, off-track betting and wagers at races
Financial institutions offering manual or automated cash disbursements
Prepaid cards, cheques, insurance or other financial merchandise or services
Sales of money-orders or foreign currency by non-financial institutions
Wire transfer money orders
High-risk products and services, including telemarketing sales
Service station merchants
Automated fuel dispensers
Adult entertainment oriented products or services (in any medium, including Internet, telephone or printed material)
Sales of (i) firearms, firearm parts or hardware, and ammunition; or (ii) weapons and other devices designed to cause physical injury
Internet/mail order/telephone order of age restricted products (e.g., tobacco, alcohol)
Occult materials
Hate or harmful products
Escort services
Bankruptcy lawyers or collection agencies engaged in the collection of debt
Airlines, air carriers, cruise ships and steam ships, with the exception of (a) small charter airlines that (i) only use small propeller driven aircraft with fewer than 15 seats per aircraft and (ii) are not used in connection with corporate aviation programmes and (b) on-board purchases,
Car rentals, including construction equipment rentals
Branded accommodation
Unsolicited vendors that require immediate payment for the future provision of products or services (e.g. door-to-door salesmen)
Use of transaction proceeds as investment in the future maturity or value of goods

Bar and Restaurant Touchless Ordering

Toast

Toast Website

Restaurant Specialized Point-of-Sale
Digital Ordering and Payment Options
Competitive Pricing and Highly Rated Support

top pick

Best Suited For:

Single and Multi-Location Restaraunts.
Counter Service & Table Service.
Owners Seeking Touchless Ordering and Payments.

Serving an Urgent Need in a Hugely Impacted Industry

Toast makes our top pick for restaurants due to this company’s technology forward philosophy, which has enabled it to quickly serve the critical need of a touchless payments. With Toast, restaurant owners can shield their customers and employees from contagions through the elimination of passing menus and cards back and forth. Not only does the company serve this need with an easy-to-use platform, but also does it in a very cost effective manner without sacrificing quality in its services or customer support. Restaurant owners should feel confident that their POS expectations will be met and exceeded with Toast.

How To Contact Toast

Simply visit the Toast website for details or to sign up for services.