Helcim Overview
Helcim May Have Overcharged You
If you accepted credit cards through Helcim or any other credit card processing company between 2017 and 2019, recent changes to the law may entitle you to refunds of certain debit card and credit card processing errors and overcharges. See this post to find out if your were among the businesses affected and to learn how you can get your money back.
All-Purpose Canadian Payment Processor
Helcim is a merchant account provider headquartered in Alberta, Canada. Despite its Canada location, the company is able to provide both U.S. and Canadian merchant accounts. Helcim offers traditional payment processing equipment as well as a feature suite called “Helcim Commerce,” which is intended to serve as an all-in-one business management solution for merchants across all of their sales channels. The company is a reseller of Elavon’s merchant services.
Helcim Location and Ownership
Founded in 2009, Helcim is a registered ISO/MSP of the Canadian branch of U.S. Bank National Association and Elavon and is headquartered at 5720 4 St SE #320, Calgary, Alberta T2H 1K7, Canada. Nicolas Beique is the co-founder and CEO of Helcim.
Helcim Review Table of Contents
- Costs & Contract: Helcim offers a month-to-month contract with interchange-plus pricing and no early termination fees.
- Complaints & Service: Helcim has received fewer than 10 public complaints.
- BBB Rating: Helcim currently has an “A+” rating and has received 0 complaints and 1 review in the last 3 years. The company has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2014.
- Sales & Marketing: Helcim does not hire independent sales agents and has not received any complaints about its sales practices.
- Rates & Fees: How Merchants Got The Best Rates With Helcim
Highly Rated Industry Competitors
Our unbiased reviews are supported, in part, by helping you find highly rated merchant accounts. You can learn more here.
Our Opinion of Helcim
A Great Option for Nearly Any Merchant
Helcim rates as an exemplary credit card processor according to our standards. The company is showing many positive testimonials online and appears to offer transparent, inexpensive contract terms. As with other “A” rated providers, merchants are still encouraged to read their terms carefully and ensure that they are not obligated to pay any hidden fees. For more information, see Helcim’s website.
We rely on your feedback about Helcim to keep this review accurate and up-to-date. Please take a minute to tell us about your experience. We and the small business owners of this world thank you!Other Industry Leading Merchant Account Providers
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 and Merchant Account Services
I'm a former credit card processing sales director who left the industry because I didn't like how it takes advantage of small business owners. It feeds like a leech on businesses and thrives by imposing fees that are nearly impossible to comprehend. Seeing a need for change, I left and built this website help business owners better understand the industry, research merchant services providers, and get refunds of excessive merchant account fees. My experience of working "behind the curtain" in the industry, and using that knowledge for good, has resulted in millions of dollars returned to hard-working small business owners as well as enterprise-level companies.
From the time that I starting working in the merchant services industry to when I left to create this website, I've been on the pulse of payments for nearly 15 years. It didn't seem fair to keep this "insider" knowledge to myself. To lift the fog, 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 on this website.
Phillip Parker
I would recommend avoiding Helcim and using a trusted merchant like Paypal or Stripe. We currently use Paypal and the onboarding process was simple. We joined Helcim because of the customizable forms however since the outset their staff send contradictory emails. One email states the account is active , the other staffmember emails that the account is closed. They have our business documents which were uploaded and I hope they’re deleted. Before trying Helcim , try Paypal or Stripe as they do not waste your time.
This post will help: Best E-Commerce Merchant Accounts
-Phillip
I’m looking to move my payment processing from Elavon and Helcim is in my top 3. How amenable are they to negotiating if I want to get a better rate than what I presently get? From the reviews it seems a mixed bag but I like what I have read so far and would be willing to give Helcim a try for my payment processing.
From The Editor
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Select Helcim as merchant services provider based on positive internet reviews and service rating. This company (Helcim) is totally incompetent! The Sales staff responded and then left me hanging for days (later found out salesperson was off and did not pass account to another salesperson for following up). Clearly described to the sales person what service I required (credit and debit transactions) in an email and on application. Waited a week for the terminal to arrive, however it was not a terminal it was a credit card swipe reader (thanks, but I already have Square). I phoned and was told I could not return the swipe reader (have to eat the $35) and they would get the proper terminal to me ASAP. Proper terminal arrived a week later, after 3 hours on the phone as Evalon and my internet provider trying to figure out why I couldn’t process debit cards Evalon discovered the terminal was program as a credit card only terminal (I am in Canada, who wants a credit card only terminal up here, the Evalon rep was laughing at the ridiculousness of such an error). Phone Helcim, they promised to have the fix to me by that evening. Well its the next day and all I got was an email apologizing that it will take a little longer to get the fix for the terminal to me. I made my application March 29th, it is now May27 and I still don’t have service. Incompetence at all levels of the organization. My store has now been open for a week and I daily watch customers walk out the door because I can’t process debit card transactions. I don’t recommend this company to anyone.
I recently had a very positive experience with Helcim’s customer service. It’s very rare to get good customer service and tech support in general however this was not the case with Helcim. Adelia listened to all my concerns, provided me fast and accurate help and advice and completely over exceeded my expectations in getting my site payments back up and running problem-free. A+++ on all accounts.
Thank you, Helcim, for making our transition from another credit card processor to yours. Although we have only been online with your company for a couple of weeks, rest assured we are very happy with the customer service so far. Our emails are answered immediately and that is so important to any company. I will write another review after a month once I’ve received a statement with details. Thank you again.
Lynn
We have been in business for over 30 years and get solicited almost on a weekly basis for credit card processing, no one comes close to the transparency and professionalism of the Helcim team. E-MAIL and inquiries are returned promptly and no surprise fees at the end of month.
A breath of fresh air in an industry that is lacking .
I have nothing but good things to say about Helcim. After having a pretty nightmarish experience with a well known card processor (starts with M, ends with oneris!), it was a breath of fresh air to have such a transparent pricing scheme. They told me rental was X dollars per month, and that’s all I was ever charged. No hidden fees, no GOTCHA clauses in their contract. Customer support was nothing less than stellar.
I recently had to close my account with them and that process was as easy as the rest of my experiences with Helcim. They sent me a simple one page cancellation form and a box to send the machine back. And that was that, No fuss. With my previous processor, I had to argue with a very mean spirited person for well over an hour to cancel my account.
I would use Helcim again in a heartbeat!
I just signed up with Helcim and wanted to let you know how pleased I am with your service so far. Your virtual terminal is incredibly easy to navigate. I had no issues at all. Within a few days I was approved and ready to start processing.
Helcim proves that technology doesn’t have to be complicated!
Hi Dee,
In order to authenticate your testimonial, please reply to this comment with your business name and location.
I am a part owner in a wood-fired pizzeria about to open in Kimberley, BC. I have just gone through the process of setting up a card payment system for the first time. The whole process was a bit intimidating for me, until I found Helcim. They were helpful, gracious, and supportive. Their website was clear and answered many questions; they made things as easy as possible for me. Their cost + structure provided the transparency I was looking for and I have no hesitation in recommending them. In fact, I would love to see their model become the industry standard.
I was skeptical of Helcim at first – I had been moving from one payment processing company to another for a handful of years, had colleagues with unhappy reports from different companies so I took a long time to scrutinize and get on board with Helcim. I am very pleased I did.
I guess it’s been about 5 years now and I have been very happy with the excellent customer service, the terminal and most importantly to such a small business such as as my own: the costs.
I highly recommend them. Issues are usually quickly resolved, options given and they really try to understand my needs. I have also been dealing with the same person there the whole time. I think that says something about the company itself.
I use a terminal for my first location and for the last year I have been using a virtual terminal for the second location. I love them both.
My only hardship is that we are in different time zones and I start very early so I have to plan if I need to get in touch with them as my days are filled with clients. Finding time to sit and call on a busy week can be tricky.
But that’s the nature of my business with contacting even local suppliers too – it’s just a little easier if the time zones are the same. Obviously I would rather have great service, great products and prices even if our work days start and end on different times than anything else I have known of in the industry.
I own and operate a pizza shop in San Antonio TX. After searching the internet for CC processors I famed across an article about Helcim and am very glad I did! I am new to Helcim, thus far I am very pleased with the product and the service with which it is delivered. I came to them after I grew tired of being over charged for so long. I had been with my previous processor for over ten years, I felt like a fool for staying with them for so long. The CC processing business is saturated with sleazy companies that make deceiving claims about their rates, there are so many hidden fees it is nearly impossible to do a cost comparison. Helcim was very transparent about their rates. My processing fees/rates are coming in at between 55%-60% of what they once were. Once I made the decision the switch to Helcim, things moved quick. We had some slight difficulty programming my existing equipment but here is where Helcim shined the most. So I would not be without the ability to accept CC they immediately set us up with a virtual terminal, I never missed a single transaction. I never wanted to be the business that has to put up a tacky sign that says “our credit card machine is down”. I forgot to mention that while they were setting me up with a virtual terminal, behind the scenes they were programming me a new terminal and shipping it via Fedex. They always answer calls and emails are usually replied to the same day! I don’t stress out every time swipe a customers credit card! I highly recommend Helcim, there product is what they claim it to be and their service is outstanding.
Greetings. I operate a mid-sized business online. For verification go to: http://www.greenlamp.ca , buy an item if you like.
As the world grows busier with online business and sales, I have experienced doing business with Moneris, Canadian Payment Systems, Paymentech, and Helcim.
None of the others have been “bad”. I just would like to point out that in my experience, Helcim has been the best. The reasons are as follows:
Helcim is the business of owners who do business personally and handle clients like myself with high quality customer service. I would say this is because they are not a corporation who delegate clients to ‘agent’s” only. Agents I have experienced are fine, but having a well experienced and concerned owner on your side is superior. Thus I would agree with the reviewer Phillip Parker that Helcim scores an A+ in the service department.
I am a man of numbers also. As a mid-sized business, I have the ability to keep an eye directly on rates and fees and extrapolate the costs per transaction and fees per transaction. Helcim has one of the better and fairest, as well as transparent rates when I compare them with the other processors I have experienced.
For anyone looking in this large and confusing world of processing for an honest opinion about partnering with a company for excellent service, product, and price in the world of retail credit card/debit card processing, I would advise them to use Helcim. I give them high marks.
Thanks,
Christopher C.
I was very pleased with the service and knowledge of everyone I dealt with at Helcim. The system is very easy to use and I really like the online features that are available.
Thanks!
We’ve been working with Helcim for 5+ years with nothing but praise for their service, hard work and attentive detail to our clients. As an agency working with a lot of web and e-commerce they have been our sole provider to every client that comes through our door.
It’s refreshing to call a Canadian company that picks up the phone and remembers who you are. The customer service that Helcim provides is outstanding and their Virtual Terminal makes credit card payments stress free.
I am a small business operator in Nova Scotia Canada. After researching many merchant companies (and getting the runaround on certain questions and vague answers) I decided on Helcim, which seemed to have the most transparent policies and fairest rates. I haven’t been disappointed. The customer service from Nicolas at the Calgary office has been amazing, always answering any questions I have promptly and being super helpful. It’s refreshing to actually get quick responses and exact information. I never thought I’d be so thrilled dealing with a merchant provider!
Rates for MasterCard will be rising soon and Helcim has sent me a few notices reminding me of this…so no suprises. Very happy with the service so far and would recommend this provider.
Hi Lisa,
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location, or website, in order to authenticate your testimonial. Thanks!
My business is a small hair salon called The Hair Attic in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
We’ve been working with Helcim since 2011 and have always been impressed with their amazing support and high quality offering. They are constantly innovating and customizing their products to meet the needs of their clients. Having worked with a number of payment gateway providers, I can easily say that this is the best one I’ve worked with.
I just wanted to add my positive experiences in working with Helcim.
I have been using Helcim since they were an small start up over six years ago. They are a well organized company with exceptional leadership. They have always offered me consistent service and, most importantly, amazing support. I’m talking support you don’t see in the finance/band/processing industry.
Not only have I used them personally for years, I also have referred 10+ clients to them, I have never had a complaint.
Finally, wrote another personal blog entry 6 years ago about Helcim, if you are interested just Google “Helcim Tighe” and it will show up.
I’ve been using Helcim for a few months now and no complaints so far. I went with them because they were the only ones that seemed honest about their fees and they actually picked up the phone when I called. I also liked that they were in Calgary. I’m using their virtualterminal.
Hi Jessie,
Please reply to this comment with your business name and location, or website, in order to authenticate your testimonial. Thanks!