Small businesses are fortunate enough to have many payment processors available to assist them with using their system to receive payments from customers, which helps them grow their business by boosting sales, increasing their customer base, and gaining popularity.
Each processor has pros and cons that will enable small businesses to determine the most suitable for them. Here are the top recommended payment processors in 2022 in no particular order:
1) Stax by Fattmerchant
Stax is highly considered for businesses whose transactions are high-volume, i.e., businesses that consistently process enormous amounts of transactions monthly. Stax uses a pricing model known as interchange-plus to determine the cost of each transaction made by every merchant.
Interchange-plus is regarded as one of the most decent pricing blueprints in the payment processing sector. The two branches of interchange-plus are the interchange fee decided by the credit card network. In the other branch, the markup set is determined by the processor.
Businesses subscribe to interchange-plus for the sake of transparency. As a processing plan offered by Stax, variations in cost may ensue, but this is solely because of the type of card the customer uses. The interchange fee deducted will also vary based on the card.
Stax is one of the best payment processing service providers because it does not require setup or application fees. They charge a fixed/standard fee due to the card used via interchange-plus, and they are reasonable for businesses consenting to monthly fees for a reduced transaction cost.
As for businesses that would prefer an overall package without intentions of adding or removing it in the future, Stax would be unfitting for them. It also would not cater to high-risk businesses or merchants outside the US.
2) Helcim
Businesses working with a stretched budget may go for Helcim. With Helcim, there is never a need for a monthly fee or long-term contracts. This payment processing assumes the interchange-plus rate method has an additional fee on the side.
High-volume, low-volume and seasonal businesses find Helcim useful owing to its processing fee, which is based on the transaction volume and the low starting fee. Helcim does not attach fees for PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance handlers. Businesses that make a lot of remote sales also enjoy fringe benefits from Helcim.
Again, Helcim renders a free online store setup. Customers can order their desired food or product at no extra cost. They satisfy businesses that will make a significant profit from transactional volume discounts. Yet, their services are not recommended for high-risk businesses.
3) Dharma Merchant Services
Dharma merchant services are notable for best services to non-profitable organizations. It is their most preferred payment processor. Compared to Stax, the monthly fee is undisputedly low at $25, while it is $99 for Stax. Dharma has a low interchange-plus processing rate.
Like other payment processors, Dharma lowers its rates for merchants with high-volume transactions on the condition that they have processed up to $100,000 or make monthly transactions of about $5,000. Helcim begins to drop its rates when the transaction is up to $25,000.
Dharma Merchant Services has an MX Merchant mobile application and portal for merchants to check transaction histories and monitor payments made. Payments are accepted through manual access, card numbers, or card reader use.
This payment processor gives qualified charity bodies a suitable discount rate and contributes a pronounced percentage of their profits to charity. Unfortunately, using Dharma prepares the merchant not to anticipate a 24/7 availability of technical support. Neither is it favorable to businesses registered outside the US.
4) Block (formerly called Square)
Block payment processor is not complicated, making it pertinent for businesses with a physical walk-in store that would acknowledge a POS (Point-of-Sale) System as a payment option. It is an all-inclusive software business provider since it has a marketing platform, business banking, and an on-premises solution.
Block excludes the monthly fee for card processing and gives flat-rates prices. It can be compared with PayPal on the flat-rate structure, though PayPal is pre-eminent for e-commerce. With the flat-rate price for Block, a specified fee is expected with each payment instead of fluctuating interchange rates.
Small businesses easily take on board the Block payment processor because they don’t use chargeback fees. Other payment processors use chargeback fees to cover costs incurred if a customer decides to void a transaction. Even so, these providers could overcharge the business owner with claims of chargeback fees.
With that said, small businesses have two options in terms of payment processing preferences. They can either choose a simple card processing where all the fees are paid after each transaction or obtain a merchant account that will charge monthly fees but with cheaper processing per item purchase.
