The Top 5 Credit Card Processing Companies For Small Businesses in 2018

This is a post by Michael Seaman, CEO of SwipeSum. SwipeSum seeks to make the process of choosing a payment process easier by forcing processors to compete for your business. Learn more at swipesum.com.Thanks to technology, shopping in 2018 is a far cry from shopping in 2008. Not only are more people than ever shopping online instead of in-store—they’re paying differently, too. With mobile wallets, apps like Venmo, and even QR-based payment platforms like LevelUp that offer rewards and loyalty programs, cash has become nearly obsolete, and businesses that don’t change with the times aren’t likely to survive in the new commerce climate.So, as a small business owner, how do you make sure your bases are covered? Well, it starts with choosing a credit card processing company that meets both your customer’s needs and your own. In my years of experience in the payment processing industry, I’ve encountered just about every processor out there. A good majority of them will take advantage of their customers, but they’re not all bad. Here are five options worth exploring:

Sonder Payments

Sonder Payments is pretty new to the game, but they're also one of the best processing options for businesses that see larger ticket transactions on the regular. They've got a unique pricing structure that charges a monthly fee (starting at $99) and a per-transaction fee of $0.08 regardless of payment method. If you're expecting to process larger tickets, you'll have a hard time finding better rates. They're built on top of Vantiv-WorldPay's back end, so you get the same resources you would at a large processor with the personal touch of a small organization.

Cayan

Cayan recognizes that every business works differently, so they offer a variety of plans in hopes every entrepreneur will be able to find one that meets their specific needs. Business owners can find support for in-store, online, or even mobile payments using Cayan’s Genius family of payment terminals. Cayan also offers a unique meet-or-beat guarantee. Basically, if they can’t meet or beat your current processing rates, they’ll give you $100. In addition to their great pricing guarantee, Cayan offers free equipment, free applications, no contracts, and absolutely zero cancellation fees to its users.

Helcim

In the world of credit card processing, many service providers rely on the fact that most small business owners aren’t educated well enough to know how to get the best deal. Transparent processing companies are rare, but Helcim is one of them. Their actual motto is, “Trust, transparency, and fair pricing”, and they practice what they preach. They don’t charge fees for things like equipment setup or PCI compliance, and they make it easy to figure out the cost of their services. Helcim also offers a wide variety of software integrations, so if you’re currently using Quickbooks, Shopify, or WooCommerce, Helcim will fit right in with your existing software. To top it all off, Helcim was recently named the best payment processor for Canadian businesses by MerchantMaverick.com.

EVO Payments

If your business has any sort of international reach, EVO Payments should be in consideration. EVO accepts payments in 50 global markets, working with more than 130 types of currency! Their goal is to become the best global payment processing company, so they’re strongly focused on facilitating secure international payments. They also offer integrations into payment platforms used all around the world. EVO doesn’t just cover payment processing, though. They offer numerous merchant support services, from point-of-sale to marketing and analytics.

Vantage Payments

Vantage might seem like an enigma from the outside; they don’t advertise rates or make any flashy guarantees like many of their competitors. It’s not that they want to hide rates, though, it’s that they’re firm believers in offering tailored solutions to every business they work with. Vantage’s rates vary from merchant to merchant, but those who go with Vantage often find that their rates are similar or even better than what they would find anywhere else. They offer a variety of contract lengths, so you won’t be roped in for longer than you want to be, and their services cover almost anything you might need, no matter how you run your business.

The Choice is Yours

These are five of the most trustworthy, cost-efficient credit card processing companies out there. But even choosing from a narrowed-down list can be intimidating, time-consuming, and totally frustrating. Some of the processors listed here have restrictions on what industries they’ll participate in, tiered pricing, or other surprises in store. If you’re wanting to find the best solution to fit your company, visit us at SwipeSum.com. We’ll create a list of processors tailored to your business, then force them to compete for your business. When processors compete, you win.