The Best Credit Card Processing for Small Business

“Make it easy for people to give you money” is one of our mottos at SMB Resource. You want to eliminate the friction in each transaction and make the purchase of your products and services as easy as possible. So, having the best credit card processing for small business so you can accept credit cards, is a great place to start.

If you’re new in business, congratulations on setting up your own business! During the initial set up phase of your business, one of the most important elements to making money is simply; how are you going to get paid? Do you accept credit cards and if so, what credit card processing company do you chose? In our opinion, you must accept credit cards in order for your small business to be competitive.

An established business might also consider finding a new credit card processing company as they scale and need to reduce costs. Saving money and managing cashflow are important elements in growinga small business, and saving a few percentage points on credit card processing can go a long way in improving cashflow.

What is A Merchant Service Provider?

Merchant service providers are simply another way of saying a credit card processing company. They’re the backend financial services that allow your business to take credit cards as a payment method when buying products and services from your small business.

How to Chose a Credit Card Processing Company For Your Small Business

How does one go about choosing the right company to process credit cards? It can be a hassle to choose one of the best credit card processing company for your business, so let us simplify it for you.

To start with do keep the following pointers in your checklist:

The company should provide complete information about the processing fees and there should be no hidden cost or surprises.
You should be able to process multiple credit card payment options.
The software should be user-friendly with multiple options for hardware installation.
Timely resolution of complaints you may have
Choose the processing company in accordance to your business needs

Now let’s jump into it. We have put together a list of the best credit card processing companies for a small business.

1: Square – Easiest Credit Card Processing For Small Business

It is suitable for small and new businesses because you can set up a merchant account without incurring charges on hardware or software. If you decide to invest in the hardware then the maximum cost will be $999/- depending upon your choice of hardware The software charges will be $60 per month. The payment processing fees is 2.75% of the transaction value. You can bring down this cost by upgrading to a costlier hardware option.

Square provides hardware options depending upon your requirement or need. Eg: Magstrip reader that can be used with smartphones and this service is free of cost. You can opt for Square stand service that can process any type of credit card payment. In all there are 5 hardware option. Likewise, the basic software is free of cost and the upgraded version will cost you $60/month.
It is best suited for businesses with low-value transactions.

2: Clover – Payment Processing and POS

Clover is another suitable option for small businesses. It gives you 4 hardware options with a price range of $59 to $1,199/-. You can choose countertop POS or the one that gives you print receipts and scan barcodes. As far as the software is concerned it gives you 3 options. The upgraded version offers inventory management services.
The processing fees is 2.69% + $0.05/- per transaction.

3: Intuit Quickbooks POS and Invoicing Software

The initial set up cost is on the higher side as compared to Square and Clover. You will need to pay a lump sum cost of $1,200/-, $1,700/- or $1,900/- for the software. But the monthly subscription fees are waived off. Likewise a computer or laptop is the only hardware requirement as it provides desktop processing solution. The hardware add-ons can be purchased from their online store. It has 7 hardware options that start from $220 and three software plans starting at $600.

4: Authorize.Net – Credit Card Processing Company

It is the best solution for eCommerce business, supports multiple currencies payments, and it is processed live on your website. There is zero investment on hardware. It comes with one software option. The subscription fees are $49/- per month and the processing fees is $0.10/- per transaction and $0.10/batch per day.

More Credit Card Processing Companies

Apart from the above there are a few additional good processing companies. The subscription fees of the below mentioned processing companies is on the higher side compared to the 4 mentioned above.

5: Payment Depot

It is the best option for all types of payments namely in-store, eCommerce and mobile. The monthly subscription fees range from $49/- to $199/- as per the plan you have chosen. The transaction processing fees are calculated on the wholesale rate which is 0% plus mark-up between $0.05/- and $0.15/- in accordance to your pricing plan. It comes with a 90-day guarantee for annual plans. It is a good option for business having less than $10/- monthly volume.

6: Fattmerchant

Fattmerchant is a platform suitable for small business having transaction value between $15/- to $20k/- per month. The pricing plans are on a subscription basis. The starter platform comes with a monthly fee of $99/- and there are no additional charges for cancellation, statements, batch fees, PCI compliance, customer support and many more. The transaction fees will be approximately 1.54% + $0.12/-.

The software is user-friendly and there is a free demo available on their website which is very easy to understand.
However, it is only for US-based merchants and it doesn’t support high-risk merchant accounts.

7: National processing

Do note, National processing is different from the National Processing Company (NPC). We mention this in the start itself because the rating and feedback for NPC is negative.

We recommend National Processing as it gives high-quality service at competitive rates. It offers the lowest rates for small business, starting at $15/- per month as subscription fees and $0.24/- per transaction fees. It also offers various plans as per the type of business and business volume. Hence you can choose the one that fits your budget.

The only drawback is their $295/- termination fees but then there are several circumstances in which the fees can be waived.
% of the company’s profit is donated to charity this is indeed a noteworthy policy!

8: Dharma processing services

This company is best suited for merchants whose business volume is more than $10,000/- per month. It offers discounted rates for non-profit organizations. It also has an exclusive B2B platform. The company has segregated its pricing plan as per the type of business instead of the volume of business. It has pricing plans for storefront, eCommerce, Restaurant, High volume retails and non-profit organizations.

The monthly fee is $15/- for a non-profit organization and $20/- for others.
Transaction fees is 0.15% + 0.07% markup.
Since last 3 years there were zero complaints filed. It is rated A+ currently by BBB.

Who’s the best credit card processing company?

Each of the companies listed above has its distinct features and offer competitive pricing plans. These companies will offer better rates than the bank-owned processing companies. Choose the credit card processing company as per your type and volume of business with economical pricing plans.