Best payment processor: 8 picks by business need

The best payment processor is the one that covers every way you take payments, prices them in a way you can check, and lets you leave if it stops working for you. Clearo Payments publishes this list, and we rank ourselves first on the criteria below. The seven companies after us each fit a different need, such as Adyen for Interchange++ card pricing or Authorize.net as a gateway on a merchant account you choose. Everything we say about them comes from their own websites, with links.

How we chose the best payment processor

We judged every company against five criteria, weighted in this order:

1. Pricing you can check: interchange-plus, with the network's cost and the processor's margin itemized.
2. Room to leave: no long-term contract, and no cancellation fee when you go.
3. A specific person to phone: each client gets their own dedicated rep.
4. Evidence up front: a free statement review showing what your current month would cost on the new terms.
5. Every channel on one account: counter terminals, mobile and tap to pay, online checkout, and phone, invoice and recurring payments.

After us, the order follows how many of those criteria each company's own pages describe. Helcim describes interchange-plus pricing with no long-term contracts; Adyen, Stripe and PayPal Braintree describe interchange-plus pricing in some form; Square's product pages describe no long-term contracts; and Authorize.net and Chase complete the list on channels.

Some businesses should weigh things differently. If you have developers building a custom checkout or a marketplace, the APIs may matter more to you than how the rate is built, and Stripe and Adyen both publish developer documentation. If you already have a merchant account you're happy with, a gateway like Authorize.net may be all you need. And if you want one company for POS software and payments, start with Square.

Sells in shows the countries each company's own pages confirm for the products covered here; several sell in more.

1. Clearo Payments

Why Clearo ranks first

Clearo Payments meets all five criteria on one account, whatever mix of channels you sell through. The pricing is itemized, the terms let you leave, every client has a dedicated rep, the free statement review shows the numbers before you commit, and the same account takes payments at the counter, on the road, online and over the phone. A business that sells in four places shouldn't have to juggle four providers to do it.

How the pricing works

On our interchange-plus pricing, interchange, the fee the card networks set for each kind of card, passes through at cost, and our margin sits on a separate statement line. That separation is what makes the bill checkable. Visa and Mastercard publish their US interchange rates (Visa, Mastercard), so you can match each interchange line to its schedule and look at our margin on its own. A flat rate blends everything into one percentage, so you can't see which part goes to the processor.

Based on its client records, Clearo says businesses moving from flat-rate pricing have saved 20 to 50% on processing costs. What any one business saves depends on its card mix, average ticket and volume.

What you get

• In person: POS terminals in countertop, wireless and portable models with chip, tap and swipe, plus mobile payments with tap to pay and mobile card readers.
• Online: hosted checkout and gateway integration, with fraud screening that uses AVS, CVV checks and velocity rules.
• Phone and remote: a virtual terminal for phone and email payments, invoices, payment links and recurring billing.
• Back office: PCI compliance support, chargeback management tools, a credit card surcharging program covering compliance, disclosure and setup, and same-day or next-day funding options.
• Coverage: merchant accounts for businesses in the US and Canada.

Switching

Send a recent statement for a free statement review, and we'll price that same month on our terms before you decide anything. If you move, there's no long-term contract to sign and no cancellation fee if you leave later, and a dedicated rep is your contact. Clearo says setup takes under 48 hours.

If you need a developer platform for a custom checkout, or POS software from your processor, Stripe or Square may serve you better.

2. Helcim

Helcim is a payment processor for US and Canadian businesses that want interchange-plus pricing on month-to-month terms. It names that model on its Interchange Plus Pricing page, and its pricing page lists no long-term contracts, no cancellation fees and no setup fees. It covers counter, online and phone sales with a Smart Terminal, online payments and a Virtual Terminal.

Best for: businesses that want interchange-plus pricing on month-to-month terms across counter, online and phone payments.

3. Adyen

Adyen is a payments company whose US pricing lists Visa and Mastercard on Interchange++, which suits businesses that want card costs itemized across online and in-person sales. Its pricing page describes a fixed processing fee plus a fee set by the payment method for each transaction, and its mobile solutions page lists Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android as supported in the US.

Best for: businesses that want Interchange++ card pricing with in-person options, including Tap to Pay, in the US and Canada.

4. Stripe

Stripe sells online card payments, in-person payments, billing and invoicing on one platform, and it fits businesses with a developer who wants to build checkout and billing in one place. Its pricing page, checked in October 2026, says standard pricing has no setup or monthly fees and no closure fees, and describes custom pricing that can include IC+ for businesses with large payments volume. In person, there's Stripe Terminal.

Best for: businesses with developers who want online checkout, billing and in-person payments from one provider.

5. PayPal Braintree

PayPal Braintree is the payment platform PayPal sells under the Braintree name, and it fits established online businesses that want room to negotiate their pricing. Its US pricing page lists a standard per-transaction rate for cards and digital wallets and says custom flat rates, interchange-plus pricing and discounted rates are available for established businesses, depending on business model and volume. Braintree also offers Fraud Protection Advanced.

Best for: established online businesses that want custom pricing, including interchange-plus, as their volume grows.

6. Square

Square combines payments with POS software and hardware, which suits a business that wants one company for the counter, the website and invoices. Its payments page covers accepting payments online, in store or on the go, and its Virtual Terminal page describes no long-term contracts and no monthly fees.

Best for: businesses that want POS software, payments and invoicing from one company, starting on a free plan.

7. Authorize.net

Authorize.net is a payment gateway that carries card payments from a website, phone order or mobile device to a merchant account, for businesses that want to choose that merchant account themselves. Its pricing page lists an All-in-One plan that includes a merchant account and a Gateway Only plan for businesses that already have one.

Best for: businesses that have a merchant account, or want to pick their own, and need a gateway for online, phone and mobile payments.

8. Chase

Chase offers payment acceptance as part of its business services, a fit for businesses that want every channel from a bank they already use. It offers online payment acceptance, a virtual terminal, a POS terminal and Tap to Pay on phone, and its merchant fees page lists flat per-transaction rates that differ by payment type.

Best for: businesses that want in-person, mobile, phone and online payments from their bank, at flat rates by payment type.

Processor, gateway or payment facilitator: what are you buying?

"Payment processor" gets used for several different businesses, and knowing which one you're paying for makes quotes comparable.

Visa describes ISOs as agents of the acquirer that don't process transactions or receive settlement funds, and a payment facilitator as a third-party agent that can sign sellers on an acquirer's behalf and receive their settlement money (Visa). The same guide says that once a sponsored merchant's annual Visa sales pass a set volume, footnoted at US$1,000,000, the facilitator must add the acquirer to the merchant agreement.

Why do the sign-up processes differ so much? The acquiring bank carries the risk. The OCC's handbook for bank examiners says the acquirer relies on the merchant's creditworthiness and treats chargeback credit risk as a significant risk to its earnings and capital (OCC). A facilitator signs you up quickly and reviews more as you go. Your own merchant account front-loads that review, and in return you get your own merchant ID and pricing you can negotiate. Our guides to payment facilitators vs merchant accounts and what a payment gateway is go deeper.

How to choose a payment processor for your business

Start from how you sell.

• Mostly in person: chip, tap and PIN debit at the counter, tap to pay on phones, and tip prompts. Our list of the best credit card processing for small business focuses on that.
• Mostly online: choose between a hosted checkout and your own payment form, because the choice changes your PCI paperwork. Since March 31, 2025, merchants filing SAQ A have had to confirm their site isn't susceptible to script attacks that could affect their e-commerce systems (PCI SSC). Our page for ecommerce businesses covers online stores.
• Subscriptions and repeat billing: Visa's stored credential rules require the cardholder's consent before you store card details for future charges (Visa). Ask whether a provider will export your stored cards if you leave.
• Professional services and B2B: invoices, payment links and phone payments matter more than terminals. Our professional services page covers that mix.

Then ask every provider, in writing:

1. Which pricing model is this, and what is the markup?
2. Which monthly, annual, PCI and gateway fees apply?
3. How long is the term, and what does leaving cost?
4. How fast do deposits land, and will there be a reserve?
5. Who holds ownership of my stored card data, and will you export it if I move to another provider?
6. Who do I call, and will that person know my account?

What does a payment processor cost?

You pay three layers on every card sale: interchange, network fees and the processor's markup. Mastercard says its interchange rates are "generally paid by acquirers to card issuers" and that it "has no involvement in acquirer and merchant pricing policies or agreements" (Mastercard). Visa says merchants pay a "merchant discount" to their own financial institution, typically calculated as a percentage per transaction (Visa).

The pricing model decides how much of that you can see. Tiered pricing, the third common model, sorts sales into buckets; the Washington State Attorney General's office says that if your statement shows charges for "qualified," "mid-qualified" or "non-qualified" transactions, you're on a tiered model.

Here's a made-up example. An online gift shop in Chicago processes $60,000 in a month. On a flat-rate plan its statement shows $1,740 in fees, an effective rate of 2.9%. On an interchange-plus quote, the same month might show $1,130 in interchange, $95 in network fees and a $210 markup: $1,435 in total, or about 2.39%. None of these figures is a real quote.

The rate is only part of the bill. Monthly minimums, PCI fees, gateway fees, chargeback fees and exit fees can add up to more than the gap between two rates. Our guide to fees that sit outside the quoted rate lists them, and our credit card processing fees page explains each layer.

The next step

Start with numbers from your own statement. Send us one for a free statement review, and we'll separate interchange, network fees and markup, then price the same month on interchange-plus. We work with clients on both sides of the border, in the United States and Canada. If you'd rather talk first, contact us.