How to accept credit card payments: a small business guide

To accept credit card payments, you need an account that lets you take cards, a way to capture the card, and a plan for fees, security, and deposits. The account is either a merchant account with an acquiring bank or a sub-merchant account with a payment facilitator. The capture tool is a card terminal, a payment gateway, a virtual terminal, or a phone. Here's how we'd set it up for a new business, in order.

It's worth the effort. In the 2026 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice from Federal Reserve Financial Services, credit and debit cards made up two-thirds of all consumer payments, and 38% of consumers said they prefer paying by credit card in person, up from 24% in 2016 (Federal Reserve Financial Services).

Step 1: Decide where you'll take cards

Start with how customers actually pay you, because that choice drives every step after it.

Most businesses need two of these, not all four. A food truck in Phoenix may need only mobile payments, while a contractor usually wants mobile payments at the job site plus invoices for deposits. Our page on multi-channel payment processing covers all four.

For in-person sales, accept chip and tap, not swipe alone. Visa's US liability shift for counterfeit card-present fraud took effect on October 1, 2015 (Visa), and a terminal that can't read chips can leave counterfeit-card losses with you.

Step 2: Choose a merchant account or a payment facilitator

A merchant account is your own agreement with an acquiring bank. It takes underwriting and some paperwork, and in return you get your own merchant ID, negotiable pricing, and risk terms agreed before you start. A payment facilitator signs you up as a sub-merchant under its master account, which is fast and simple but usually means flat pricing and less control. Our side-by-side guide on payment facilitator vs merchant account covers the trade-offs.

A simple rule: if you expect steady monthly card sales or large tickets, apply for a merchant account. If you need to take payments this week, sell occasionally, or are testing an idea, start with a payment facilitator and revisit once volume builds.

Either way, expect to be asked for most of the following, so gather it first:

• Your legal business name, EIN, and owner details.
• A business bank account for deposits.
• Expected monthly card volume, average sale, and largest single sale.
• What you sell, how you deliver it, and how long delivery takes.
• Your refund policy and, if you sell online, your website address.
• Recent processing statements, if you've taken cards before.

Selling online? Read what you need for an ecommerce merchant account before you apply. Website gaps, such as a missing refund policy, are an easy way to stall an application, and an easy fix beforehand.

Step 3: Pick your hardware, gateway, and software

Match the tools to the channels you chose in step 1.

• Card terminals: look for chip and tap support plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. Countertop units suit a fixed checkout; wireless and portable units suit tables, curbside pickup, and fieldwork. Our POS terminals come in countertop, wireless, and portable versions.
• A payment gateway: needed for online checkout. A hosted payment page keeps card data off your site, which keeps PCI work small. Our guide to what a payment gateway is explains the options.
• A virtual terminal: for phone and email orders, invoices, payment links, and recurring billing, all from a browser.
• Mobile acceptance: tap to pay on a phone or a small card reader for sales away from the counter.

Buy equipment instead of leasing it when you can, and check what a lease costs over its full term before you sign one. Our list of hidden processing fees walks through the math. Before you commit to anything, confirm that your terminal, point-of-sale software, and gateway are all supported by your processor.

Step 4: Understand pricing models and fees

Every card sale has three cost layers: interchange, which goes to the bank that issued the card; network fees, which go to the card brands; and your provider's markup. Visa describes interchange as a transfer fee between acquiring and issuing banks and says merchants don't pay it directly. They pay a "merchant discount" to their financial institution, which includes it (Visa).

Interchange varies by card. On Visa's schedule with rates effective April 18, 2026, the card-present "Product 2" program charges 1.51% + $0.10 on a standard consumer credit card, about 70 cents on a $40 sale, and 1.65% + $0.10 on a Visa Signature card, about 76 cents (Visa USA Interchange Reimbursement Fees). Some merchant categories have programs of their own, which is one more reason to price your own card mix.

Providers package those costs in one of three ways:

We compare the first two in interchange-plus vs flat-rate pricing. Beyond the rate, ask about monthly account fees, PCI fees, statement and batch fees, chargeback fees, and early termination fees. Our page on credit card processing fees explains each one.

If you want customers to cover card costs, learn the rules first. Visa lets US merchants surcharge credit cards only, capped at the lower of their merchant discount rate or 3%, after notifying their acquirer at least 30 days ahead, and debit and prepaid cards can't be surcharged (Visa). Visa also tells merchants to follow the law of the state where each location sits, and some states go further. As of October 2026, Massachusetts law bars sellers from surcharging customers who pay by credit card (Massachusetts General Laws), and Connecticut bars surcharges on any payment method, though both allow a discount for paying another way (Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection).

Our state-by-state surcharging guide and surcharging program cover the details, and dual pricing vs surcharging compares the alternatives. For rules that apply in every state, see our US overview.

Step 5: Handle PCI compliance

PCI DSS is the card industry's data security standard, and your processor will ask you to validate compliance, usually with a self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ). PCI DSS v4.0.1 has been the only active version since PCI SSC retired v4.0 at the end of 2024 (PCI SSC).

Which questionnaire you file depends on how you take cards:

• SAQ A: online or mail and phone order merchants that fully outsource card handling to PCI DSS validated providers and don't store, process, or transmit card data electronically themselves (PCI SSC).
• SAQ B-IP: merchants using only standalone, approved payment terminals with an IP connection to the processor (PCI SSC).
• SAQ P2PE: merchants using only terminals from a validated, PCI-listed point-to-point encryption solution (PCI SSC).
• SAQ C-VT: merchants that key one transaction at a time into a third-party, internet-based virtual terminal from an isolated device (PCI SSC).
• SAQ D: every merchant the shorter questionnaires don't describe (PCI SSC).

Habits that keep you inside the short questionnaires:

• Never write card numbers on paper, and never accept them by email or text.
• Never keep the security code after a sale is authorized.
• Use hosted checkout pages or embedded payment fields online.
• Change default passwords on terminals and routers, and install terminal updates.
• Finish your questionnaire on time. Some providers charge a monthly non-compliance fee until you do.

If you'd like a hand with it, Clearo provides PCI compliance support.

Step 6: Set up deposits and reconciliation

Card sales don't reach your bank account the moment you take them. Your terminal or gateway closes a batch each day, the processor settles it, and the acquirer deposits the money. How fast depends on your provider's funding schedule and batch cutoff. We offer same-day or next-day funding options, and our guide to same-day funding explains how it works.

Decide whether fees come out of each deposit (net funding) or in one monthly charge (gross funding). Net funding makes deposits harder to match to sales; gross funding makes deposits match sales but adds one large debit each month. Either works if you reconcile.

A weekly routine: match each day's batch total to the deposit that settles it, then explain any difference. Using made-up numbers, say a salon in Philadelphia takes $12,000 in card sales in a week, refunds $300, and pays $280 in fees taken out daily. Deposits should total $11,420. If they don't, look for a missing batch, a chargeback, or a reserve.

At tax time, remember that Form 1099-K reports gross card sales. The IRS says there is no minimum for payment card transactions, and the gross amount doesn't include adjustments for fees, credits, or refunds (IRS). Keep your refund and fee records so your books can explain the gap between that form and your deposits.

Step 7: Test before you go live

1. Run a real sale on each channel with your own card, then refund it.
2. Check the receipt for your business name, location, and return policy.
3. Look at how the charge appears on your card statement. That's the name your customers will see.
4. On your website, enter a wrong security code to see the decline message customers will get.
5. Confirm the batch closes when you expect and the deposit lands in the right account.
6. Match the processor's report to your point-of-sale or online store sales for the test day.
7. Train staff on refunds, voids, and what to do if a terminal loses its connection.

Step 8: Go live and review your costs

Post your refund policy, display the card brands you accept, and add surcharge notices if you surcharge. After your first full month, read the statement line by line; our guide to reading a merchant statement shows where fees hide. Review it again whenever your volume or card mix changes.

Plan for chargebacks before the first one arrives

When a customer disputes a charge with their bank, the sale can be reversed as a chargeback, and your processor will ask you for evidence by a deadline. Winning one usually comes down to finding your paperwork fast. Keep itemized receipts, signed work orders or delivery confirmations, and customer emails, filed so you can pull them up by date and amount.

Fight the disputes you can document. For the ones you can't, refund faster next time, because a voluntary refund doesn't carry a chargeback fee or count against your dispute history. We also offer chargeback management tools.

Common mistakes when you start accepting cards

• Signing a multi-year contract with a cancellation fee. Clearo has no long-term contracts and no cancellation fees.
• Leasing a terminal you could have bought.
• Choosing a provider on the advertised rate without reading the full fee schedule.
• Taking card numbers by email, text, or on paper.
• Surcharging debit cards, which Visa doesn't allow.
• Skipping test transactions and finding problems with live customers.

Your next step

If you're starting from zero, contact us and we'll map the setup to how you actually sell, from terminals to online checkout, with merchant services on interchange-plus pricing. If you already accept cards and suspect you're overpaying, send a recent statement for a free statement review. We'll show you what each fee is for and whether your pricing makes sense for your volume.