Cheapest Credit Card Processing Companies & Low-Cost Merchant Services for Small Businesses
Every business that accepts cashless payments must ensure that it has an effective and efficient system for processing transactions made with payment cards. Although the cost of obtaining such a service can be high, it is even more expensive to do otherwise.
If you were able to launch your startup without involving a payment service provider (PSP), as your sales volume grows, it will get to a point when you will not be able to manage it on your own. At that moment, you will need to contact a payment processing company for the smooth and secure handling of all your transactions.
Some business owners and managers who cannot afford expensive payment processing services opt for cheap alternatives that do not adequately meet their needs in terms of security, speed, and reliability. While it is rational to expect poor outcomes from low-cost services, it is a mistake to think that you cannot get the best credit card processing companies without having to sacrifice the overall quality of your transactions.
Why should you allow your business to suffer when you can get the solution it needs to grow by reading this article? In this guide, we will show you how to get the services of the best credit card processing companies with the cheapest fees on the market.
How to Get Credit Card Processing at the Lowest Cost
While preparing to get the best PSP for credit card transaction processing, it would help your business if you could work with the following suggestions:
- Know the average volume of credit card transactions that you need to process monthly so that you can determine the PSP requirements of your business.
- Do comparison shopping for the most suitable PSPs for your business, check the products they offer (look out for chargeback protection), and try to get as many quotes as possible.
- Consider the full pricing of each processor to ensure that there are no hidden fees or unnecessary charges that will end up making the service expensive.
- Choose a flexible payment processor so that you would not need to enter into a long-term contract, and you can easily switch to another one when your business needs change or their terms of service are no longer satisfactory to you.
- Purchase the new hardware you need instead of renting a fairly used product or going for a lease, so that you can save more money in the long term.
Cheapest Credit Card Payment Processing Companies: Best Low-cost PSPs for Merchants
In our research for the best credit card processing companies with the cheapest fees for different types of businesses, we found the following to be the most professional, innovative, secure, reliable, and affordable: Square, Stripe, DECTA, ConnectPay, Satchel, Revolut, and Intergiro. Below is our summary of what each company does, its hardware and software products for credit card payment processing, the cost of obtaining the service, and the pros and cons to keep in mind.
1. Square (Cheapest for Small eCommerce Businesses and Brick-and-mortar Retailers)
Square is a point-of-sale platform provider and payment processing company with credit card services, especially for small businesses, online merchants, and brick-and-mortar stores. It offers merchants powerful tools to accept payments securely and build good communication with their growing customers.
Relevant products: For credit card processing, Square offers the following:
- Customisable POS terminals for all businesses.
- POS API and software for card payments.
- Several hardware products—Square Reader, Square Terminal, Square Stand, and Square Register.
Pricing: 1.25% + €0.05 fee per POS terminal transaction (physical payment), 1.4% + €0.25 fee per online payment with EU and EEA cards, and 2.9% + €0.25 fee per online payment with UK and non-EEA cards.
Go to Square: To use Square's hardware and software payment solutions for your business, click here.
2. Stripe (Cheapest for General Merchant Services and Multicurrency Payments)
Stripe is a global payment processor and general merchant service specialist. It provides a wide range of solutions for transaction processing, which include credit card tools and APIs for online and in-person businesses of all kinds. Also, if you run an eCommerce business with most of your customers making payments from different countries, Stripe can enable you to accept over 100 unique currencies on your platform.
Relevant products: For credit card processing, Stripe offers the following:
- Pre-certified card readers (BBPOS WisePad 3 at €59 and BBPOS WisePOS E at €199, all excluding VAT).
- Branded virtual and physical cards through Stripe Issuing and Stripe Payments.
- You can also use its chargeback protection product (Stripe Radar).
Pricing: 1.4% + €0.25 for EEA credit cards, 2.9% + €0.25 for international credit cards, €15 fee for every chargeback (lost dispute transaction), and 0.4% per transaction for protection against chargeback—this covers the dispute fee and the amount disputed.
Go to Stripe: To use Stripe for your business, click here.
3. DECTA (Cheapest for Fintech Startups and Banks)
DECTA is one of the best global payment processors for fintech startups, banks, PSPs, and many other merchants. Its business growth solutions include issuer and acquirer processing as well as a white-label payment gateway.
Relevant products: For credit card processing, DECTA has the following:
- Point-of-sale (POS) system for in-store and online payments.
- DECTA payment gateway, including full-page checkout and payment links.
- API for card management.
Pricing: 0.27% + €0.08 per transaction.
Go to DECTA: To use DECTA for your credit card payment processing, click here.
4. ConnectPay (Cheapest for eCommerce and iGaming Merchants)
ConnectPay is the cheapest among the best payment processors for all kinds of eCommerce and iGaming businesses. It is an electronic money institution that can help you with accepting payments from your customers online and making refunds through an easy and secure platform. You can use ConnectPay to create fast checkouts and process payments from Mastercard and Visa credit and debit cards.
Relevant products: For credit card processing, ConnectPay offers the following:
- Pre-build a single API with multiple solutions for eCommerce merchants.
- Plugins (extensions) for easy and fast integration.
Pricing: Varies from 1.3% to 3% + €0.27, depending on your account type (Corporate Tree, Corporate Forest, or Corporate Jungle) and the mode of the card transaction (domestic or international, Visa or Mastercard). Also, there is a one-time setup fee of €100 per merchant, irrespective of your account time and risk level.
Go to ConnectPay: To use ConnectPay’s card processing solutions for your business, click here.
5. Satchel (Cheapest for Freelancers and Entrepreneurs)
Satchel is a low-cost payment processor for all kinds of businesses that accept credit and debit card payments, especially freelancers, entrepreneurs, and international eCommerce merchants. You can use this service to offer up to 20 different currencies to your customers.
Relevant products: For reliable credit card processing, Satchel offers the following:
- Tools for Banking-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service.
- Extensive API with fast integration.
Pricing: 0.3% + €0.15 for domestic transactions with EU credit cards, 1.5% + €0.15 for international transactions with EU credit cards.
Go to Satchel: To use Satchel for your credit card processing, click here.
6. Revolut (Cheapest for Merchants that Need Diverse Solutions)
Revolut is a payment solution provider for freelancers and businesses, meeting their needs through its wide range of services. You can go to Revolut for payment processing, money transfer, savings, investment, cryptocurrency, commodities, and wealth management.
Relevant products: For credit card processing, Revolut offers the following:
- Revolut Reader for physical payments.
- Customisable Merchant API.
- Revolut Plugins and Widget.
- Revolut Pay for a seamless online checkout.
- Shareable links and QR codes for online payments.
Pricing: 1% + €0.20 for European credit cards, 2.8% + €0.20 for international credit cards, and 1% + €0.20 for Revolut Pay.
Go to Revolut: To use Revolut’s credit card services, click here.
7. Intergiro (Cheapest for Online Businesses and Banking-as-a-Service Providers)
Intergiro is the best payment processor for any business that needs a full-stack financial ecosystem, especially banking-as-a-service (BaaS) providers. Its APIs provide the financial toolkit for your business needs to build its own payment solutions. The top users of Intergiro are neobanks, crypto exchanges, retailers, PSPs, card acquirers, digital companies, and professional services.
Relevant products: For credit card payment acceptance and processing, Intergiro offers the following:
- Acquiring API.
- Payment processing APIs.
- Branded virtual and physical cards.
Pricing: Intergiro’s fee for credit card processing starts at €1 and varies according to the merchant’s account package (Starter, Growth, Professional, or Enterprise) and the transaction. Contact the sales team for a quote and more information.
Go to Intergiro: To use Intergiro’s for your all-in-one financial toolkit, click here.
FAQ
The best payment system for small businesses is Square. Square's user-friendly and low-cost payment processing services are attractive to small businesses. Besides, a free Square account is loaded with tools to track and contest chargebacks from credit card transactions, as well as virtual and in-person terminals for fast and secure payments.
When it comes to credit card payment processing, a good rate for merchant payment processing services is between 1.5% and 3%. But this depends on several factors, which include whether the transaction is domestic or international, the monthly transaction volume, the card mix (combination of accepted cards), and the risk category of the business client—the rate is usually higher for high-risk merchants.
Conclusion
Generally, processing various methods of payment is an essential but often expensive part of managing any commercial establishment. However, it does not always have to be pricey. Many merchants are spending too much money on transaction processing because they lack the right information. But that should not be the case for you henceforth.
We have shown you how to avoid the time and money spent on finding and using a credit card payment processor in this article. As you have seen, Square, Stripe, DECTA, ConnectPay, Satchel, Revolut, and Intergiro are the safest, fastest, and most reliable credit card processing companies with the lowest rates for merchants. Transform your payment processing for the better now by opening an account with any of them.
Top 5 payment providers to watch in 2022
Post by Anna Friedmann
Fintech Startup: How to Choose a Payment Service Provider
Post by Ese Precious
Top Banking-as-a-Service Products in 2023
Post by Ese Precious
8 Top Credit Card Processing Companies
Post by Anna Friedmann
A Simple Guide to Online Payment Processing: What It Is and How It Works
Post by Ese Precious