Top 5 best merchant account services for small business

The traditional way to accept card payments is for a business to have its own POS system and best merchant account service. Technically, there is no free way of doing...

The traditional way to accept card payments is for a business to have its own POS system and best merchant account service. Technically, there is no free way of doing this. But, providers who offer more affordable solutions may not require contracts or monthly fees as well as set up charges if you are only using checkouts online or through invoices instead of in person at the point-of-sale (POS). Below are the best merchant account include:

Square Payments: Free Merchant Account with the Best Overall Value

Square payments is a free payment processing and POS solution with competitive rates, sleek design, and advanced features. Unlike traditional merchant accounts that need an application process and approval to operate, anyone can sign up for Square without any barriers. This way small businesses get all the benefits of the best free merchant account in town!

Square offers competitive transaction processing rates, especially if you take into consideration the free POS and e-commerce tools available to its users. It’s also the only provider on our list that offers up to $250 of chargeback protection for free a month and zero chargeback fees. Stripe is close but will cost you 0.4% for any kind of chargebacks protection, whether it be by credit card or debit card (or even PayPal). Square’s chip-and-tap reader is cheaper at $49; however, Square’s card reader has more versatility because it can connect with a countertop setup which QuickBooks does not offer as an option.

Square got a 4.51 out of 5 in our evaluation of the best free merchant services, which is due to high marks for not having chargeback or cancellation fees, being able to be used as an option for many different types of payments, and coming with a suite of free business management tools. The only downside was limited customer support and ACH and bank payment options combined with reports on account stability issues that prevented Square from scoring higher than they did. That said, Square is also one of our top picks when it comes to best overall merchant services.

Square Payments Features

Free POS and mobile payments app: you can accept any major credit or debit cards, including contactless payments like Apple Pay and QR codes in offline mode. We also offer to tip with digital receipts for automated customer directory tracking inventory control
Free Square Online account: Create a free website for e-commerce, events, donations, online ordering, appointment booking, or a simple checkout page
Free invoicing software: Square Invoices are the most convenient way to manage your invoicing. Through our app, you can create and send estimates, track payments manually or automatically through ACH, and get notifications when an invoice is viewed or paid- all online. You can also set up recurring invoices and auto-billing in Square Invoice.
Free business management tools: The Square Dashboard allows you to view sales reports, manage customer data, track orders and manage all your sales channels (POS, mobile, online, and invoicing) in one place.
Add-ons and upgrades: For a fee, you can purchase industry-specific point of sale software, payroll processing capabilities, CRM features, and other modules that are necessary to run a business.
Chargeback protection: Square disputes chargebacks and provides space for any supporting documents. Ahold will be placed on your account until the dispute is approved or disapproved by the bank. That being said, Square does not charge you any additional fees to do so.

Square Payments Advantage

Free, instant setup
Accept POS, mobile, e-commerce, invoicing, and virtual terminal payments
Chargeback protection and no chargeback fees
Free POS and business management software

Square Payments Drawback

ACH processing only in invoicing
Account stability issues
Limited live support

Square Payments Pricing

In-person transaction: 2.6% + 10 cents (lower rates available with certain hardware and software purchases)
Ecommerce and invoice transactions: 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
Keyed-in and card-on-file transactions: 3.5% + 15 cents per transaction
Monthly fees: $0
Monthly minimums: $0
Hardware costs: Free magstripe card reader, extras are $10 each; chip and contactless reader available for $49. Terminals and full POS systems are available.
Payment funding: One to two business days, or pay 1.5% for same-day funding
Chargeback fee: $0

More information:

What is a merchant account for ecommerce

PayPal Business Is The Best Option For Solopreneurs

PayPal Business is a user-friendly electronic payments company that offers competitive rates for individuals and small businesses. Solopreneurs, hobbyists, or occasional sellers will find its peer-to-peer payment tools the perfect solution.

For a faster checkout experience without the need to enter any payment or shipping information, One-Touch technology is something Square doesn’t have. This works similarly to Apple Pay at checkout, which shoppers will recognize and may lead your customers to make purchases on your site. Combined with PayPal’s wide-reaching name recognition, this can increase conversion rates for your online store.

PayPal’s rating of 4.26 out of 5 is below Square and PayPal in transactions and budget features, but they are one step ahead with pricing. While PayPal offers affordable transaction fees for mobile and online purchases, as well as a free POS app to use on your smartphone or tablet) it requires you to sign up for monthly subscriptions if you want virtual terminals or ACH processing. It also has a $20 chargeback fee that other competitors don’t have along with limited customer support options (24 hours).

PayPal Features

Free POS and mobile payments app: Accept all major credit and debit cards, contactless payments including Apple Pay, PayPal payments, and QR code invoices; view sales reports; add multiple users to your account.
Online transactions: We can install a free online checkout on just about any website or create a custom branded checkout for you ($30 per month). We accept all major credit and debit cards, PayPal, PayPal Credit, and Venmo payments.
Invoicing: Invoice for free, accept payments with different cards, and PayPal services. Save customer information, send reminders and accept international payments. Invoices can be scheduled to generate automatically or paid in full at any time.
Chargeback protection: PayPal is a fraud-prevention and protection service. When an unauthorized chargeback is filed, PayPal charges you $20 unless the transaction was protected by their Seller Protection program.

Payments Features

Free POS and mobile payments app: you can accept any major credit or debit cards, including contactless payments like Apple Pay and QR codes in offline mode. We also offer to tip with digital receipts for automated customer directory tracking inventory control
Free Square Online account: Create a free website for e-commerce, events, donations, online ordering, appointment booking, or a simple checkout page
Free invoicing software: Square Invoices are the most convenient way to manage your invoicing. Through our app, you can create and send estimates, track payments manually or automatically through ACH, and get notifications when an invoice is viewed or paid- all online. You can also set up recurring invoices and auto-billing in Square Invoice.
Free business management tools: The Square Dashboard allows you to view sales reports, manage customer data, track orders and manage all your sales channels (POS, mobile, online, and invoicing) in one place.
Add-ons and upgrades: For a fee, you can purchase industry-specific point of sale software, payroll processing capabilities, CRM features, and other modules that are necessary to run a business.
Chargeback protection: Square disputes chargebacks and provides space for any supporting documents. A hold will be placed on your account until the dispute is approved or disapproved by the bank. That being said, Square does not charge you any additional fees to do so.

PayPal Payments Advantage

Accept all payment types
Easy for customers and merchants to use
Instant PayPal deposit
Free invoicing and POS software
Supports 25 currencies

PayPal Payments Drawback

Monthly fee required for virtual terminal and ACH processing
3–5 business days for a bank deposit
$20 chargeback fee

PayPal Payments Pricing

In-person processing fees: 2.29% + 9 cents
Online processing fees: 2.59% + 49 cents
Keyed-in processing: 3.49% + 49 cents
Monthly fees: $0
Monthly minimums: $0
Hardware costs: PayPal Zettle reader $79 (first reader discounted, $29)
Payment funding: Same-day PayPal funding, 3–5 business days for bank deposits
Chargeback fee: $20

With Helcim, you can get the best free merchant account for storefronts

Helcim is a company that provides merchant services with built-in volume discounts and interchange plus transaction fees. It provides POS, inventory management, invoicing, and customer management as well as e-commerce features for free to its customers. The system can easily be adapted for a wide range of industries including retail and subscription-based service businesses.

This provider is best suited for retailers. With its interchange-plus pricing scheme and discounts, this service favors businesses with larger monthly transactions. Helcim’s suite of management tools is a great value to the retail business that has many customers coming through their doors each day.

Helcim scored an overall score of 4.09 out of 5 in our evaluation, with particularly strong scores for its free multichannel sales tools and competitive interchange pricing. It beat Chase on the transaction and budget features, especially for stored payments and business management tools. Helcim’s average fees are 1.92% plus 8 cents (for card-present) or 2.38% plus 25 cents (online), which is the lowest among providers listed here.

Helcim doesn’t have the most attractive system but comes with one of the highest fees. They also were not compatible well and had limited integration – all these factors contributed to a lower score for Helcim.

Helcim Features

Free POS and mobile payments app: Helcim offers you a variety of payment methods: credit and debit card transactions, EMV, NFC payments. Electronic fund transfers (EFT) or ACH transactions are also available.
Online transactions: Helcim’s free online store builder lets you create your own hosted website or add a Helcim-hosted payment page to your current website
Invoicing: With our invoicing tool, you’ll be able to create customized invoices. You can also accept payments over the phone with a virtual terminal, via email or SMS with a link, or by using a “buy now” button for recurring payments. Want more? Automate recurring invoice creation and offer subscriptions and trials too! The last thing is accepting membership registrations- simply use our “subscribe” button!
Chargeback protection: Helcim’s user dashboard includes a tab for pending disputes that displays detailed information on any dispute you have open. This allows you to respond immediately and submit documents in support of your claim. Helcim reimburses users who win a chargeback dispute, which can be disputed right from the platform.

Helcim Payments Advantage

Interchange plus pricing
Free invoicing and e-commerce tools
Guided chargeback dispute resolution
No long-term contracts

Helcim Payments Drawback

Limited integration
Expensive for under $5,000 volume transactions
Not for high-risk merchants

Helcim Payments Pricing

In-person processing fees: Interchange plus 0.10% + 5 cents to 0.30% + 8 cents
Online and keyed-in processing fees: Interchange plus 0.20% + 10 cents to 0.50% + 25 cents
ACH processing fees: 0.5% + 25 cents per transaction
Recurring billing: $0
Monthly fees: $0
Monthly minimums: $0
Hardware costs: $109 per card reader
Payment funding: Up to 2 business days
Chargeback fee: $15 and will be refunded for every dispute you win

Chase Payment Solutions is the best traditional merchant account for small businesses

Chase Payment Solutions is a big name in the banking industry and it has also acquired key subsidiaries to become one of the most versatile merchant service providers. Chase can give users faster access to their funds, especially if they have Chase Business Checking accounts. It offers both same-day and next-day funding options depending on the type of account you have with them.

The system supports in-person, online, and mobile sales with a secure payment processing system. Besides this it includes key POS and inventory integrations so you can run your business efficiently from one single platform while on the go. It is simply one of the best choices for those who prefer a traditional merchant account

Our assessment of Chase Payment Solutions, according to their performance in our tests, results in a final score of 4.08 out of 5 stars. This is an excellent rating that we achieved thanks to multiple payment options and POS integrations as well as how quickly it makes funds available for its users-especially when long-term contracts are involved. Transaction fees on cards not present or online rates are also slightly lower than Square’s (5 cents cheaper), and signing up with them will get you free hardware if you sign up for a long-term contract

Chase is a leading provider of personal and business banking products, but it was a close second to Helcim in many categories like pricing and contract. One area where Chase fell behind is transaction features- there are no stored payment services that come with the account, meaning you need to pay extra for those. In addition, customer service quality needs improvement as well as they lacked some basics features like retailer protection tools which prevented Chase from achieving higher rankings than Helcim and landing them just behind by an extremely small margin.

Chase Payment Solutions provides the following features

Free POS and mobile payments app: At Chase, you have the option to accept a variety of cards like chip cards and contactless cards. You can also process checks remotely or accept payments from friends using mobile wallets like Apple Pay. Our services include tips, adjustments, and reporting as well!

Online transactions: Create an online store and start taking payments in minutes with these easy steps. You can also set up a “buy now” or “subscribe” button to accept recurring payments using one of Chase’s more than 140 integrations, including Shopify and WooCommerce.

Invoicing: We offer custom invoices or recurring billing. Schedule your invoice generation and set flexible payment methods that’s convenient for you, while making sure the customer will be able to pay it on time!

Chargeback protection: Our online dispute management system allows you to receive notifications on chargebacks as quickly as possible and promptly respond. This ensures that your account isn’t debited below the original purchase amount.

Chase payments Advantage

Direct processor
Compatible with most credit card terminals
Offers free gateway integrations
Includes fraud protection tools
Same-day funding

Chase Payments Drawback

Complaints of overcharging and sudden account termination
Some accounts may require a contract and minimum
Limited seller protection and online dispute management feature cost extra

Chase Payments Pricing

In-person processing: 2.6% + 10 cents
Keyed-in processing: 3.5% + 10 cents (requires a Chase Business Complete Account)
Online processing: 2.9% + 25 cents
Monthly fees: $0 for Chase Mobile Checkout, Stand Alone, and Virtual Terminal users
Monthly minimums: $0 for Chase Mobile Checkout, Stand Alone, and Virtual Terminal users
Chase QuickAccept (mobile): $0 with monthly minimum (requires a Chase Business Complete account).
Hardware costs: From $49.95 or free with a long-term contract (also compatible with most programmable credit card terminals)
Payment funding: Same-day and next-day funding available
Chargeback fee: Undisclosed

Stripe is the best free merchant account for online businesses

Stripe is a free payment processing system that lets businesses create custom online checkouts with instant setup and no application process. It also has features such as managing subscriptions, recurring fees, and storing card data. Stripe’s detailed online features along with its zero startup fee and competitive rates make it a solid choice for e-commerce businesses.

Square is a good option for mom-and-pop shops or occasional sellers. Stripe, on the other hand, has more to offer businesses that are growing and looking for software and technical resources to maximize its impressive array of free and open-source tools.

Stripe is an American payments company focusing on the e-commerce market, Stripe is focused on providing a robust and customizable set of payment solutions with security features to assist in fraud prevention. It earned a 4.06 out of 5 during our evaluation which included ACH processing tools being affordable but also preventing it from scoring higher due to its complicated setup process, slow deposit speed, and limited business management tools

Stripe Features

Stripe Payments: If you have a business that runs on money, Stripe can help. Begin by creating an account and then use their existing tools or create your own with the Stripe API guides and libraries to send one-time invoices, store credit cards payments methods, build an embedded checkout form, integrate with over 450 online platforms all while accepting major credit and debit cards as well as ACH/bank transfers. You’ll even be able to accept international payments from Alipay users!
Stripe Terminal: With the Stripe Terminal API, merchants can now accept in-person payments. Unlike other solutions we have on our list, separate POS software is required
Stripe Billing: Create subscriptions and invoices, add unlimited team members, and view revenue reports.
Customer Support: Stripe offers email, phone, and chat support 24/7. It also has extensive documentation and FAQs available. Premium, dedicated support is also purchasable for a fee

Chase payments Advantage

Free account with instant setup
Works with any website or online store
Low-cost ACH processing
Instant payout options are available
Supports 135+ currencies

Chase Payments Drawback

Complex setup process
$15 chargeback fee
The first deposit payout takes up to 14 days

Chase Payments Pricing

In-person processing fees: 2.7% + 5 cents
Online processing and keyed-in transactions: 2.9% + 30 cents
ACH processing fees: 0.8% per transaction with a $5 cap
Recurring billing: Additional 0.5% fee
Monthly fees: $0
Monthly minimums: $0
Hardware costs: $59 for Stripe Card Reader and BBPOS Chipper 2X BT, $249 for BBPOS Wise reader
Payment funding: Up to 14 business days for the first payout, after two business days for succeeding. Instant payouts are available for certain banks with a 1% fee.
Chargeback fee: $15; can also opt for Chargeback Protection for 0.4% transaction fee

There are no merchant services that are 100% free. However, many of the options have monthly fees and startup or processing minimums. There is a wide range of these options to choose from and they all come with competitive pay-as-you-go transaction processing fees. These choices offer a variety of features like POS integration, invoicing software, business management tools, etc so you can be sure to find an option perfect for your needs! Our top choice for free merchant accounts has no application process or monthly fee in addition to having basic tools necessary for running a business such as mobile payments apps and affordable prices on additional products/services you may need (Square).