7 Best Payment Gateways for 2022

Authorize.net’s gateway plan adds 10 cents per transaction to the merchant service’s rate. The all-in-one solution includes a merchant account and runs 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction across the board. Most providers have varying rates by whether you key in, swipe/chip/dip, or invoice. Square, for example, charges 2.6% + 10 cents for in-person, 3.5% + 15 cents for keyed-in, and 2.9% + 30 cents for online payments.

Regardless of the Authorize.net plan, you pay $25 a month. Most of the gateways on our list don’t have a monthly fee. PaymentCloud does, but it works with high-risk merchants (so higher rates are to be expected), and Chase’s monthly fee comes from its requirement that you have a business account. Authorize.net has the advantage of no chargeback fees. However, if you connect it to a separate merchant account, that account would likely have chargeback fees.

You’ll most likely purchase your POS hardware from a third party, but Authorize.net does have a credit card reader that works with its mobile app. This costs $65, which is slightly high for a chip-and-tap reader.

Robust payment toolkit

Authorize.net pretty much checks all the boxes: online and in-person payments, virtual terminals and subscription management, credit card and mobile wallets like Apple Pay, and even PayPal. It can serve high-risk businesses through its partners. It has PCI compliance and strong fraud protection. Plus, it had a user score of over 4 averaged across multiple user sites. It’s a full-featured, reliable payment processor.

Popular & easy to integrate

Authorize.net integrates into more than 140 certified solutions from sales to accounting, kiosks to shopping carts, and even other payment providers like PayPal. In addition, it has a list of about 160 authorized developers that can provide prebuilt or custom solutions. It has partnerships with business solutions for shipping, compliances, fraud prevention, and more. The software integrations are on par with the gateways on our list, but the additional developers and partnerships set it above the rest.

Pays within 24 hours

Most payment processors take a day or two to pay out, except 2Checkout, which pays out each week. Some, like Square, charge extra for same-day payouts.

Mobile

Authorize.net’s POS app lets you ring up purchases with sales tax and simple notes and accept credit card payments. Users, especially recently, say they’ve had problems with logins and glitching. Square provides a more feature-rich and reliable mobile POS system.

• Android: 3.2 out of 5 stars with around 160 reviews
• iOS: 2.5 out of 5 stars with more than 200 reviews

• Monthly fees: Authorize.net charges $25 per month no matter how much you use the service. If you only sell on occasion, consider Square for in-person sales or Amazon Pay as an addition to your online store.
• Limited international reach: Authorize.net works for merchants in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia. If you are based elsewhere, look at 2Checkout.

Like most of the providers in our list, Helcim does not charge a monthly processing fee. It also does not charge for application or account setup. Merchants are not tied to a long-term contract, so there’s no early termination fee—allowing users to cancel for free at any time. Helcim’s chargeback fee is $15, which can be reimbursed upon winning the dispute.

As for processing fees, it adapts a volume-based interchange plus pricing model, which means you don’t need to keep negotiating for better processing rates. Its in-person transaction fee ranges from interchange plus 0.1% + 5 cents to 0.3% + 8 cents, and its online processing fee runs from interchange plus 0.2% + 10 cents to 0.5% + 25 cents per transaction.

According to Helcim, the average in-person transaction fee is 1.92% + 8 cents, while the average online transaction fee is 2.38% + 25 cents. You can use the detailed pricing table and calculator on Helcim’s website to compute your actual cost per transaction.

Interchange-plus pricing

Helcim charges a volume-based service fee on top of the actual interchange and card network costs. This pricing model makes it possible to get the lowest rates possible every month automatically, depending on your monthly sales, without having to constantly negotiate for fees.

International payments

Like Stripe and 2Checkout, Helcim can also process overseas credit card payments. There are no additional fees for currency conversion as the transactions are subject to your customer’s card network rates.

Data management

Helcim’s full payment gateway API allows you to securely manage your business data all in one place. There are over 80 API actions available, including accessing and updating product catalogs and retrieving credit card and bank information.

Dispute management

Helcim’s recent update includes a dispute management dashboard. It lists chargeback details, statuses of claims, and a link for uploading supporting documents. You can also filter the view depending on dispute status, response due date, and more.

• Not compatible with high-risk merchants: Helcim does not work with high-risk merchants; PaymentCloud is a more suitable solution for that.
• Limited back-office integration: While Helcim has added a number of ecommerce integration options and a built-in POS feature, back-office integration is still significantly limited compared to other providers in our list. We recommend Stripe and Authorize.net as alternatives.

Square’s per-transaction fees run 2.6% + 10 cents to 3.5% + 15 cents. These are among the lowest on our list, partially because there are no separate or add-on gateway fees. However, Authorize.net can offer interchange-plus through a merchant account (which can be cheaper, particularly for established companies with a high transaction volume), and Chase has the same rates as Square, although Square offers discounts for businesses doing over $250,000 a year in credit card processing.

It does not charge monthly fees and offers free POS software (though higher tiers cost $60 or a custom fee) and a virtual terminal. Many other systems in this guide charge for these or rely on a third-party application, which you’ll pay for. In addition, Square waives chargeback fees up to $250 a month.

You can use Square on an iPad or purchase POS systems starting at $299. Card readers start at $49, although it offers a magstripe reader for free. These are among the cheapest we found, although most of the gateways on our list offer more variety. A subscription also comes with a free online store, website, and hosted checkout page.

Priced for solopreneurs & startups

If you are only an occasional seller, such as a hobbyist, the free software and lack of monthly fees make it among the most affordable. Compare it to Authorize.net, which has a monthly fee, or 2Checkout, which does not have a mobile app.

Versatility

The ease of use and great mobile app means you can use it in-store or on the go. It has a virtual terminal for phone orders, a free website/online store, and invoicing for freelancers and B2B. (Others on this list charge for one or both of these features.) It even has specialized POS systems for restaurants and salons.

Free POS with inventory management

While many of the payment gateways on this list offer POS systems, Square’s is among the most complete with inventory, reports, and some customer management functions.

Mobile app & card readers

Square tops our list of the best iPhone credit card readers. Users praise the ease of use and functions. Most complaints are about held funds or frozen accounts rather than the app.

• Android: 3.9 out of 5 stars with some 154,000 reviews
• iOS: 4.8 out of 5 stars with around 325,000 reviews

• No high-risk services: Square does not provide services to high-risk industries. If your business falls under this category, check out PaymentCloud.
• No interchange-plus pricing: Square has a flat rate. With Authorize.net, you have the choice of flat rates or interchange-plus transaction fees (with a different merchant account). Stripe and Chase offer interchange-plus to qualified customers.
• Frozen accounts: While none of the payment processors in this guide guarantee they won’t hold funds or freeze accounts, Square was the worst offender to make the list (PayPal, which we discuss later, is another frequent offender). PaymentCloud scored best for this, but 2Checkout and Chase Merchant Services are also reliable.

Stripe’s pricing is similar to Square’s and highly competitive. It also offers custom pricing, including interchange-plus and volume discounts for qualified customers. Unlike the other payment processors in this guide, it has a separate fee for international credit cards taken in person. The chargeback fee of $15 is cheaper than most for those who charge. (Square, however, waives up to $250 a month in chargeback fees.)

Stripe offers limited hardware, mostly card readers. However, its new card reader terminal and POS system are coming soon, with prices similar to Square’s.

Billing & subscriptions

Stripe has a free invoice function for up to 25 payment requests per month. However, it also makes it easy to design a billing system for one-time or recurring payments. You can set up flat rates, multiple pricing, and usage rates (such as for electricity). It integrates with websites, mobile apps, and CRM systems.

Integrations

Stripe was designed to be easily integrated and has over 660 partners and interfaces in accounting and finance, marketing and sales, operations, payments, and ecommerce. In addition, it has excellent SDK and API functions for creating your own integrations. In fact, Stripe processes over 250 million API requests per day.

International sales

While we like 2Checkout best for international sales, Stripe is no slouch. With Stripe, you can accept payments in over 135 currencies. It charges extra for processing international credit cards in person, however.

• Requires technical expertise: Stripe was initially developed for programming and special use cases. While it does have some simple plug-and-play options for payment buttons and hosted payments, the other payment gateways on our list are more straightforward.
• No mobile POS: Like PaymentCloud, Stripe does not have an app that lets you accept payments on the smartphone. It does have third-party apps, like Stripe Payments by FacilePay, which has 4.5 stars but charges an additional transaction fee. If you want to conduct transactions on your smartphone or tablet, Square is your best choice.

PayPal’s payment gateway is a popular add-on service but an add-on nevertheless. There are no monthly fees for using the prebuilt checkout template, but fully customized checkouts will cost $25 per month. One-time payments are at 10 cents per transaction, while accepting payments for PayPal’s recurring billing service is another $10 per month. Advanced fraud protection is also available for $10 monthly. See how these fees compare with Square and Stripe.

International payments processing

PayPal accepts 24 currencies through its payment gateway.

Hosted checkout

PayPal is one of the most trusted online payment processors that provides hosted prebuilt and highly customized checkout pages. It’s easy to set up and integrate, allowing you to start accepting payments in minutes.

Social media selling

Create a “Buy Now” or “Pay Now” button with PayPal’s payment button generator. You can paste the link on Facebook, Twitter, and most online marketplaces.

Chargeback protection

Basic chargeback protection is included with PayPal’s payment gateway, but you can also add advanced fraud protection and seller protection.

Recurring billing payments

PayPal’s invoicing app allows you to automate recurring invoice management. You can create and send invoices and accept card payments, echecks, and PayPal-exclusive payment methods.

• B2B payment processing: PayPal does not offer discounted rates and special features for accepting B2B payments. It also charges a monthly fee for processing e-check payments. If you need this, then consider Stripe, which offers a free account and better payment processing rates for B2B businesses.
• Additional payment gateway fees: The use of Payflow may become expensive if you require advanced payment gateway functions such as customization, branding, and advanced fraud protection. Stripe is a better option as it does not charge an additional monthly fee for advanced payment gateway features.

2Checkout’s pricing is simple but more expensive than the others in this guide. It does not distinguish between online and in-person sales and has no monthly fee, setting it apart from Authorize.net and PaymentCloud. Unlike Stripe, it does not charge extra for international cards.

Its chargeback fees vary depending on your history. The more chargebacks you have and the higher the dispute, the higher your charges. Find 2Checkout’s formula on its website.

Unlike Square, which sells full POS systems, and the other payment processors here that sell at least a card reader terminal, 2Checkout does not sell hardware.

Shopper myAccount

2Checkout has a unique tool, myAccount, for your customers. It lets them see all the items they’ve purchased using 2Checkout (i.e., from your store and others that use this payment gateway). They can make changes to personal information and payment methods and contact support. It is similar to PayPal’s consumer-facing account pages but not something we’ve seen in the other providers on our list.

International sales

You can process sales for 200+ countries and 45 different payment methods in 100 currencies. This includes recurring billing and individual sales. The highest plan has global VAT and sales tax collecting and handling—something you won’t find with the other payment gateways in this guide.

Award-winning coding

2Checkout has won multiple awards for its platform and programming, including awards from review sites like G2. It was also a finalist in the 2021 CODiE Awards and 2021 Cloud Awards.

Add-on tools

Like Square, 2Checkout offers several add-ons to upgrade your plan. However, these are more focused on payment processing than POS. You can get tools for increasing conversion rates and A/B testing, complex subscription management, renewal recovery like updating expired cards, networking with over 50,000 affiliates, and dedicated customer support.

• Weekly payout: While most payment processors on our list pay out in a day or two, and some, like Square or Chase can pay on the same day, 2Checkout pays on a weekly basis.
• Non-transparent chargeback fee: 2Checkout determines your chargeback fee based on your previous and current chargeback history. If you prefer straightforward fees, consider the other processors on our list. Square, incidentally, waives chargeback fees up to $250.
• No high-risk services: 2Checkout does not work with certain products. Check PaymentCloud for a dedicated gateway for high-risk merchants.
• No mobile: We did not find a 2Checkout app on Google Play and App Store. Verifone, however, has apps, but not for payment processing. If you want a mobile payment processing system, check Square.

Chase has a monthly fee of $15, for which you get a business banking account with extra benefits. If you maintain a minimum balance in the bank account and meet minimum transactions, this fee is waived.

Its processing rates are the same as Square’s, one of the lowest on our list (after Payflow by PayPal), although Authorize.net can get you interchange-plus pricing. Like Stripe, Chase offers discounts and interchange-plus for qualifying merchants. Chargeback fees vary, and reports run as low as $5.

Chase offers custom pricing on its card processors and has several models to choose from. This is typical of most providers, although a few—like Square and Stripe—have terminals for as low as $299.

Same-day deposit free

With the Chase QuickAccept app, you can have transactions sent to your Chase bank account the same day at no extra charge. Most of the payment gateways here take one day or longer, while Square charges 1% per transaction for same-day deposits.

Chase banking

You need a Chase Business Complete account to use its merchant services. This package includes a checking account, a credit card, quick check deposit services, Zelle, and more. Some features are subject to extra fees and conditions. Chase is our best checking account for small businesses. It is also one of the leading checking accounts for LLCs and best banks for small businesses.

Mobile

Chase’s mobile checkout includes a simple POS system, which features inventory and reports. The biggest complaint concerned problems logging in. If you need a better mobile application, see if one of our top mobile POS apps integrates with Chase.

• Android: 3.4 out of 5 stars with around 4,000 reviews
• iOS: 2.6 out of 5 stars with about 200 reviews

• Monthly fee: Chase charges you for a business bank account to use its service. If you are a small business and either don’t have or need a business bank account, then consider Square and Stripe, which don’t charge a monthly fee.
• No high-risk services: Like most of the payment gateways on our list, Chase does not serve high-risk accounts. We recommend PaymentCloud if your business is high risk.

Payline Data stands out from other providers in our list with its special pricing, ACH, and HIPAA-compliant tools, making it the best choice for the medical industry. It also provides similar attention to nonprofit and educational services. Payline Data offers interchange-plus pricing and zero chargeback fees.

It earned an overall score of 4.27 out of 5, getting perfect marks for contract and setup. However, it does not support high-risk businesses and can do better with customer support, particularly when handling frozen accounts. Consider Authorize.net as an alternative.

We found Amazon Pay to be one of the easiest and most popular ecommerce credit card processing options. It’s an excellent add-on if you want voice commerce options for your customers, with its order with Alexa function making it stand out from competitors. Like PayPal, Amazon Pay accepts international payments, and its streamlined checkout can reduce cart abandonment while improving customer checkout experience.

Amazon Pay scored 4.16 out of 5 for this update. Unlike most providers in our list, it does not have a POS or mobile payment option and takes 20 to 30 days to approve merchant applications. If you need something for online sales now, consider Stripe, Square, and Authorize.net.

Not every payment gateway will work with high-risk merchants, and those that do often have higher rates and more problematic service. PaymentCloud offers great service and a true focus on this subset of the retail world. It does not disclose rates, which is common for high-risk processors, as the specific fees will vary for each business and the level of risk involved. However, the provider offers competitive setups, especially for its client type.

PaymentCloud earned an overall score of 3.94 out of 5 based on our evaluation criteria and (apart from Authorize.net) stands out for its good reputation of working with high-risk industries. In fact, it continues to rank #1 on our list of the best high-risk merchant accounts. PaymentCloud does not charge setup, annual, or cancellation fees—which is a plus.

You will need a payment gateway if you want to accept payments online. This application lets you send a payment link to your customers where they can securely complete a transaction. A payment gateway is also used for accepting in-person card and digital wallet payments in your POS system.

In both cases, a secure payment gateway ensures that your customer’s payment information is safely transmitted between your merchant account and your customer’s bank account.

The cheapest payment gateway for small businesses is Square. It offers competitive flat rate transaction fees with no add-on service fees for using its payment gateway and virtual terminal. It also provides free use of its invoicing, recurring payment, and ecommerce tools (with option to upgrade for advanced features).

Payflow by PayPal is the cheapest ecommerce payment gateway in the market if you need simple payment gateway features. Square is also an affordable option.

For high-volume businesses, Helcim is the cheapest payment gateway option for both in-person and online payments with its interchange plus fees and zero monthly subscription.

Based on our evaluation, Authorize.net is the best payment gateway for small businesses. While not the cheapest, Authorize.net provides competitive fees with the widest range of payment features, compatibility with most merchant service providers (including high-risk merchants), and easy account setup.