6 Best Restaurant Payment Processors for 2023

Flat Rate

Best for: Small cafes, food trucks, and concessions that process less than $10,000 per month

Interchange Plus

Best for: Small to medium full-service restaurants and coffee shops that process between $10,000 and $200,000 per month

Wholesale

Best for: High-volume restaurants, restaurants with high check averages, or multi-unit restaurant groups

Walker 2.0	DejaVoo Z11
$65	$79/year
Bluetooth, EMV compatible tap and chip reader for mobile	Wi-Fi connectivity, touch screen, EMV + NFC payments, built-in printer

Contact CDGcommerce for purchase

CDGcommerce’s price and POS integrations make it a great fit for restaurants of all sizes. But one aspect that sets it head and shoulders above its competitors is its chargeback monitoring tools. If chargebacks are a major concern for your restaurant, you’ll love CDGcommerce’s active chargeback monitoring and robust chargeback assistance. You’ll also be rewarded for your legwork; CDGcommerce refunds chargeback fees if you win the dispute.

CDGcommerce’s standout features include:

• Chargeback monitoring: In case of a chargeback, CDGcommerce emails you immediately. Its customer service team will help you compose your response to the card brand to ensure you present the strongest case possible. Stripe also has chargeback monitoring, but charges extra for its advanced tools.
• Collections support: It may not be worthwhile to send a charged-back dinner for two to collections, but if your restaurant does private events or catering, a chargeback dispute can cost you hundreds to thousands of dollars. CDGcommerce’s collections arm will attempt to get back some of the funds, despite losing a chargeback dispute. You will receive 50% of what it collects and pay nothing, even if it can’t collect your debt. CDGcommerce is the only provider on this list with such a feature. However, Square simply covers chargeback disputes up to $250 per month.
• Flexible payment options: In addition to having the most versatile plans for payment processing, fee-wise, it offers a great range of restaurant-specific tools. It integrates with popular gateways Authorize.net, PayPal Payflow Pro, and Braintree. It also has its own mobile app for accepting payments directly (although this is not a POS system but a simple payment app). You can also create a case. Stripe offers similar versatility for payment gateways.
• Quick approvals: You can apply for a CDGcommerce account through its sales team, and approvals only take one to three business days. This is pretty fast for the industry, but if you need to start taking payments immediately, check out Square or Stripe.
• No cancellation fees: Like with most of the payment processors on our list, you can stop using CDGcommerce at any time without incurring a cancellation fee. If your business grows or slows or your needs change, you are not tied to a long-term contract.

Square is a flat-rate processor, meaning that no matter what the card or interchange rate, you pay the same. It’s a great choice for low-volume sales, especially since there are no monthly fees, and you get basic POS, invoicing, online payments, and a virtual terminal for free.

The processing rates are:

• In-person card payment: 2.6% + 10 cents
• Online card payment: 2.9% + 30 cents
• ACH: 1% with a minimum fee of $1
• Buy Now Pay Later: 6% + 30 cents (per card payment with Afterpay)
• Same-day Funding: +1.5%

If your restaurant processes more than $250,000 annually, you can contact Square directly for a custom quote to lower those fees.

Square offers many advanced services:

• Square for Restaurants Plus: $60 per month
• Invoicing Plus: $20 per month
• Online Plus: $29 per month
• Online Premium: $79 per month (has a lower processing rate as well)
• Square Appointments Plus: $29 per month
• Square Appointments Premium: $79 per month
• Square Loyalty: $45–$105 per month (depending on loyalty visits)
• Square Email Marketing: $15–$40 per month (depending on contacts)
• Square Text Marketing: $10 per month + $10–$125 per month (depending on the number of texts)
• Square Payroll: $35 + $5 per employee per month or $5 per employee per month for contractors only

Square manages credit, debit, and mobile wallet payments directly from bank to merchant without using a back-end processor like TSYS. However, this means it’s not as compatible with other POS systems. It offers its own excellent POS system, Square for Restaurants, as well as a suite of online tools and a mobile app with a full POS. You can use its own hardware or an iPad or smartphone (Android or iOS).

• POS compatibility: You can use Square Payments on the Square for Restaurants POS, which offers a free baseline system that operates on iPads or Square hardware. For a monthly fee of $60, you can add table management and multiple user permissions. Square Payments is also compatible with TouchBistro and SalesVu if you prefer a different POS layout. It integrates with Koomi POS for quick-service restaurants.
• Free online ordering site: Square users get access to a free online ordering site that integrates with the Square for Restaurants POS. You can accept online orders for pickup or delivery and accept online payments for online orders. Others offer online ordering, but it may not integrate as easily as Square does to its POS.
• Free invoicing tools: While Payline Data’s cheaper processing fees and free Automated Clearing House (ACH) processing suit catering and banquet businesses, if your restaurant does private events or off-site catering, Square lets you send professional-looking invoices for deposits and payments directly from the dashboard. For a monthly fee of $20, you can unlock more features, like the ability to convert estimates into invoices or add custom invoice fields.
• Business services: Unlike the other payment processors on our list, Square offers a complete offering of business services, including bank accounts, loans, payroll, and even benefits. If you want to have a full fintech system that works together with ease and can grow with you, Square is a top choice.

Stripe, like Square, offers flat-rate payment processing, although, for high-volume users, it can help you design a custom package. Usually, this is for businesses processing over $500,000 in annual sales. Square started offering discounted rates at $250,000 annually.

Stripe’s rates are more complex than most on our list because it sometimes charges additional transaction fees for services instead of monthly fees. This can be an advantage if you make low-volume sales.

• In-person swipe, dip, touch: 2.7% + 5 cents
• Online: 2.9% + 30 cents
• Keyed-in fee (starting November 10, 2022): 3.4% + 30 cents
• ACH and wire transfers: 0.8%, $5 cap
• Instant payouts: 1%

Anti-fraud and chargeback protection:

• Additional point-to-point encryption for certain industries: 5 cents per authorization
• Adaptive acceptance (machine learning improves authorization rates): 0.08% per successful charge
• Radar machine learning fraud protection: 5 cents per screened transaction (waived for accounts with 2.9% + 30 cents fees)
• Radar for Fraud Teams: 7 cents per screened transaction (2 cents for accounts with 2.9% + 30 cents fees)

Additional tools:

• Custom domain for checkout page, billing: $10 per month
• Billing/recurring payments: 0.5%
• Invoicing: 0.4%
• Automatic tax calculations: 0.5% (not needed if your POS does this)
• Revenue reporting: 0.25% of volume
• Sigma reporting and analysis: starting at 2 cents per charge

Stripe Reader M2	BBPOS WisePad 3	BBPOS WisePOS E
$59	Call for Quote	$249
Stripe's newest Bluetooth-enabled card reader that accepts EMV chip, contactless, and swipe payments.	EMV chip & contactless payments, built-in PIN pad, Bluetooth connectivity	EMV chip and contactless payments, Wi-Fi connectivity, 5” touch-screen display

Contact Stripe for purchase

• Online ordering: It’s easy to accept online orders with Stripe’s customizable checkout page, which can take one-time orders or subscriptions. Combined with Stripe Billing, you can set up payments for your meal service. If you already have an ordering site, Stripe Elements lets you customize the payment section. Accept any of 18 different payment methods, for a versatility few on our list offer.
• Easy integrations: Stripe integrates with over 1,000 programs, making it the most versatile of all the payment processors on our list. Unfortunately, it doesn’t integrate with many POS systems. It integrates with Lightspeed and can handle online payments for Clover via an API integration and processes e-giftcards for Toast. Nonetheless, it offers powerful APIs with excellent documentation and 24/7 support to help you connect Stripe to your software.
• Social and website selling: With Stripe Payment Links, you can add a payment page that works anywhere online. This is great for social selling, like if you want to offer catering gigs or snack boxes from your Facebook page. Payment Links requires no coding. You’re notified by email or on the dashboard when a sale is made. Square and Stax have payment link capability, but the others require a third-party service.
• Fraud Prevention: Like CDGcommerce, Stripe protects you from chargebacks; however, it does so by fighting fraud in the first place. Stripe Radar uses machine learning and the data from billions of Stripe transactions and data from other partners to detect false accounts quickly. The main program is built into Stripe and includes free with a regular account. Stripe also has ID verification tools for detecting fake accounts.
• International payments: This may not affect you, but if you do cross-border sales or have an eatery in a tourist town or airport where you may get different currencies, Stripe has you covered. For an additional fee, it can process payments from any of over 130 countries.

Stax by Fattmerchant offers a straightforward fee structure. Like Square, Stripe, and CDGcommerce, there are no cancellation, statement, or batch fees. Like Payment Depot users, Stax customers pay a monthly subscription fee based on their sales volume, plus interchange rates on their transactions. Stax does not add a percentage markup, so there is no complicated math to figure out what you’ll pay for each transaction.

Stax offers three small business plans. Monthly rates vary depending on what tools you need to support your business. However, the transaction fees are the same for all tools and for all credit cards. It does not have an extra fee for American Express like CDGcommerce.

• In-person transaction fee: Interchange + 8 cents*
• Card-not-present transaction fee: Interchange + 15 cents*

*Transaction rates based on received quotes; rates may vary at Stax’s sole discretion.

Unlike Square and Stripe, Stax charges extra for its shopping cart and custom branding for invoices. It also has add-ons for QuickBooks Online Pro sync, a terminal protection, same-day funding, and digital gift cards.

If you qualify for Level 2 payment processing (generally for business-to-business (B2B) payments), Stax can arrange lower interchange rates. However, this is also a paid add-on. By contrast, Payline lets you automatically receive Level 2 and Level 3 data rates for qualifying transactions.

Since our last update, Stax has changed some of its offerings for mobile and countertop card reader systems.

Stax Pay Chipper 2X	Clover handheld and countertop	Dejavoo Z and QD Series
EMV-compliant Bluetooth-enabled swipe, dip, and tap reader for mobile or on-site payments	The full line of Clover products from handheld readers to full registers	Countertop, POS or Wi-Fi connected card reader

Contact Stax’s sales team to purchase

Stax’s easy pricing structure and free card reader or terminal is complemented by its ability to integrate with a wider range of restaurant POS systems (through TSYS). We especially like the Text2Pay tool for home deliveries, but if you supply larger clients, you can send invoices and even recurring payments.

• Same-day funding option: Most Stax by Fattmerchant customers receive a one- to two-day turnaround on their bank deposits. But if you are willing to accept deposits on a debit card rather than in your bank account, you can get same-day funding. This can greatly help restaurants that struggle with cash flow to pay vendors and employee tips. Like Square, however, there is an additional charge. Contact Stax for pricing.
• Chargeback support: Like CDGcommerce, Stax by Fattmerchant will notify you when a customer initiates a chargeback dispute. You can organize your supporting documents and send your response to your Stax dashboard. Though these tools are less robust than what CDGcommerce offers, if chargebacks are rare in your business, they may be all you need.
• Text2Pay mobile payments: You can send payment requests to customers directly from a smartphone and receive payment via SMS text. This feature is handy for delivery-heavy restaurants.
• Phone payments: While Stax charges for a virtual terminal and its online solution, it does not charge more for keyed-in payments. Square, by contrast, charges almost a full percentage more than its swipe payments. If your POS or ecommerce tool already has a virtual terminal, this makes it cost-effective for phone orders.
• Surcharge capabilities: With Stax, you can pass your payment processing fees to the customer as a surcharge (where legally permitted). Stax can automate this for you for free. Keep in mind, though, that some states prohibit this practice, so check your local laws before using this feature.

Payment Depot’s plans typically depend on the volume of sales you process in a year, but for restaurants, it offers a flat interchange + 5 cents no matter what plan you use. Thus, your monthly fees only depend on your transaction volume. If you process over $500,000 annually, however, contact Payment Depot, as you may qualify for even better pricing.

SwipeSimple B250	SwipeSimple Terminal	Poynt Smart Terminal
Mobile or Countertop Tap, Dip, and Swipe Reader	Cloud-based tap, dip, swipe, or PIN-enabled card reader	Mobile POS Terminal with built in card reader

Contact Payment Depot for Pricing

Payment Depot regularly appears on our list of the cheapest credit card processors. In addition to competitive interchange-only rates, Payment Depot has historically offered a 90-day money-back guarantee to new customers. Like CDGcommerce, Payment Depot uses both the TSYS and Fiserv for back-end processing and supports a wide range of popular POS systems, particularly Clover.

• All-in-one pricing: Your Payment Depot account includes in-person and online payment tools for a single monthly fee. With a minimal additional markup on interchange fees, Payment Depot is the lowest-cost processor for high-volume restaurants, especially those that need to reduce the costs of processing online payments. It also reprograms your equipment for free; others like Stripe, will assist but not do this for you.
• Choice of payment gateway: Rather than providing its own gateway, like the others on our list, Payment Depot offers you a choice of popular gateways for free: Authorize.net or SwipeSimple, usually. These come with added benefits like a virtual terminal.
• 24/7 customer support: Like CDGcommerce, Payment Depot offers customer support via phone and email 24 hours a day. Customer reviews frequently mention Payment Depot’s speedy response time and supportive staff. This is great news for restaurant managers who need to resolve payment problems when sending the Saturday night credit card batch.
• Level 2 and Level 3 credit card processing: Like Payline, Payment Depot offers Level 2 and 3 processing, although it may require a higher membership plan. This is a good option for those who cater to corporate events.
• Money-back guarantee: Most payment processors on our list allow month-to-month payments. Payment Depot does as well, yet it goes a step beyond by offering new customers a 90-day money-back guarantee. If, after 90 days, you are not pleased with your Payment Depot account, you can cancel and receive a full refund of the monthly subscription fees you paid.

Payline Data offers simple, transparent pricing with interchange-plus rates for online and in-person sales. These come with custom reporting and a virtual terminal. Like Payment Depot and Stax by Fattmerchant, Payline Data customers pay a monthly subscription fee, but Payline Data’s fees are much lower.

Rather than a money-back guarantee like Payment Depot, Payline simply offers you your first two months free. It’s a great, no-pressure way to try out their service.

Ingenico iSC Touch250	Ingenico iSMP4	Ingenico iPP 320/350
Electronic signature-enabled tap, swipe, dip and PIN-compatible card reader	EMV-Compliant, Wi-Fi-enabled tap, swipe and chip card reader	Ethernet-connected Point-to-Point Encrypted chips and swipe enabled card reader

Contact Payline Data Sales for pricing

In addition to competitive interchange-plus fees, Payline integrates with several ecommerce platforms—Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento and more. If you want a sharp-looking online ordering site that combines catering services, takeout and delivery orders, and merchandise, these integrations provide you with a lot more flexibility than your basic online ordering system.

Payline’s standout features include:

• ACH payment processing: Payline Data includes ACH payment processing for free in its baseline subscription. This is great for catering companies that tend to bill customers in several lump sums. By accepting payments directly from a client’s bank account, you pay lower fees and avoid the potential for chargeback or fraud claims. (There are still some fees involved, but Payline Data says they come to less than 10 cents per transaction.)
• Website and ecommerce integrations: Payline Data integrates with a wide range of shopping cart programs, including WooCommerce—a popular free version for websites. It also offers a no-cost API. (Stripe is better known for its integration capability but, of course, has higher transaction fees.)
• Virtual terminal: Payline offers a user-friendly virtual terminal as part of its plans. It processes credit and debit as well as ACH bank transfers. It can store and tokenize customer payment information, making it easy to ring up repeat customers. This terminal is a great convenience when you take orders over the phone.
• Invoicing: If you are billing your customer, you can send invoices through the virtual terminal. It can even create recurring billing for regular customers or set up scheduled payments. This is great if you break up a catering bill into installments. Here, too, tokenization allows for better security when your customer makes a payment.
• Level 2 and 3 payment processing: Payline Data offers both Level 2 and 3 automatically. Meanwhile, Stax offers Level 2 payment processing as a paid add-on for qualifying businesses, and Payment Depot may require a higher plan. This makes Payline Data a better choice for restaurants or catering services that handle corporate events.

In truth, any payment processor (or merchant account and gateway) can work for a restaurant, since it generally facilitates payment via credit, debit, and so on. However, the best restaurant payment processors integrate easily with your restaurant POS and offer tools for online and phone-in ordering.

You not only want a payment processor that works with your POS and handles the specific kinds of payments often seen in food services, but also meets the other needs of a busy restaurant. For example, having a 24/7 customer support line means you can contact them in emergencies or after you close at night and still get help.

Not necessarily. Many general-use payment processors work just fine with restaurant systems. If you already have a payment processor or merchant account you are comfortable with, then you should check that it will integrate with your restaurant POS.

Several restaurant POS systems offer their own payment processing that works on their systems. We recommend Toast, Lightspeed, and TouchBistro for restaurant payment processors with their own POS system. Square, of course, has its own system, Square for Restaurants, but can also be used with other restaurant point-of-sale systems, including TouchBistro.

Established restaurants or existing restaurants expanding into new locations will benefit from shopping for the best rates. If your restaurant is high-volume or has a high check average (over $40 per person), you’ll also benefit from shopping around for the best rates.

New restaurants with no established sales history to show their sales volume and check average are usually better off using payment processors built into their restaurant POS. You won’t need to worry about not being approved for a merchant account. You can always shop for lower rates after your restaurant has been operating for a year.

If you start your restaurant using a free POS or one with no long-term contracts, there is little risk in switching processors and POS brands as your business grows.

A good processing rate for your restaurant is one that allows you to accept credit, debit, and mobile wallet payments while still turning a profit. Every restaurant is different, so a good processing rate for a mom-and-pop breakfast spot with low check averages will likely be higher than a good processing rate for a high-volume restaurant that serves three meals a day.

It’s important to remember that the rates you are quoted as a new business will not be the rates you pay forever. As your sales grow, you will have a documented history of your sales volume and check average, so you can negotiate lower rates with your processor or shop for a new one.

The best way to get low processing rates for your restaurant is to process as many transactions as possible in person. Avoid manually entering credit card payments. If a customer’s card is declined, avoid multiple swipes; instead, request a different form of payment. Get a signature with every transaction, and update your card readers to EMV-compliant and point-to-point encryption (P2PE) enabled readers.

After you have been open for a year, use your sales history to get rate quotes from several processors. Even if your POS contract prevents you from switching to a new processor right away, you may be able to use the documented quotes from other processors to negotiate lower rates with your current processor.