Nowadays, it is nearly difficult to do business, whether offline or online, without taking credit cards. However, you’ll need to work with a credit card processing business if you want to accept payments by credit card.
Unfortunately, deciding which credit card processor is best for your company may be complex. While some businesses employ flat-rate pricing that might be more accommodating to businesses with fewer credit card transactions, others impose transaction fees that become more reasonable as more credit card transactions are handled. The top 10 credit card processing businesses are listed below by Forbes Advisor after researching all of the possibilities.
Methodology
The rankings for the top credit card processing firms were determined by Forbes Advisor after considering a number of variables. We contrasted elements including cost, usability, customer service, software integrations, and other features and functionalities. We assigned a five-star rating to each credit card processor, with five being the highest.
Here is what we specifically looked at:
Use simplicity
We looked at businesses that were simple to start up and operate. Examining how simple it was to import data, create invoices, and see reports was part of this.
Fees and costs
Companies that offered flat monthly costs and transparent transaction fees received our choice. Plans with high monthly costs were taken into consideration if they compensated with plenty of features or cheap transaction fees.
Customer service
Companies that we researched provided a range of customer service alternatives, such as hotlines, live chat, and a knowledge base.
Features and capabilities
When comparing features and tools, we looked at things like software connectors, data exports, billing, and a reporting dashboard.
A credit card processing company is what exactly?
By tying together the many services required for the transaction, credit card processors enable you to accept credit card payments. The credit card network, issuing banks, and your own merchant bank account are a few of them.
A credit card processing business converts card data into payment information for the retailer when a consumer swipes their credit card at the point of sale. This ensures the security of the customer’s information, confirms the availability of cash, and expedites the delivery of those monies to the vendor.
What is the Process of a Credit Card Processing Company?
A customer’s bank issues credit cards that are encoded with information from their individual accounts. A series of actions are started when a card is swiped or inserted at the point of sale of a retailer to complete a transaction. The credit card processor for the business contacts the issuing bank to inquire about the availability of money. The bank will confirm or reject the transaction and notify the point-of-sale through the processor.
The processing firm sends the authorised transactions in batches to the relevant banks to start the money transfer procedure at regular intervals, usually at the end of the business day. Once the funds are placed into the merchant’s bank account, processing is finished.
Processing fees for credit cards
The interchange fees that credit cards levy for each transaction must be paid by credit card processing businesses. The businesses mark up these costs using a flat rate, pass the interchange fees forward to the customer along with a percentage and/or flat fee markup, or mark up the interchange rates depending on whether the transaction is low risk or high risk in order to earn a profit.
Some organisations that accept credit cards employ a monthly subscription-based business model to provide their clients reduced rates and more services, such as software and additional support.
How to Pick the Top Credit Card Processing Firm
The ideal credit card processing provider will achieve the ideal mix between price, functionality, and customer service. If you want to know if a per-transaction or monthly subscription-based model will be less expensive in the long run, you should analyse your monthly transaction volume.
Make sure your selected provider can serve both sales channels as easily as possible if you offer goods and services both offline and online. You need hardware, right? In order to avoid having to create your own system, think about a supplier that provides suitable choices. Finding the ideal match for your kind of company will be made easier with the aid of these decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why is credit card processing necessary for my business?
In the United States, there were more than 320 million active credit card accounts in 2020, according to a research conducted by the American Bankers Association in May 2021. As a result, the great majority of adult Americans in the United States have one or more accounts. Due to the widespread use of credit cards, not being able to accept them creates a significant risk of lost sales possibilities.
What tools do I need to take payments through credit card?
One just needs a merchant account and a mobile app, or a complete freestanding cash register terminal, to accept credit card payments. Everything depends on your requirements. The majority of credit card processing businesses provide modern card readers and terminals, free and paid POS systems, as well as card readers that may be utilised with mobile devices.
How are online credit card payments handled?
Make sure the credit card processor you choose is compatible with your website if your company mainly does e-commerce. While some website builders come with their own payment systems, others let you connect with other vendors. Many of the businesses mentioned above, including Square, also function as website builders, allowing you to keep everything under one roof.
