The Best Mobile Credit Card Processor Reviews of 2023- business.com

If you’re the owner of a new business, process less than $3,000 per month or have small sales tickets, a mobile credit card processor is probably going to be your best payment processing option. It’s also a great choice for freelancers, seasonal businesses and sole proprietors.

The biggest reason for this is that, in most cases, it will save you money because you pay a processing fee for each transaction and that’s it. There are no monthly or annual fees, nor a long-term contract. Equipment costs are also minimal; all you need to get started is a card reader and an app that you use on your smartphone or tablet. Then, as your business grows, you can add more accessories.

If you process more than $3,000 per month or need your own merchant account, check out our reviews for full-service credit card processors. Otherwise, read on to learn more about the pricing, features and contracts you should look for in a mobile credit card processor.

February 2020: Visa’s published interchange rates will change this year. The card brand informed its banking partners about upcoming changes in a document seen by Bloomberg, saying, “Based on the most recent review in the U.S., Visa is adjusting its default U.S. interchange rate structure to optimize acceptance and usage and reflect the current value of Visa products.” The rate changes will be implemented in April and October, and merchants can expect to pay higher rates for card-not-present transactions like e-commerce purchases and lower rates for transactions made by businesses in education, healthcare and real-estate industries. The new interchange rate structure will include new categories for vending machine, parking and rent transactions.

Buying Guide

What Features Do You Need?

Whether you choose to work with a payment facilitator, an ISO/MSP or a direct processor for your mobile processing, you should expect the service to include basic features that allow you to accept payments. It should do the following:

Let you accept all major credit cards, including Discover and American Express
Provide a free credit card payment app
Sell mobile EMV card readers at a reasonable cost
Provide customer support by email or phone

Credit Card Payment Apps

Before selecting a mobile payment facilitator, make sure its free app is compatible with your smartphone or tablet. Although the best payment facilitators have apps for both iOS and Android devices, some only support one platform. Most processors have lists of compatible devices on their websites, or they can email their lists to you upon request.

Even when an app is available for both platforms, the features may differ, and one version may have more functions than the other. Likewise, some iPad and tablet apps have more features than phone apps.

Every mobile credit card payment app includes register or basic POS software that you can use to ring up sales. You should be able to do the following with it:

Manage a product catalog so you can easily find and add items to a ticket
Prompt customers for tips
Accept customer signatures on the phone or tablet screen
Email, text or print receipts
Generate sales reports
Connect to a cash drawer, barcode scanner and printer

Mobile Credit Card Processing Fees

Mobile credit card processors typically charge fewer fees than full-service ones, and the best don’t charge any regular fees. That means no monthly fee, monthly minimum, monthly payment gateway fee, or PCI compliance or noncompliance fees. There are no setup fees, payment gateway setup fees or early termination fees either.

In most cases, the only additional cost you’ll see is a chargeback fee if a customer disputes a charge. These tend to be more common with online sales than in-person sales, though they may occur if your customer is dissatisfied with a purchase or doesn’t recognize your business name on their credit card statement.

If, however, you arrange your mobile credit card processing service through a full-service payment processor, you can expect to pay all the same fees you would for retail processing. If you process a high volume of sales each month, you may save more money working with a full-service processor because rates are lower. Conversely, if you process a low volume of sales each month, it’s more cost-effective to choose a merchant aggregator that only charges processing costs, with no account-based fees.

Mobile Credit Card Processing Rates

Most mobile credit card processing companies have flat-rate pricing. Typically, you pay a percentage of each sale, and the swipe rate is the same no matter what type of cards your customers use. Rates are higher for transactions you manually key in or accept online, but again, you pay the same rate, whether the card is debit or credit, regular or rewards, consumer or corporate.

Flat-rate pricing initially looks more expensive than other pricing models because the rates are higher than the starter rates that many processors advertise. However, one of the hallmarks of flat-rate pricing is that you pay fewer fees than you would with a full-service payment processor; in fact, the best mobile credit card processors don’t charge any at all. This makes these mobile processors very attractive options, especially if you process a low volume of credit card transactions, such as if you’re a new business or most of your receivables are cash or check.

Flat rates can be one of two models:

Percentage of sale only (usually 2.25% to 3.5%).
Percentage of sale plus a per-transaction fee (usually 10 to 30 cents). With this type of plan, the percentage is usually lower than those that only charge a percentage rate.

If you sell large-ticket items, pricing with a lower percentage rate will probably be more cost-effective, even with the addition of the per-transaction fee. If you sell small-ticket items, you’ll want to choose a payment processor that doesn’t charge a per-transaction rate, since this can quickly eat into your profits. For example, although a per-transaction fee of 25 cents is a nominal amount, if your average transaction is only $5, you’re paying 5% of your transaction on top of whatever percentage rate you pay.

These are some possible variations in flat-rate pricing:

Some processors charge a slightly higher rate for American Express and international cards.
Some processors charge the same rate regardless of how the transaction is processed, which may be a good model to look for if you also accept payments over the phone or online.
Some processors charge different rates for debit and credit cards, which may save you money if your customers prefer to make debit card payments.

If you plan to use a full-service payment processor, mobile rates are usually the same as retail (in-person) rates and use the same interchange-plus or tiered pricing model. See our credit card processing review for an explanation of these pricing models.

Mobile Credit Card Processing Contracts

Most mobile credit card processors have online applications, and their user agreements, or terms of service, are shorter and more straightforward than standard payment processing contracts. It’s important that you take the time to read them thoroughly, along with any linked documents, before you fill out the application. If you can’t find the user agreement on the application or the company’s website, you should contact the company and ask for a link so you can review it before signing up.

These are some of the things you want to look for in the user agreement:

Fee schedule. Many mobile payment facilitators include a list of rates and fees in the user agreement, or link to a page that explains pricing in greater detail.
Term length and cancellation policy. Although mobile credit card processors usually have generous pay-as-you-go or month-to-month service terms, a few have standard processing contracts with three-year terms that automatically renew for one or two more years. If the processor you want to work with has such a contract, make sure to call your rep and see if they can give you a waiver for month-to-month service with no early termination fees or liquidated damages.
Identity verification and underwriting. Mobile processors often need minimal documentation to set up your account, such as your phone number, driver’s license, Social Security number and a credit card. Some also request a business license, tax ID number or your employer identification number (EIN). A few may require you to submit to a credit check.
Compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard and card network rules. All merchants that accept credit card payments are subject to card network rules and PCI standards.
Permitted use. Some mobile payment processing services can only be used by businesses. Others allow individual use.
Prohibited businesses and goods. Make sure your business type and the goods or services you sell are allowed. If they’re not, the company will freeze your funds and close your account.
Chargeback fee and procedure. If a customer disputes a charge, most processors charge you a fee, usually $15 to $25, and you’re liable for the amount of the transaction if the dispute is settled in the customer’s favor. The processor may request documentation related to the transaction, hold your funds, or create a reserve account to cover future chargebacks and fees. If you have too many chargebacks, the processor may close your account.
Reserve account. Most processors have the right to create a reserve account to cover possible chargebacks. If you have chargebacks or transactions that the processor considers suspicious, it may create a reserve account and hold your funds.

If you’re working with a full-service processor that offers mobile payment processing, your rep may send you just the application or merchant agreement. This isn’t the complete contract, but if you fill it out and sign it, you’re agreeing to it. For this reason, it’s important to ask for the terms and conditions (or terms of service) and the program guide.

You want to read through all three of these documents before signing anything. If you don’t, you may find yourself locked into a lengthy, automatically renewing contract with steep cancellation fees. You specifically want to look for information on processing rates, fees and cancellation terms – including the procedure you’ll need to follow to exit your contract. Also look out for clauses that automatically enroll you in additional services.

Mobile Credit Card Readers

One of the chief appeals of mobile credit card processing is that it requires very little equipment, keeping your upfront costs low. All you really need is a phone or tablet with cellular or internet service, a credit card payment app, and a mobile card reader.

Many processors offer to give you a free card reader, but these are typically not EMV compliant and only read the magnetic stripe on credit and debit cards. You should plan on upgrading to a reader that accepts EMV chip cards so you won’t be held liable if you unwittingly accept a payment with a counterfeit card.

The best mobile EMV card readers have NFC capabilities as well, allowing you to accept every payment type, so your customers can swipe their magstripe cards, dip their EMV chip cards, and tap their contactless cards (or their phones if they prefer to use a mobile wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay). Such mobile card readers are very affordable, nearly always costing under $100. SumUp’s contactless reader costs just $19, which is the lowest price we’ve seen.

Some mobile payment facilitators sell card readers at chain stores, so you can replace them easily, which is reassuring if you’re worried about downtime due to equipment failure. For example, you can buy Square credit card readers at the Apple Store, Best Buy, Staples and Target. You may also be able to find PayPal credit card readers at your local stores.

In addition to mobile card readers, many payment facilitators offer accessories such as receipt printers, cash drawers and barcode scanners so you can set up a full checkout station. These accessories can speed up the checkout process, make it easier to accept both cash and credit card payments, and provide printed receipts to customers who prefer them to email or text receipts. The accessories mobile processors offer tend to be less expensive than similar products used with standard retail processing solutions.

If you wish to accept credit cards using only your phone, some mobile processors use newer technologies that eliminate the need for a card reader. Apps such as Flint and QuickBooks GoPayment capture your customer’s credit card information using your phone’s camera. Since the card isn’t swiped, it’s treated as an e-commerce transaction, so the rate is higher than what you’d pay if you accept payments using a mobile credit card reader.

Mobile Credit Card Processing FAQs

Q: Does my small business need to accept credit cards?

A: Some businesses only accept cash payments, but before you decide on this business model, consider how your customers prefer to pay. If your customers don’t carry cash or they prefer to pay by credit or debit card, you may lose sales if you only accept cash. According to the 2018 TSYS U.S. Consumer Payment Study, only 14% of consumers prefer to pay by cash, while 26% prefer credit cards and 54% favor debit cards.

Q: Can individuals accept credit cards?

A: Although all full-service payment processing companies and many mobile credit card processors require their customers to be actual businesses, a few mobile processors – like Square and PayPal – also work with individuals and allow them to use their services for things like garage sales and fundraisers. Another provider, SumUp, works with sole proprietors – even if their businesses are very small, such as crafters who sell at local events a few times a year.

Q: Is mobile credit card processing safe?

A: Data security is a top concern for the payment industry, and mobile processors proactively comply with the Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which has proven effective in discouraging hackers. According to one study, 96% of merchants that experienced data breaches in 2011 weren’t PCI compliant.

Mobile card readers use tokenization and point-to-point encryption to securely capture and transmit payment data, and many are now EMV compliant. EMV adoption has been a significant force in the war against fraud; Visa recently announced that EMV-compliant merchants have seen counterfeit fraud losses drop by 87%.

Q: What is the best iPhone credit card reader?

A: The best credit card readers for Apple phones and tablets have both EMV and NFC technology so you can accept chip cards and contactless payments – including both contactless cards and mobile payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Usually, these credit card readers attach to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth. Most of the time you’ll need to purchase one, as the free swipe reader that the mobile credit card processors give you only read the magnetic stripe on cards – not the EMV chip – which leaves you open to liability if you inadvertently accept a counterfeit credit card. Swipers also lack NFC capabilities, which may frustrate your customers who prefer to use Apple Pay.

The swipers usually have a headphone jack that plugs into your device, so if you have an iPhone 7 or newer, you’ll need a Lightning adapter in order to use it. Square offers a newer credit card swiper for iPhone that has a Lightning port, but it can still only be used to swipe a card with a magnetic stripe, so you’ll want to plan on upgrading to an EMV/NFC card reader.

Q: How can I save money on mobile processing?

A: Mobile credit card processing companies that post their rates and fees online usually don’t negotiate their rates and fees unless you process a high enough volume of transactions each month to qualify for volume discounts or custom pricing.

However, there are things you can do to lower your mobile credit card processing costs or ensure that you’re getting the best possible rate. Flat rates make it easy to calculate exactly what you’ll pay for your processing, so if you know your average sales ticket size, you can do the math to figure out which mobile processor will save you money. Generally, the following guidelines apply:

If you have large sales tickets, look for a mobile credit card processing company that has lower percentage rates, even if that means you pay a per-transaction fee.
If you have small sales tickets, look for a mobile credit card processor that doesn’t charge per-transaction fees. The percentage rate will be higher, but it will still be less expensive.

If your business is seasonal, a processing company that has pay-as-you-go or month-to-month terms with no monthly minimum can save you money, since you won’t be paying fees for a service you aren’t using during the offseason.

Also consider the cost of value-added features in your calculations. For example, some payment facilitators provide you with free POS software as long as you use their processing services. If it meets your needs, calculate whether it would be cheaper than subscribing or purchasing POS software elsewhere.

Q: What is the difference between a mobile credit card processor and a full-service processor?

A: As a small business owner, you may wonder what the difference is between a mobile credit card processor and a full-service one, and which one is the better fit for your business. Both types of processors can set you up to accept payments using a mobile device, but there are some key differences that can affect your costs, commitment length and overall satisfaction with your account.

The biggest difference between the two is that a full-service processor sets you up with your own merchant account, while a mobile processor sets you up as a submerchant under its master merchant account.

A submerchant account is faster to set up and has minimal application requirements. There’s usually not a contract, many don’t charge any monthly or annual fees, and the processor takes care of PCI compliance – which are all good things. The downside is that mobile processors have less risk tolerance . If there’s something abnormal about your account, such as a sudden spike in your monthly processing volume, or a transaction that’s much larger than average or otherwise looks suspicious, the processor may freeze your funds or suspend your account. There are also some industries that mobile processors consider high-risk and don’t work with, so you’ll want to read the user agreement before signing up to make sure your business type is supported.

Another difference is that some mobile credit card processors, such as PayPal and Square, allow individuals to sign up for accounts, which may be useful for solopreneurs, freelancers, and very new businesses that are still getting set up and may not yet qualify for an account with a full-service processor.

Generally, mobile processing is the most cost-effective payment processing solution for businesses that process less than $3,000 per month because, in most cases, you pay as you go for the processing services you use and there are no monthly or annual fees. It’s also a good solution for businesses that don’t yet know what their monthly processing volume will be. The trade-off is that you pay higher transaction rates than you’d pay a merchant services provider. If the processor only charges a percentage for each transaction and doesn’t tack on a flat per-transaction fee, it’s also an affordable option for businesses with low-dollar sales tickets – even those processing well over $3,000 per month.

Mobile credit card processing has minimal hardware requirements, so you can start accepting credit cards with very little upfront cost. If you already have a phone, the only processing equipment you need to buy is a mobile credit card reader. These cost under $100 (and often $50 or less) for a model that can accept chip and contactless cards as well as mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. With just your phone, the free mobile processing app, and the card reader, you can ring up sales and accept card payments wherever you do business, whether you’re at a job site, a trade or truck show, or even your brick-and-mortar location. As your business grows, you can purchase peripherals like a receipt printer, cash drawer, barcode scanner and tablet stand.

Established business owners have the option of working with a full-service processor and adding mobile credit card processing to their account or working with a mobile processor. Their employees can then use mobile card readers with tablets or phones as line busters to speed up the checkout process or, for restaurants, to accept tableside payments.

If you decide that a mobile processor is the best fit for your business, our reviews can help you identify the companies you want to learn more about, but you’ll still want to contact the companies directly to verify that you have the pricing and terms that apply to your specific business. This call will also allow you to feel out the quality of a company’s customer service. Finally, before signing up for an account, you should read the user agreement or contract to make sure that the processor works with your business type and the items or services you sell aren’t prohibited.

Our Methodology

Our search for the best mobile credit card processors began by asking small business owners which companies they use and what they like about them. We then searched industry, business and review websites for additional options. We compiled this information into a list of more than 100 companies, adding mobile processors that contacted us requesting to be reviewed as well as those we were already familiar with.

We then researched each company’s website, studying support resources such as knowledgebases, how-to guides, articles and blogs, and video tutorials when available.

Eventually, we narrowed our list down to 12 finalists. To determine our best picks, we looked for companies that charge minimal fees and offer competitive pricing, because we realize that affordability is a top priority when you’re looking for a mobile payment processor. We wanted to find companies that provide month-to-month or pay-as-you-go service and don’t charge early termination fees, because you should be able to switch processors without incurring penalties if you find better pricing or service elsewhere.

We also considered how quickly and simply companies set up accounts, their application requirements, and startup costs, including equipment. Although most standard credit card processors offer mobile processing as a stand-alone service, for this review we focused on payment facilitators and companies that offer transparent, flat-rate pricing and minimal fees.

What to Expect in 2023

The customer experience is at the forefront of credit card processing trends for 2023. Michel Léger, executive vice president of innovation for Ingenico, explained this focus in a recent press release: “Now, everyone can pay when they want, where they want, and how they want. … It’s not enough anymore to just offer payment solutions that are tailored to consumers; now payments need to be taken right to them.”

Mobile credit card processing is the perfect tool to help you do this, as it allows you to accept payments from your customers wherever they are – whether that’s on the sales floor of your retail store, tableside at your restaurant, or offsite at an event.

Another way of improving the customer experience is allowing customers to pay how they want, which means you need to be able to accept payments in multiple ways – such as “tap and go” checkout for contactless cards and mobile wallets that use near-field communication (NFC). Even though consumers have been slow to adopt mobile wallets, contactless cards are being issued rapidly and may quickly become your customers’ preferred payment method. In 2019, Visa issued more than 100 million contactless cards, and its goal for 2020 was to get 300 million contactless cards into the market. Luckily, many EMV mobile readers include NFC capabilities, so if you’ve updated your credit card reader recently, you should already have this technology in place.

Speaking of mobile card readers, is new mobile checkout technology in the works? The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has released new standards for contactless payments, and it hints that card readers may not be needed for mobile credit card processing much longer. Instead, merchants may be able to accept payments using just a smartphone or tablet and a payment app. Troy Leach, senior vice president of PCI SSC, said in a press release that the new PCI standards and program for contactless payments “now provide merchants the option to use validated solutions that require no additional hardware to accept contactless transactions.”

Our Reviews

Square: Best Mobile App

Square

For the basic service, all you pay are processing rates. There are no monthly or annual maintenance fees.

The app, available for both iPhones and Android phones, includes a full suite of POS features.

It charges a per-transaction fee as part of its in-person processing rate, which makes small tickets more expensive to process.

visit site

Square has the best mobile credit card processing app because, in addition to the register features that you use to accept payments, it includes full-featured POS software that tracks inventory, manages customer information and runs sales reports. The app is free to download and use – all you pay for is processing. It works on both Apple and Android smartphones and tablets, and you can add more business features by subscribing to paid services like payroll and email marketing or by integrating with third-party applications you already use, such as accounting software.

When you accept credit cards using one of Square’s card readers with your phone or tablet, you pay a flat rate for each transaction. Square has next-day funding and takes one or two business days to deposit your money into your account. In case you need it faster than that, same-day and instant deposit funding is available for an added fee. There are no monthly, payment gateway, setup, annual, PCI compliance or early termination fees. It doesn’t even have a chargeback fee, which is rare. Square’s lack of account-based fees makes it an affordable option for small businesses and individuals that don’t process enough credit card transactions to justify paying account fees each month.

June 2020: Square has announced a new on-demand delivery option for restaurant merchants using Square Online Store. With it, restaurants can take delivery orders on their websites without paying a monthly fee. Instead, restaurant merchants pay a flat fee of $1.50 per order to Square, along with a fee to their delivery partner. For restaurants with in-house delivery, it costs 50 cents. There is no charge for pickup orders. Square is currently offering a promotion for this service, with free processing on all on-demand delivery orders through July 8, 2020.

March 2020: Square has announced that its Square for Retail software is now available on Square Register, the company’s all-in-one POS solution. Previously, only Square Point of Sale (the company’s basic, free software) was available with Square Register. Square’s head of hardware, Jesse Dorogusker, said, “The launch of Square for Retail on Register provides retailers the best of Square’s hardware and software in one fast, secure, and intuitive solution.”

April 2020: Square is waiving its software subscription fees for the month of April for existing merchants and has refunded March subscription fees as well. Software included in this program are: Square Appointments, Loyalty, Marketing, Payroll, Restaurants, Retail, Square Online Store and Team Management. The company is also offering free business classes to its merchants through a partnership with Skillshare. The companies designed three special learning tracks for Square sellers: Sales & Marketing, Leadership & Management, and Business Operations.

Read Square Review

PayPal Credit Card Processing: Best for Android

PayPal Credit Card Processing

As one of the best-known brand names in credit card processing, PayPal inspires customer confidence in your business.

It's one of the few processing services that can be used by individuals, making it a great option for freelancers and solopreneurs.

Its chip and contactless card reader is more expensive than competitor card readers.

PayPal is one of the few processors that allows both businesses and individuals to accept payments, making it a popular choice for freelancers, consultants, solopreneurs, and other very small businesses. It has flat-rate pricing and no contract, so you only pay for the processing services you use, and you can close your account at any time without paying a penalty. For these reasons, it’s our pick as the best credit card processor for businesses with low sales volume.

A huge name in the payments industry, PayPal serves 26 million merchants and 361 million consumers in more than 200 countries and regions. With a PayPal Business account and the PayPal Here app, small businesses can accept credit, debit, and PayPal payments online, in-store and on the go.

Pricing and Terms

If your business doesn’t accept many credit card payments each month, you may find it expensive to work with a full-service processor that has a monthly minimum processing requirement and a handful of regular fees, such as monthly statement and gateway fees and an annual PCI compliance fee. Choosing a processor like PayPal that has flat-rate pricing and pay-as-you-go terms can save you money, since you’ll only pay for the processing you use.

PayPal is very transparent with its pricing; you can find all of its rates and fees posted on its website. Here’s what you’ll pay when you accept credit cards using PayPal:

Accepting credit card payments in person using PayPal Here

7% of each transaction for credit cards, debit cards, and contactless payments you accept in person using the PayPal Here app and a card reader. The rate is the same, no matter what type of credit or debit card your customer uses – including mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
5% + $0.15 of each transaction for the credit and debit cards you manually key or scan in using the PayPal Here app. If you don’t yet have a card reader and need to accept credit card payments, you’ll pay this higher rate.

To promote its QR code payments, PayPal is charging a reduced rate of 2.2% of each QR code transaction until March 31, 2021. After that, these transactions will cost 2.7% like other card-present transactions.

Accepting payments online or by invoice

9% + $0.30 of each online transaction for credit and debit cards you accept through your website or digital invoice.

Accepting credit and debit card payments using a virtual terminal

1% + $0.30 of each transaction for the Visa, Mastercard and Discover payment cards you accept using PayPal’s virtual terminal (such as payments you accept over the phone, by fax or by mail).
5% of each transaction for the American Express cards you accept using PayPal’s virtual terminal, PayPal Payments Advanced or PayPal Payments Pro.

You’ll notice that PayPal’s transaction fees are somewhat higher than those of full-service processors. However, it’s still more cost-effective if your monthly processing volume is low, because you aren’t paying account fees. If you use a full-service processor, you pay around $20 per month in account maintenance fees and have a monthly minimum of $25, which can be difficult to meet if you process less than $2,500 per month.

Here are the fees you won’t pay using PayPal:

No application fee or setup fee
No monthly fee for statements and customer support
No monthly minimum processing requirement
No gateway setup fee
No annual fee
No annual or monthly PCI compliance fee
No early termination or account closure fee

Incidental and Optional Fees

PayPal offers some additional services that cost extra. For example, if you need the money from your transactions immediately, you can pay 1% for an instant transfer from your PayPal balance to your bank account. Regular bank transfers are free and usually take one business day.

Here are some more optional services that carry fees:

Chargebacks: $20 per incidence
Recurring billing service: $10 per month
Advanced fraud protection services: $10 per month plus $0.05 per transaction
PayPal Payments Pro: $30 per month (allows you to accept payments directly on your website and includes a virtual terminal)
Virtual terminal: $30 per month
Cross-border fee: 5% is added to the transaction fee when you accept payments from customers outside the U.S. If your cross-border payments require currency conversion, it costs an additional 3%.

Special pricing is available for certain business types:

Registered charities pay 2.2% + $0.30 for online donations; in-person donations cost the same as regular business accounts, at 2.7% for card-present transactions and 3.5% + $0.30 for keyed-in transactions.
Businesses with transactions less than $10 may qualify for PayPal’s micropayment fees, which are 5% + $0.05 per transaction.

Terms

There’s no long-term contract requirement with PayPal; you accept a user agreement instead of signing a contract. As your business grows and your processing volume increases to the point where the savings from lower rates would surpass the account fees, you can close your PayPal account and switch to a full-service processor at any time without penalty.

Features

One of the best things about PayPal is that you can accept various payment methods simultaneously – on the go and at brick-and-mortar locations using QR codes or a card reader and online using invoices, social media, and your website – and the money from all of your transactions goes into one PayPal account, making it easier to manage your finances.

Here are more features PayPal offers:

Free Basic POS Software

To accept payments in person at your business or on the go, you install the PayPal Here app on your phone or tablet and attach a credit card reader. This mobile credit card processing app includes point-of-sale features that help you run your business. Here’s what it can do:

Accept credit and debit card payments
Record checks and cash payments
Create an inventory list and add photos of items
Add multiple users to your account and manage their access
Set taxes, suggest tip amounts, apply discounts at checkout
Email, text or print receipts
Refund sales
Generate sales reports
Transfer funds from your PayPal balance to your bank account or your PayPal Business Debit Mastercard

Card Reader Options

PayPal has several card readers for you to choose from. They are all EMV compliant and connect to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth. PayPal also sells receipt printers, cash drawers, stands and cases.

Chip and swipe reader: $24.99. You can accept magstripe and chip cards with this reader.
Chip and tap card reader: $59.99 (or $79.99 with charging stand). This model accepts magstripe, chip, and contactless credit and debit cards. It also accepts mobile payments from Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Chip card reader: $99.99. This reader accepts magstripe, chip, and contactless cards as well as mobile wallets. It’s the only model with a screen and a built-in PIN pad.

PayPal Integrations

One of PayPal’s strengths is that it integrates with many business systems and applications. Here’s a small sampling of the business solutions PayPal integrates with:

POS systems like Revel Systems, TouchBistro and Vend
E-commerce platforms, such as 3dcart, BigCommerce and Shopify
Accounting software, including QuickBooks, Xero and Zoho Books

Online Payments

PayPal makes it easy to accept credit, debit and PayPal payments online. It offers a few different ways to do this, including a payment gateway option.

PayPal Checkout: There’s no monthly fee for this plan; all you pay are the processing fees for your online transactions. On this plan, you place buy buttons on your website that redirect your customer to a checkout page hosted by PayPal. Some e-commerce platforms already have this feature built into their platforms.
PayPal Payments Pro: This plan costs $30 per month. With it, you can design and host the checkout pages yourself. It includes a virtual terminal that you can use to key in credit card information for sales made over the phone or by fax or mail.
Payflow (payment gateway): If you need a payment gateway for your website and want it to have a secure payment template that you can embed, Payflow Link may be a good option for you. With it, you can accept credit and debit card payments as well as PayPal payments on your website. It costs 10 cents per transaction (above the processing rates you pay your other processor), with no setup or monthly fees. If you require a fully customizable solution, you can get Payflow Pro for $25 per month, but this option has a $99 setup fee.
Pay in 4 and PayPal Credit: These programs pay you upfront but allow your customers to pay for their purchases over time, either in four payments or over a set period.
Sell on Social: This feature lets you create shopping links for your product listing that you can share on social media channels, chat and email.

Online Invoicing

You can create and send invoices by logging in to PayPal’s website with your business account credentials or by using the PayPal Business app on your phone or tablet. Your customer receives an email with a link, clicks the link to open the invoice, and can then choose to pay the invoice using their credit or debit card or their PayPal account. There’s no cost to send invoices; when receiving payments from your customers, you pay 2.9% + $0.30 for each transaction.

Invoicing with Messenger: If you and your customers use Facebook, you can create invoices in Messenger to send to your customers. Your customers can click on the invoice in your message to pay it using their PayPal account.

PayPal Commerce platform: Startups with online marketplaces, crowdfunding platforms and other e-commerce solutions can use this advanced payment platform to allow their sellers to accept payments from buyers around the globe.

If your small business sells to customers in other countries, PayPal is a good processor for you. It accepts payments made in over 100 currencies around the world.

Additional Considerations

Here’s some additional information about PayPal for you to keep in mind as you decide which payment processing company is the best fit for your business.

Customer Service

If you run into an issue using PayPal, you can call or email the company 24/7 or use the self-help resources on its website, which include live chat, FAQs, a searchable knowledgebase, how-to guides, a community forum, and its Resolution Center that assists with customer disputes. Although the company lists extended phone hours on its website, a company rep told us that you can actually reach a customer service representative 24/7, though if you call after hours, your call may be routed to one of its international offices.

Security

PayPal uses multiple security measures to keep your customers’ payment data safe, including end-to-end encryption and 24/7 transaction monitoring. It complies with the data security standards established by the Payment Card Industry, and most of its card readers are EMV compliant, which deters counterfeit fraud. Your account is password-protected, and you can add a second authentication factor using PayPal Security Key, which sends a unique one-time PIN code to your phone via text.

PayPal Business Debit Mastercard

Using this card, you can spend your PayPal funds at any store and receive 1% cash back on qualified purchases. You can also withdraw cash from in-network ATMs. There’s no annual fee for this business debit card.

PayPal Business Loan and PayPal Working Capital

Eligible merchants can receive small business loans and working capital through PayPal.

Drawbacks

PayPal is a great solution for low-volume businesses, as it allows you to accept credit, debit, and PayPal payments in person and online on a pay-as-you-go basis, with no monthly or annual account maintenance fees and no long-term contract. However, if you go beyond the basic credit card processing services, there are lots of little fees to keep track of, and they could add up quickly. To PayPal’s credit, it lists these fees in full on its website.

Another issue to be aware of is held funds and frozen accounts, which is the cause of many online complaints. This problem isn’t exclusive to PayPal – you’ll find similar complaints about other payment facilitators online – as this type of payment processor tends to be more wary of fraud than traditional processors, and irregular patterns in your processing, such as spikes in transaction amounts or frequency, can raise red flags.

Following PayPal’s best practices for sellers reduces the likelihood of having your money held in a reserve account. Also make sure that the products or services your business provides are within PayPal’s acceptable use policy; otherwise, your funds may be frozen or your account closed without notice.

SumUp

Its card reader is a bargain – it accepts mag stripe, chip, contactless payments ‒ compared to what other processors charge for similar equipment.

The free app is basic, but you can create a product catalog, view reports and search your sales history.

It's primarily an in-person processing service. It does have a virtual terminal for card-not-present transactions, but that rate is higher than most.

SumUp launched in 2012 and is now a global mobile credit card processing company that works with thousands of small businesses in 31 countries. Its notable customers include Bosch, DHL and Staples. It has transparent, flat-rate pricing, and there’s no long-term contract.

SumUp is our choice as the best mobile credit card reader for Apple devices because it’s inexpensive; accepts magstripe, chip, and contactless payments – including those made using the Apple Watch; has a long battery life; and connects to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth so you can use it on both new and older devices. Although it’s our pick as the best iPhone card reader, it can also be used with Android phones and tablets, as can its mobile app.

Like other top mobile credit card processors, SumUp has transparent, flat-rate pricing and no monthly or annual fees, so you only pay for the processing you use, making it a great option for new, small and seasonal businesses. There’s no long-term contract, so you can close your account at any time without incurring any type of account closure fee, such as an early termination fee.

For small businesses that either haven’t accepted credit cards before, that process less than $3,000 per month or that have small average sales tickets, working with a mobile credit card processing company or account aggregator like SumUp can be a good solution. Here’s what you’ll pay when you use SumUp as your payment processor.

Processing Rates

No matter what brand of card your customer presents – American Express, Discover, Mastercard or Visa – you pay the same rate. There’s also no rate difference based on card type. Whether your customers pay using debit or credit, regular or rewards, personal or corporate cards, the transaction fees you pay are the same. The only variable that affects the SumUp’s credit card processing rate is how you accept the cards.

Credit and debit cards you accept in person using a card reader: 2.75%
Credit and debit cards you accept using the virtual terminal (card-not-present transactions): 3.25% + $0.15

Fees

There are no setup or hidden fees with your SumUp account. There are also no monthly fees, monthly gateway, statement or annual PCI compliance fees. There is only one incidental fee to be aware of, which is the $10 chargeback fee. The only time you’ll be charged for it is if you have a customer who disputes a transaction.

Payout

SumUp deposits money from your transactions, minus its fee, into your bank account within two business days. You set the frequency of your payouts to daily, weekly or monthly. After it deposits money into your bank account, it emails you a list of transactions included in the payout. You can also track payouts using the SumUp app and your account dashboard.

Terms of Service

Instead of a contract, SumUp has terms of service, and like every such document from a payment processor, you should read it before signing up for an account. The company provides its services on a pay-as-you-go basis, and you can close your account at any time without penalty.

Like other mobile credit card processing companies, there are some types of businesses that SumUp doesn’t support. To avoid having your funds held or your account closed without warning, read the terms of service to ensure you use your account in accordance with SumUp terms, and that your business type and the products or services you offer aren’t listed as a restricted business. It’s also worth noting that while SumUp can be used by individual sellers with even very small businesses – such as those who sell items at craft fairs a few times per year – it’s not a P2P service like Venmo and can’t be used to transfer funds from friends or family members.

Getting started with SumUp is easy and takes less than five minutes. You will need to provide an email address, shipping address and your payment details. Next, you ‘ll create a password for your account. Then, before you begin processing, you’ll need to provide some basic information about your business so the payment provider can verify that your business is legitimate. It will also need bank account information so it can deposit your payouts once you begin processing.

As you’re setting up your account, SumUp asks about your business structure. When you sign up for an account as a sole proprietor, you will be asked to provide the following information:

Legal structure and business category
Business name and address
Home address, date of birth, Social Security number and mobile phone number
Bank account

If your business is a partnership, LLC, cooperative or corporation, you’re asked to provide the above information as well as

Your EIN
Names of beneficial business owners
Contact and personal information (address, date of birth, Social Security numbers and phone numbers) for authorized signatories
Business bank account

SumUp Features

SumUp’s mobile app is available for iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Its features are more basic than those offered by some of its competitors, like Square, but here are some of the things you can do with it:

Accept credit and debit card payments, including Apple Pay and Google Pay
Issue refunds
Print, email or text receipts
Create a product catalog
Add and edit sales tax rates
Track sales and payments in real time
Send customers SMS texts with a payment links

Processing Equipment Options

SumUp offers only one card reader, but you can use it to accept magstripe, chip, and contactless credit and debit cards as well as mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. It connects to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth, and the company says that with it, you can process more than 500 transactions on a single charge. It costs $19, which is the most affordable EMV/NFC card reader we’ve seen. Shipping is free, which is a nice perk, and it takes between two and three business days for the unit to arrive.

Dashboard

When you access your SumUp account online, you can find your account details and a dashboard that gives you a graphical overview of your transactions. You can see your sales revenue by day or week, by amount or number of transactions, and by payment type (credit card, debit card, cash). It also shows the most recent payout to your bank account. Your sales history is filterable and downloadable, making it easy to search for specific transactions. It also allows you to drill down to the sales details for each transaction.

Virtual Terminal

If you need to run a card-not-present transaction, such as when a customer gives you their credit card number over the phone or by email, you can use SumUp’s virtual terminal. This feature isn’t automatically provided with your account – you’ll need to call the company and fill out an application that requests some additional information about your business before you can have it set up, but there is no setup fee and no monthly fee if your request is approved.

Employee Accounts

From your SumUp account page, you can add employees to your account. Each employee has their own login credentials, and can accept credit card payments and view their sales histories. They can’t access your account, add or organize products, or add a separate bank account – all payouts are transferred to your bank account. From your account, you can review the sales histories for all the employees connected to your account.

Integrations

SumUp has an API and SDK, so your developer can integrate the service into your website or mobile app. Test accounts are also available for developers.

Here are some additional points to keep in mind as you decide which mobile credit card processing company is the right fit for your small business.

SumUp is PCI-DSS certified, and its card reader is certified by PCI, EMV, Mastercard and Visa.

Customer Support

This mobile credit card processor has multiple customer support channels. On its website, it has a searchable knowledgebase, a blog, and a chatbot that answers questions about how to set up an account, the documentation that is required, pricing, and how the service works. It can also answer common questions that SumUp merchants have about their account, card reader and payouts.

Or, if you prefer to speak with a customer service rep, phone support is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST. The rep we spoke with said the company is looking at adding Saturday hours during the holiday season. When we called the company, posing as a small business owner as part of our testing, our call was answered promptly, and the rep we spoke with was helpful, friendly and answered our questions thoroughly.

Limitations

SumUp is simpler than some of its competitors and lacks nicer features like recurring payments and inventory tracking. Still, for small businesses that want a solid, basic payment processing solution to accept in-person credit card payments and don’t need advanced features, it’s a terrific option.

Like other mobile credit card processing services, some industries are prohibited, so you’ll want to read the terms of service and make sure your business type is supported before you sign up for an account. If your business type isn’t supported and you sign up anyway, you risk having your funds frozen or your account shut down without warning.

Shopify Payments: Best for Online Small Businesses

Shopify Payments

Shopify makes it easy for e-commerce businesses that want to open pop-up shops or participate in local events to accept credit cards in person.

If you subscribe to higher-tier plans, you pay lower processing rates. Also, service is month to month.

Shopify's new app only supports iOS devices.

For e-commerce businesses that open up pop-up shops and need a way to accept credit cards in person, we recommend Shopify Payments – the in-house credit card processing service offered by Shopify. This cloud-based e-commerce platform serves more than 800,000 merchants across 175 countries, including well-known brands like Nestle and Red Bull.

It’s our choice as the best mobile credit card processing service for online businesses because it makes it easy for you to accept payments across multiple channels: on your website or blog, on social media, and in person at various locations using your phone or tablet.

Shopify Payments has competitive flat rates, 24/7 phone support and no long-term contract. Its credit card payment app comes with point-of-sale features, and you can choose from two mobile card readers, both of which are EMV compliant.

Shopify Payments is very transparent with its pricing and terms. On its website, you can find its rates, fees, and credit card processing hardware costs as well as its acceptable use policy and terms of service for both its payment processing service and e-commerce platform. This information makes it easier to determine whether Shopify Payments meets the specific needs of your business and fits your budget before spending time on the phone speaking with a sales rep. Shopify Payments uses the flat-rate pricing model and offers competitive transaction fees, especially on its higher-tier plans.

Rates

Here’s what it costs to accept credit and debit card transactions using Shopify Payments on each of Shopify’s main pricing plans. Custom processing fees are available for large, high-volume businesses through the Shopify Plus plan.

Shopify Lite and Basic Shopify plans:

Cards you accept in person using a card reader: 2.7%
Cards you accept online or manually key in: 2.9% + $0.30

Shopify plan:

Cards you accept in person using a card reader: 2.5%
Cards you accept online or manually key in: 2.6% + $0.30

Advanced Shopify plan:

Cards you accept in person using a card reader: 2.4%
Cards you accept online or manually key in: 2.4% + $0.30

Unlike most mobile payment facilitators, Shopify charges a monthly fee to use its services. Although this fee is technically for Shopify’s POS and e-commerce software, you can’t use Shopify Payments without it. However, it gives you high-quality POS tools with your account and enables you to sell your goods and services online and in person. Each plan ‒ except the Lite plan – comes with a Shopify online store, which includes an e-commerce website and blog.

Monthly Fee

The monthly fee varies, depending on which plan you choose. If you pay upfront rather than month to month, you receive a 10% discount on an annual plan or a 20% discount on a two-year plan.

Shopify Lite: $9. You can accept payments in person, on social media and on an existing website or blog.
Basic Shopify: $29. In addition to the sales channels included with the Lite plan, you can accept payments on your Shopify online store. This plan supports two staff accounts.
Shopify: $79. This includes all Basic plan features and supports five staff accounts.
Advanced Shopify: $299. This includes all Shopify plan features and supports 15 staff accounts.
Shopify Plus: Custom pricing is available for high-volume merchants.

Optional Fees

Some of Shopify’s optional services carry extra costs. Here are some examples.

Custom domain names start at $11 per year. If you don’t already have a domain name for your website and prefer not to use the free MyShopify.com domain name that comes with your Shopify subscription, you can purchase one from the company.
Some integrations, available through the Shopify App Store, carry monthly fees.
If you choose to use an external payment provider or payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments, you will be charged a fee of 0.5% to 2%, depending on your plan.

It usually takes one or two business days for Shopify Payments to transfer your processed funds into your business bank account, which is on a par with other top credit card processing companies. You receive an email alert when your funds arrive. If you prefer to receive your funds weekly or monthly, you can set up a payout schedule.

Shopify has month-to-month terms and allows you to upgrade to a higher plan or downgrade to a lower one at any time. A discount is available if you sign up and pay in advance for a one- or two-year term, but no refunds are available if you prepay and later cancel, so you want to make sure the service is a good fit for your business before you sign up for longer terms.

Shopify is a payment facilitator and sets you up as a submerchant under its master merchant account instead of providing you with your own merchant account, so rather than sign a contract, you agree to the company’s terms of service. You should read the Shopify Payments’ terms of service, the merchant terms of service and the acceptable use policy, which are posted online, before signing up for an account to make sure that you understand your responsibilities and verify that this payment processor supports your business type.

Like other mobile payment facilitators, Shopify Payments seeks to prevent fraudulent activity and minimize its risk of losing money. It will hold your funds or close your account if it feels there’s something suspicious about your account activity, if you have what it considers to be an excessive number of chargebacks or refunds, or if it expects that you will have an excessive number of chargebacks or refunds.

Also, like nearly every mobile credit card processor, there are many business types that Shopify doesn’t support. Before signing up for an account, you’ll want to verify that the goods and services your business sells aren’t on Shopify’s list of prohibited products or services. If they are, the company will close your account. You can find this list in Section B, paragraph five of the Payments Terms of Service.

Shopify Features

Shopify has two mobile apps, and you’ll use both to get the most from your Shopify Payments account. The Shopify POS app is for processing payments in person, and you can accept all major credit and debit cards with it. The Shopify app is for managing your sales data, orders, products, customers and staff. Both apps are available for Android and iOS phones and tablets. The Shopify app is also available for the Apple Watch, showing you an overview of your sales data. Here are some examples of things you can do with these apps:

Accept credit and debit cards, including contactless cards and mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay
Record cash payments and checks
Split tenders (accept two or more payment types for a transaction)
Accept partial payments or deposits
Accept tips
Issue refunds
Email or print receipts
Set discounts and taxes
Create customer profiles
Manage products, add photos, organize into categories, track inventory

There are two mobile card readers available for use with Shopify Payments. Both options are EMV compliant, so you can accept chip cards and avoid liability for counterfeit fraud for the cards you accept in person.

Chip and Swipe Reader: $29. This mobile credit card reader connects to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, and is compatible with Android and iOS devices. With it, you can accept chip and magnetic stripe cards.
Shopify Tap and Chip Reader: $49; charging dock: $39. This EMV- and PCI-certified mobile card reader connects via Bluetooth, and is compatible with Android and iOS devices. With it, you can accept chip cards, contactless cards and mobile payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

If you want to connect a receipt printer or barcode scanner to your phone or tablet, you’ll need to subscribe to the Shopify plan or higher.

The dashboard shows you an overview of your sales, and if you also have an online store or sell on social media, you can monitor your traffic. You can see which products sell best and which ones underperform. You can generate reports and export them to a spreadsheet or send them to your accountant.

More than 1,200 apps are available in the Shopify App Store. You can add advanced features to your account and connect to third-party business applications that you may already use, such as accounting software like QuickBooks and email marketing services like Mailchimp.

Sell on Social Media

You can use Shopify to sell your products on Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Houzz, Instagram and Pinterest. Other sales channels you can sell on include Amazon and eBay. You can see all your sales channel options in the Shopify App Store.

No Signature Required

When you accept chip cards in person, you’re no longer required to capture signatures at checkout. Shopify allows you to opt in to this feature, which can speed up the checkout experience for your customers. However, you can continue to accept signatures if you prefer.

Shopify Payments is for business use only, so if you’re looking for a mobile credit card processing service that allows you to accept payments for personal or family use, you’ll need to choose a different processor.

Here’s more information to keep in mind before signing up with Shopify Payments.

Shopify keeps your data secure by complying with Level 1 PCI data security, which has the most stringent security requirements for payment processors. Its card readers are EMV-certified, which has proven to be an effective tool against counterfeit fraud.

Additionally, the company provides fraud prevention tools for Shopify merchants, including fraud analysis indicators that identify potential issues, such as incorrect CVV codes or attempts to pay with multiple cards. It assigns a fraud recommendation for each order and flags orders it considers to be a medium or high risk on the Orders page for you to review. A free Fraud Filter app from Shopify is available on Shopify’s app store, as are multiple third-party fraud prevention apps, and Shopify Plus merchants can use Shopify Flow to create a workflow that notifies you when an order is created that raises red flags.

The company recently announced a new feature called Fraud Protect for Shopify Payments that analyzes online orders for fraudulent chargebacks. Exact pricing for this feature hasn’t yet been released, but the company notes that you’ll pay a small fee for each order it classifies as “protected.” Then, if there’s a chargeback for fraud on an order it flagged as safe, the company will handle the dispute and reimburse you the cost of the order, plus it takes care of the chargeback process for you.

You can reach customer service by phone 24/7, or by phone, email, live chat or Twitter. If you’d prefer to troubleshoot an issue yourself, the company provides multiple resources to help you, including guides and tutorials, a searchable knowledgebase, a user forum, and a blog.

As with other mobile payment facilitators, you can find complaints online about Shopify Payments holding processed funds and closing accounts. You may be able to avoid these headaches by reading the terms of service for Shopify and Shopify Payments before signing up to make sure that your business type and the products you sell aren’t prohibited businesses. You also want to be aware of actions that raise red flags and may cause the company to hold your funds.

Here are some additional issues to consider before selecting Shopify Payments as your mobile credit card processor:

Adding users to your account can be expensive. The number of staff accounts you can add corresponds with the pricing plan you choose.
You’ll need to subscribe to the Shopify plan or higher if you want to connect to a receipt printer or barcode scanner.
Not all Shopify POS apps are created equal. Although you can ring up sales and accept payments using an iPhone, iPad or Android device, you’ll need an iPad if you want to access every feature, as some are lacking on the iPhone and Android versions of the mobile app. You can view a device comparison chart on the company’s website.

	Square	PayPal	SumUp	Shopify Payments
Transparent pricing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pricing model	Flat rate	Flat rate	Flat rate	Flat rate
Rates for in-person transaction	2.6% + $0.10	2.70%	2.75%	2.4% to 2.9%, depending on plan
Chip and contactless (tap) card reader	$49	$59.99	$19	$49
Monthly fees	No	No	No	Yes
Contract length	Pay as you go	Pay as you go	Pay as you go	Month to month
24/7 Phone support	No	No	No	Yes

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