There are many different options for merchant accounts. It’s a lot of information to process, but it’s worth doing. We’ve taken all the legwork out of it and reviewed the best merchant account providers so you don’t have to. Here are our top picks:
The best merchant account providers of 2023
There are many different types of merchant accounts, and each type suits a different business. For example, if you’re running a small business that sells products online and does not accept payments in person (or over the phone), then you will need an e-commerce merchant account. On the other hand, if your company has brick-and-mortar locations where people can come in and buy things with cash or credit cards, then they need what’s called a retail terminal or point-of-sale (POS) terminal. You might also want to consider getting separate accounts for each one: one for web sales and another for in-person transactions–or even more than two!

dLocal
dLocal is a great choice for small business owners who want to get started with accepting payments. They offer a wide range of services, including payments, POS and inventory management. Their easy-to-use interface makes it simple for you to manage your business online without having to hire someone else or learn complicated software. They also have 24/7 support available through phone calls or live chat if you need help with anything at all!
With dLocal’s 30 day free trial (no credit card required), there’s no reason not try them out!
Square
Square is a payment processing company founded by Jack Dorsey in 2009. The company provides credit card readers that attach to smartphones, allowing merchants to accept payments from customers through their mobile devices.
Square has a free app and free card reader, which makes it easy for small businesses to get started accepting credit cards on the go. The Square app also allows you to keep track of your sales data, so you can see how much money each item sold for and what percentage of your sales came from certain items or promotions.
Square’s popularity among small businesses makes it an ideal choice if you plan on selling online or at events where there aren’t many options for accepting cashless payments (like farmers’ markets).
Stripe
Stripe is a payment processing company that helps businesses accept payments online. Stripe merchant account was founded in 2010 and is based in San Francisco, California. The company has raised $2.8 billion in funding from investors including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and PayPal. In May 2019, Stripe announced it had over 1 million active users who were using their services to process $50 billion of transactions per year.
Worldpay by Fiserv
Worldpay is a global payment technology company that provides merchants with a variety of solutions, including credit and debit card processing, mobile payments, eCommerce solutions and more. The company has been around since 2000 and currently has more than 1,500 employees worldwide.
Worldpay is the largest independent processor of credit and debit cards in the UK, processing more than 5 billion transactions per year through its network of over 150 acquiring banks worldwide.
Braintree
Braintree is a payment processor that was acquired by PayPal in 2013 and has been around since 2011. The company is based in Chicago, Illinois.
Braintree specializes in providing merchant services for businesses that want to accept credit cards and other forms of electronic payments online or through mobile apps. It also offers tools for managing these transactions and reporting on customer data like purchase history and trends over time.
Adyen
Adyen is a global payments provider with headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It offers a single platform for accepting, processing and managing payments across multiple devices, channels and continents.
Adyen processes over $50 billion in annual transaction volume across more than 200 currencies. The company has offices in Amsterdam (Netherlands), Atlanta (United States), Tokyo (Japan), Singapore, London (UK) and Paris (France).
Amazon Pay
Amazon Pay is a fast, easy and secure way to pay online. Amazon Pay is accepted on all major websites, apps and in-store. You can use it to shop at millions of places that accept Amazon Payments–one account works across all devices so you only need to enter your information once.
Amazon Pay is available to use on your mobile device or desktop computer (and soon, Alexa). It’s accepted in over 130 countries around the world so you can shop with confidence wherever you are.*
Authorize.Net
Authorize.Net is a leading provider of payment processing services for online merchants in North America and Europe. Authorize.Net was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.
The company offers its customers the ability to accept payments from credit cards, debit cards or electronic checks through an online shopping cart or mobile app storefront; it also provides fraud protection services for its customers who want them (Authorize does not charge extra for these services).
PayPal
PayPal is a global leader in online payments. It is one of the world’s largest Internet payment companies, with more than $1 billion paid out every day. PayPal provides payment solutions for individuals and businesses to send money through their website or mobile app, as well as via text message and email.
PayPal was founded by Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Luke Nosek and Ken Howery on December 1st 1998 but wasn’t launched until March 2000 after raising $100 million from venture capital firms like Benchmark Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners.[2] In 2002 eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion[3]
QuickBooks Payments
QuickBooks Payments is a service from Intuit, the same company that makes QuickBooks accounting software. The service offers a free account with no monthly fees or setup charges. There are some limitations to the free version–for example, you can’t process more than 10 transactions per month or access customer support over the phone–but these restrictions shouldn’t affect most small businesses.
If your business needs more features and flexibility than what’s offered by QuickBooks Payments’ basic tier ($0 signup fee; 1% + $0.30 per transaction), though, there are other options available:
- A Pro account costs $19/month but gives you unlimited monthly transactions and access to 24/7 customer support via phone or email;
- An Enterprise plan costs $99/month but offers even greater scale (can process up to 20K transactions per month)
If you have a small business, find the best merchant account here
If you have a small business, finding the best merchant account is essential for your success. A merchant account is a gateway between your business and the payment processing networks that allow customers to pay using credit cards or other forms of payment. There are many types of merchant accounts available today, so it’s important to choose carefully when deciding which one will work best for your needs.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a payment processor for your small business, we hope that this guide has been helpful. We’ve covered some of the best options on the market right now and given you an overview of what makes them special. If none of these seem like a good fit for your needs or budget, don’t worry–there are plenty more options out there! Check out our other articles on choosing a merchant account provider or getting started with Square payments in order to find one that suits both your company (and).