We rank the best credit card processors and merchant services.

In the United States the payment climate for businesses is certainly widespread across a number of different methods for obtaining payment. For many businesses which deal with rentals, check payments are a common way to request payment from a client. Many retail shops and online businesses will either prefer to use a payment gateway or will accept a credit card directly from their buyers. Credit and debit cards have become widespread in daily use, but many large payments collected by consumers are generally handled by checks or through the acceptance of an ACH payment.

Based on our research, our team foresees an increasing portion of credit and debit charges as it becomes more convenient for consumers to use a card to make their purchases. Cash transactions will begin to incrementally shrink over the next 10 years, but will likely not be eliminated.

Online businesses in particular often provide their clients with a number of different ways to make their payments. For utility services, many suggest an ACH payment directly through their website or through a third-party. Online retailers accept payments either through an established payment gateway or through a credit or debit payment. Credit cards and debit cards are often the preferred method of payment for customers due to the ease of entering credit card details and the benefits enjoyed by consumers through protections offered by the terms of their credit card usage.

Based on our research, our team foresees a different movement from credit/debit and other transactions towards payment gateway processing. Many online businesses will look for the convenience found in trusting their payments to a payment gateway provider.

For many businesses looking to accept credit card payments from their customers it is customary to look for the best rate in order to maximize their revenues. As a result, it is common for businesses to "shop around" for a better rate. We have found that the providers which we rank are generally capable of achieving a more effective rate when compared to their competition. Processors offering a better rate are often able to do so due to their position as a leader within their industry and through other monetization strategies which are more friendly towards their merchants.

Our ranked payment processors are often companies that have the resources to offer a competitive rate compared to smaller payment processors unable to offer those same competitive rates. In additiion, these processors are able to offer less fees in other areas due to their ability to handle large volumes.

Online businesses often look for new ways to cut costs and reduce their overhead. Unfortunately, payment processing often comes with larger fees due to the increased costs towards payment processors to ensure that their payments are being properly secured over the Internet. However, online businesses still shop around just like retail and regional businesses.

The providers which have been awarded for their payment processing often have advantages in regards to their rates due to their ability to service a large number of transactions and their experience in preventing fraudulent charges when compared against a less experienced or less capable payment processor.

Our research team has spent time obtaining feedback from those which use payment processors both featured and eligible for our rankings. During this research, we allowed reviewers to associate their review with a rating from 1 to 5, 5 being the best result possible. In addition, time was spent analyzing how processors were reviewed in other platforms and locations in order to utilize as much information as possible.

Companies which were featured in our rankings often enjoyed a higher average in the reviews they receive from their customers. We believe a large part of this comes from the competitive processing rates and fees ranked providers offer and their ability to handle inquiries from their clients with a larger customer service team.