Best PayPal Credit Card Processing Alternatives

June 28, 2023

a photo depicting paypal credit card processing alternatives

If you’ve ever needed to accept credit card payments online, you’ve probably considered using PayPal. Due to the success of eBay, its parent company, PayPal has become one the best-known online payment options over the past decade. Aside from its success with eBay, most online customers have become comfortable paying via PayPal to pay with a credit card for their e-commerce purchases and so the service has been widely adopted as additional credit card processing method with many online stores.

Even with PayPal's great success, it is important to understand that the service does have its limitations and grievances. PayPal is a good e-commerce option for online businesses that are just starting out, established brick-and-mortar merchants that wish to offer products and services through a preexisting website, low-volume or seasonal online merchants, and as an additional payment option alongside traditional merchant accounts. It is not an ideal as the sole payment acceptance method for successful or high volume online businesses or for merchants accepting face-to-face payments.

With PayPal's tremendous popularity has come major backlash due to some of the company's policies. Many e-commerce vendors have vowed to stop doing business with PayPal as a protest against unexpected fund holds, transaction fees, and poor customer support. However, we believe that limiting your payment options could result in lost sales.

Here is a list of credit card payment alternatives to PayPal for accepting debit and credit card processing online or in-person. Just like PayPal, these card processors all provide simple checkout options by way of either a “Pay Now” button, an API that can be easily integrated into a merchant’s existing website, invoicing, or in-person. Each processor in this list has its strengths and weaknesses and you should evaluate each option according to your own business needs.

Our Picks for The Best PayPal Card Acceptance Alternatives

#1 Helcim

Helcim is our favorite option for as a PayPal credit card processing alternative. Launched in 2006, the platform has grown into a comprehensive payment processing solution for businesses in the United States and Canada. Helcim has a reputation for low costs, modern payment acceptance options, and high-quality over the phone customer support. The company has also consistently scored as a top rated merchant account provider in our Helcim review over the ten years that we have been monitoring the company.

Helcim has no monthly or annual fees and offers all the same online card acceptance features of PayPal plus numerous others at no additional costs, you only pay a small processing fee when you process a sale. Payments can be accepted via “buy now” buttons, shopping cart integration, and a well-documented API for custom integrations. Essentially, you can do the easiest payment integrations yourself, or hire a developer to enable quick payment acceptance into your website. This processor also offers invoicing and mobile payments via any device with an internet connection.

Helcim offers Interchange-plus pricing, meaning that you pay the exact cost of the the processing fee for the card that is being transacted plus a small markup. This markup automatically reduces as your sales grow with the average cost coming in at around 2% per transaction. With PayPal's processing fee average around 3%, Helcim's clients save around 1% in processing costs. Add to this that many of PayPal's services come with additional monthly fees while Helcim has none, and the savings become even greater. All in all, Helcim has better service and lower costs than PayPal, making it our top choice.

For all the detail, see the Helcim website here.

Additional PayPal Alternatives

CDG Commerce

Our next choice for PayPal credit card processing alternative is CDG Commerce. This company is a merchant services provider that offers payment solutions to businesses of all sizes. Founded in 1998 and based in Chesapeake, Virginia, CDG Commerce provides solutions for credit card processing, debit card processing, and e-commerce payment gateways. Like Helcim, this processor has consistently scored high marks in our CDG Commerce review over ten years of monitoring

CDG Commerce offers an array of services such as mobile payment solutions, recurring billing, and POS solutions. It provides a free payment gateway (Quantum Gateway) or the option to integrate with other popular gateways such as Authorize.Net.

The company's pricing model includes a month-to-month agreement with no early termination fee, which is relatively rare in the merchant services industry and a significant benefit for business owners. There are also two other pricing options for businesses that have a higher volume of transactions. Overall, CDG is very similar to Helcim but lacks in some of the ease-of-use features included with Helcim. It is a great alternative to PayPal if Helcim isn't quite the right fit.

For all of the details, see the CDG Commerce website here.

Shopify

Shopify is a well-known e-commerce platform based in Ottawa, Ontario. The company’s payment processing platform, Shopify Payments, is powered by Stripe and functions as the preferred payment option provided by the company. In addition to online credit card acceptance, Shopify provides completely customizable store templates, a secure, on-site shopping cart, integration with over 70 different payment gateways, unlimited hosting and bandwidth, online marketing tools, and email support. Shopify also provides point-of-sale (POS) equipment for merchants with physical locations.

Shopify offers different service packages at the following pricing tiers: $9/month (Lite), $29/month (Basic), $79/month (Standard), $299/month (Advanced), and a customized Plus plan for merchants who sell over a million dollars in merchandise per year. Online per-transaction fees decrease with each upgraded package, starting at 2.9% plus $0.30 for the Lite package and ending with a low custom rate for the Plus plan. Merchants can integrate their existing merchant accounts with Shopify, but they will pay an additional 2% per transaction on the Lite plan, an additional 1% per transaction on the Standard plan, and an additional 0.5% on the Advanced plan.

CardPaymentOptions.com currently awards Shopify an “A” rating, and the Better Business Bureau gives the company an “A+” at this time.

For more information, visit the Shopify website.

Final Thoughts on PayPal Alternatives

When considering an alternative to PayPal for credit card processing, we weighed several key factors:

Costs and Fees: The pricing structure and understand the costs involved. This included setup fees, transaction fees, monthly fees, or any other hidden costs. Some services may offer a flat rate, while others may charge on an interchange-plus basis.
Fraud Protection: The services provide robust security measures and fraud protection to safeguard sensitive financial data. This can include encryption, tokenization, and PCI compliance.
Ease of Use: The services are be user-friendly for both the business and its customers. This involves how easy it is to setup, the intuitiveness of the interface, and whether it supports the business's preferred sales channels (in-person, online, mobile, etc.).
Customer Support: It's crucial to have reliable and efficient customer support. each provide 24/7 support, and through various mediums (phone, email, live chat).
Integration: These credit card processors easily integrate with most sales systems, including popular ecommerce platforms, POS systems, and accounting softwares.
Payment Types: They accept all major credit and debit cards, as well as other payment types your business or your customers may require, like digital wallets or international cards.
Payout Time: They quickly pay out funds that are transferred from the processor to your bank account. Some processors may take only a day or two, while others might take longer.
Reputation and Reviews: We read reviews from other businesses to gain insight into the reliability and quality of the service.
Contracts and Terms: They offer no long-term commitments and do not charge any junk fees.

Remember, the best credit card processor for your business will depend on your specific needs and circumstances. It's important to carefully assess each of our recommendations and to make a decision that suits your business model the best.

About The Author

Phillip Parker

In the late 2000s, as a broke college student struggling to make ends meet, I was contacted by a merchant services company after uploading my resume to a job listings website. This company promised substantial commissions and ongoing residual income for simply persuading businesses to accept credit card payments. It seemed straightforward enough—after all, what business doesn’t need to process credit card payments? Following a phone interview with a persuasive “sales director,” I found myself embarking on what I believed would be an easy job that would significantly boost my bank account with reliable monthly income and large sales commissions. However, the lessons I learned would profoundly change my life in ways I could never have imagined.

After completing my sales training, I hit the ground running, eager to make sales. This broke college student was determined to improve his financial situation! My first attempt at a cold call, with no prior appointment, ended with a burly man in his 50s yelling at me to leave, claiming he had been “totally robbed” by someone like me before. As I hastily exited, puzzled and intimidated by his reaction, I couldn’t help but wonder what he meant. Throughout the day, I encountered similar hostility from other business owners, all expressing disdain for the industry I had been so excited to join that morning. Confused and curious, I decided to shift my approach from selling to listening.

I quickly uncovered that the merchant services sector was riddled with unethical practices, including hidden fees, deceptive marketing, fine-print traps, and much more. It dawned on me that I had nearly been tricked by a dubious company into selling overpriced services under contracts with long-term commitments, all without being fully aware of what I was promoting. Outraged, I resigned from that company but learned that there were indeed ethical credit card processing companies that treated their clients fairly. Over the next four years, I worked for one such company, assisting hundreds of businesses in securing cost-effective processing solutions. Yet, I also met many more who had been misled and trapped in onerous service agreements. Determined to help people steer clear of these unscrupulous providers, I launched this website in my spare time, dedicating myself to researching and sharing my findings on every merchant account provider I could investigate.

Gradually, more and more business owners began to discover my articles. As word spread, search engines started to rank my content highly, amplifying its reach. My efforts were making a difference! Eventually, the website garnered enough traffic to enable me to leave my job and focus on it full-time, a journey that has now spanned over a decade. This path has not been without its challenges; unscrupulous company owners have tried to intimidate and sue me into silence on several occasions. Yet, I have stood firm against each threat. Here I am, continuing to publish reviews and articles, hoping to safeguard others from the pitfalls of the credit card processing industry.

If you believe in my mission and wish to contribute, please share my articles on your websites and social media. Thank you for visiting!

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Reader Comments

Tell Us What You Think

1 User Reviews

Viola

March 28, 2018

Thank you for this professional comparison. I used most of them, but from now on I really appreciate the payment gateway G2A PAY. I do not know anyone who has such a quick integration, so I can recommend them with a clear conscience, especially since they offer many solutions to facilitate transaction control.

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