Every processor.
Graded on evidence.

Rainforest

Payment Processor

B

An Atlanta payfac-as-a-service provider that publishes its entire buy-rate card in public — 0.30% and $0.30 falling to 0.20% and $0.20 at volume, with no revenue share — for software platforms embedding payments. Not a merchant account, and only four years old.

Host Merchant Services

ISO

B+

A Delaware ISO that publishes real interchange-plus margins — 0.25% and $0.10 retail, 0.20% and $0.09 restaurant, 0.35% and $0.10 e-commerce — on month-to-month terms with no termination fee, an A+ BBB record since 2011 and 4.6 on Trustpilot.

BlueSnap

Payment Processor

C+

A capable global orchestration platform — published card rates in a handful of countries, local acquiring in 50 more, one integration for over 200 regions — carrying a 2024 FTC settlement for processing payments for a known scam, and now owned by Payroc.

A San Francisco processor that charges a monthly subscription — from $250 — and takes zero markup on interchange, billing a flat $0.08 or $0.15 per transaction instead. Excellent economics above roughly $1m a year, wrong below it, and with a public track record still too thin to lean on.

An Austin high-risk specialist that publishes flat rates — 2.69% + $0.36 online, 1.59% + $0.19 swiped — and routes merchants across 30+ banking partners so one declined account does not stop the business. Its own marketing overstates its Trustpilot score, and its BBB rating is D- for unanswered complaints.

A small, long-running ISO that publishes its entire interchange-plus margin, charges $20 a month, and imposes no contract and no early termination fee. The catch is fit, not conduct: it declines high-risk verticals, is uneconomic below a few thousand dollars a month, and supports merchants only during business hours.

A pay-as-you-go card reader and POS provider with flat published rates, no monthly fee and no contract. Strong for small and mobile sellers; the recurring complaint is account freezes and held funds with slow resolution.

One of the largest privately held US acquirers, rebranded from North American Bancard in 2024. It publishes POS rates and says it does not require a long-term contract, but reviewers who have read its traditional merchant agreement report a three-year term with a liquidated-damages termination clause — and its public complaint record is poor.

A long-established California high-risk specialist with an A+ BBB rating, accreditation since 2012 and an unusually light complaint record. The trade-offs are tiered, quote-only pricing at the expensive end of the market and multi-year contracts with early termination fees up to $595.