We grade payment processors on pricing transparency, features, support and contract terms — then publish the reasoning behind every grade.
Top rated
Ranked by grade, then by average category score.
| # | Processor | Category | Grade | Online rate | Read review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zen Payments | Payment Processor | A+ | 2.9% + .10 | Read review → |
| 2 | PayKings | High-Risk Specialist | A+ | Interchange + 0.80% - 1.10% + $0.10 - $0.25 per transaction | Read review → |
| 3 | Stripe | Payment Processor | A | 2.9% + $0.30 | Read review → |
| 4 | Square | POS System | A | 2.9% + $0.30 | Read review → |
| 5 | Helcim | Payment Processor | A- | Interchange + 0.5% + $0.25 per transaction | Read review → |
The directory
A 2007-vintage Utah merchant services provider that spent years as one of the better-regarded small-business ISOs, rebranded to pmtbox, raised $15 million in 2026, and repositioned around enterprise e-commerce. The track record is real; the offering a small merchant would be buying today is much less clear than it was.
A small New Hampshire high-risk shop that places merchant accounts with domestic and offshore banks for verticals mainstream acquirers refuse. It charges no application fee and is candid about rolling reserves — but it publishes no rates, is not BBB-accredited or rated, and leaves almost no verifiable public trail.
GoDaddy's in-house processor, built on the Poynt technology it bought in 2020. Flat published rates, no monthly fee and next-business-day payouts make it a genuinely competitive small-business option — provided you are willing to run your commerce inside GoDaddy's ecosystem.
A bank-payments specialist built for recurring billing. GoCardless collects by ACH and other direct debit schemes rather than by card, with published, capped per-transaction pricing — but it processes no card payments at all, and merchant complaints about account freezes and slow support are persistent.
One of the longest-running high-risk processors in the United States, operating since 1998 and built around subscription billing for adult, dating, streaming and creator platforms. It will underwrite what almost nobody else will — but it publishes no rates, and its contract terms deserve a careful read.
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.
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.
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.
Methodology
Pricing transparency, feature set, ease of use, customer support, contract terms and industry reputation — scored on every review.
Rates and fees come from published documentation and public filings. Where a provider does not disclose a number, we say so rather than estimating.
Every review carries the date it was last fact-checked, so you can see how current the numbers are.
Compare processors on published facts — rates, fees, contract terms and support — with a grade that explains itself.
Browse reviews →Claim your listing to file corrections and track them. Not reviewed yet? Request one and we will assess you against the same six criteria as everyone else.
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Expert insights and industry analysis
PayKings publishes interchange-plus pricing and underwrites high-risk verticals most processors decline. Here is what reviews consistently praise, what they warn about, and how to decide if it fits.
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