Head to head
Compared side by side on published facts and the same six criteria every review is graded on — generated from the live directory, not a sales page.
Fiserv (Carat)
Payment Processor · 2.7/5 mean
Carat from Fiserv is an enterprise-grade global commerce platform that orchestrates omnichannel payments, data intelligence, and customer experience solutions for the world's largest businesses, but hampered by opaque pricing, complex contracting, and a widespread customer service reputation that does not match its technological ambitions.
Read the full review →PayPal
Payment Processor · 4.0/5 mean
PayPal is a global, feature-rich digital payments platform (consumer wallet + merchant services) with extensive integrations and brand reach. It is trusted by many businesses but criticized in public reviews for dispute handling and account-hold practices.
Read the full review →PayPal holds the higher standing — by grade, then mean category score. The row-by-row picture below is what should actually decide it for your business.
Both graded against the same six criteria. How we grade · Last fact-checked August 19, 2026 and September 2, 2026.
| Criterion | Fiserv (Carat) | PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 1.0 | 3.0wins this criterion |
| Feature set | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ease of use | 2.0 | 4.0 |
Straight from each provider's published documentation. Where a number isn't published, we say so rather than estimate.
| Metric | Fiserv (Carat) | PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| Online rate | Not disclosed | 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction |
| Monthly fee | Not disclosed | $0 Pay-as-you-go | Enterprise agreements have monthly fees |
| Payout | Typically next business day for enterprise clients; varies by contract | 1-3 business days (standard bank transfer) |
| Contract | Multi-year | Pay as you go or month-to-month business accounts |
| In-person rate | Not disclosed | 2.29% + $0.09 per card-present transaction (PayPal's published POS rate, not Tap to Pay only) |
| Keyed rate | Not disclosed | 3.49% + $0.09 for manually entered cards, published on PayPal's POS pricing page |
From the Fiserv (Carat) review
PayPal offers a pay-as-you-go account with no monthly fee or contract and a consumer brand that measurably helps checkout conversion, making it far more accessible than Fiserv Carat's enterprise-only model. Carat remains the fit for the largest global businesses that need single-platform orchestration of acquiring relationships across every channel.
Pick PayPal if you want a pay-as-you-go account and a checkout brand buyers already trust
Ideal for
Not recommended for
Ideal for
Not recommended for
The full reviews carry the pricing narratives, contract analysis and everything else behind these numbers — or let the matching funnel score the whole directory against your business.
| Customer support | 2.0 | 3.0wins this criterion |
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| Contract terms | 2.0 | 4.0wins this criterion |
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| Industry reputation | 4.0 | 5.0wins this criterion |
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| International rate | Not disclosed | Cross-border fee +1.50%; currency conversion spread 4.00% (3.00% on some transaction types) |
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| PCI fee | Not disclosed | None |
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| Statement fee | Not disclosed | Varies by product/region |
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| Chargeback fee | Not disclosed | Region dependent ($20 US) |
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| Early termination | ETFs have been reported at $500 or higher | Not applicable for standard pay as you go accounts; enterprise/reseller contracts may have terms |
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| Last fact-checked | August 19, 2026 | September 2, 2026 |
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