Chase Payment Solutions vs Square

Why?

These two win on different axes and the split is clean enough that forcing a single answer would misinform most readers. Chase is cheaper on money, and not marginally: it beats Square's free plan on all three published card rates - 2.6% + 10c against 2.6% + 15c in person, 2.9% + 25c against 3.3% + 30c online, 3.5% + 10c against 3.5% + 15c keyed - and it hands you same-day funding at no cost if your money lands in a Chase business checking account, where Square charges 1.95% for the same speed. On a business doing $40,000 a month online, the online rate gap alone is real money, and the funding difference is real again. It also gives you a dedicated merchant account rather than a slot on a shared one, which is the structural reason payment-facilitator merchants are the ones who write about sudden holds, and it answers the phone 24/7 without an upsell. Square is better at everything that is not the rate. You can be selling this afternoon with no underwriting wait, you pay nothing when a chargeback lands, ACH is 1% with a published cap, hardware starts at $59, the software tiers are $0, $49 and $149 per location with the contents listed, and you cancel from a dashboard rather than a phone call. It is the higher-graded product on the site - A against B - because for the businesses that make up most of the market, that package is worth more than 5c a transaction. The dividing line is volume and permanence. Established, steady, banking with Chase or willing to move: take Chase and the rate. New, small, seasonal, or unsure how long this will run: take Square, and revisit once the volume justifies an underwritten account.