Credit Card Processing

The 5 Best Canadian Credit Card Processing Companies

April 14, 2022

Let it be known that most credit card processing companies offer their services for merchants across borders. That means that a lot of them will cater to your payment processing needs even if you’re based in a completely different country. But then again, there may be some added rates or charges for merchants that operate outside of the provider’s home base.

That’s why if you’re located in Canada, it might be ideal to find a payment processing company within the same area. And while most of the biggest names in the payment processing industry might exist in the United States, there are some pretty solid providers up north that can deliver the same (if not better) service for equally competitive rates.

Clearly Payments

Based in Vancouver, Canada, Clearly Payments is one of the most trusted names in Canadian payment processing. These guys provide polished services that provide merchants with all of the features and solutions they might need to seamlessly accept payments in various forms — including credit and debit cards.

   

Clearly Payments

They work with all sorts of businesses and are known as a reliable high risk Canadian credit card processing provider. And because they specialize in credit and debit card payments, they offer a wide range of payment terminals for both in-store and online transactions.

Their state-of-the-art point-of-sales terminals provide seamless credit and debit card processing for brick-and-mortars. They also have mobile terminals that can convert your phone or tablet into a POS system. And then, of course, there’s the virtual terminal that you can integrate with a number of shopping carts to allow customers to securely enter card details and make payments online or over the phone.

Synergy Merchant Services

Although they’re not Canadian specifically, Synergy Merchant Services does have offices in Canada. They offer a range of merchant and payment processing services that aim to streamline payments and improve security for both buyers and the merchants that they work with.

Their credit card processing solutions transcend boundaries, allowing buyers to make credit and debit card payments in-store or at home through the internet, the phone, or through the mail. They also make sure to keep all information secure and safe from fraud and theft by incorporating the latest data security features as well as following updated standards for PCI compliance.

What clients particularly enjoy about Synergy Merchant Services is that they offer reliable customer support that’s available 24/7. Their agents are prompt and friendly, offering helpful information and speedy resolve for most client concerns. They also provide relatively lower rates compared to their competition, which can definitely entice penny-pinching merchants.

 

Unified Payments

Much like Synergy Merchant Services, Unified Payments aren’t exactly Canadian but they do have offices in Canada that more easily cater to the needs of their Canadian merchants. They’ve been in the business for decades, and are well known as a reliable provider of various merchant services and payment processing solutions.

Unified Payments Canadian credit card processing company

As a high risk Canadian credit card processing company, Unified Payments caters to hard-to-place merchants that might struggle to get approval through more conservative, traditional providers. Nonetheless, they offer a full range of financial processing products that aim to simplify credit card collections.

Their Complete Payment Acceptance solution works to help their merchants process credit card payments from the most popular brands on the market. They also incorporate some of the strictest security features presently available, allowing them to keep buyers and merchants secure against chargebacks and fraud.

LEAP Payments

The thing that truly sets LEAP Payments apart is the fact that they carefully and tediously individualize their contracts to match the precise needs of all of their clients. They meticulously scrutinize the details of your business during the underwriting process to calculate the best rates for each of their merchants.

Other than calculating rates to provide customized plans for their merchants, they also impose what’s called a Lifetime Lock Rate which means that the company will not increase your credit card processing rates for the duration of your contract. This helps make it easier to anticipate your expenses and calculate how much you’ll end up spending on their service for the length of your term.

Finally, LEAP Payments boasts upstanding customer support that knows you and your business by name. They take pride in their meticulous know-your-client process that lets them interact with their clients on a more intimate level than their competition. With LEAP Payments, you can rest assured that your business’ concerns when it comes to credit card processing will be promptly resolved.

 

Durango Merchant Services

Mainly based in the United States, Durango has recently expanded their offices to Canada. This allows them to cater to their Canadian audience more efficiently, while enabling the payment processor to provide much lower rates for their services and solutions.

Durango Merchant Services logo

Now, Durango Merchant Services isn’t new to the ballgame. These guys have been around for a while and offer seamless services for their merchants across various high risk industries. If you don’t already have a merchant account, they can also help you set one up as a prerequisite for your credit card payment processing facility.

Across the various credit card payment processing providers for Canadian merchants, Durango probably offers the most extensive solutions. They also use robust fraud detection and prevention features that help to keep transactions secure. These solutions effectively work to reduce the chances of chargebacks, which is definitely important for high risk merchants.

How to Choose a Credit Card Payment Processor

Obviously, there are quite a number of providers out there. And while all of them aim to provide the same service, not all of them will cater to the exact needs of your venture.

Remember that all businesses are different, and these distinctions can change the way your business experiences your credit card payment processor’s services. Not quite sure which credit card payment processor to choose? Here are some considerations you might want to make.

  • Rates

All credit card payment processors will charge you something for their services. These fees are imposed on a per transaction basis, aside from whatever added charges they might require for yearly or monthly payment. There are various payment models for their rates, but the most ideal are the ones that charge a flat rate instead of a tiered payment model.

The flat charge means that you’ll pay the same amount regardless of the details of the transaction. This is usually a percentage of the total transaction cost plus an added few cents. The tiered rate changes depending on the perceived risk. For instance, if a transaction looks like it might be riskier, then the percentage charge increases.

  • Customer Support

In no other industry is customer support more important. With credit card payment processors, you want to make sure that they have the facilities in place to respond to your concerns the moment that a problem pops up. This just makes it easier to iron out any kinks and resolve issues that could affect your consumers’ experience.

Disgruntled customers can become pretty unpleasant especially where their money is involved, and that’s totally understandable. So you want to make sure that you partner up with a processor that can promptly address your concerns and give you the support and resolution that you need when you need it.

  • Fraud and Chargeback Protection

Especially if you’re a high risk merchant — fraud and chargeback protection should be a priority. Not all payment processors offer rugged solutions against these potential dangers. And if you make the mistake of partnering up with a provider that doesn’t offer strong protection against these risks, then you might find your merchant account swimming in troubled water.

Compliance with PCI standards, 3D secure payment gateways, fraud detection and prevention, and alert tools that let you know when a potential threat has been detected can all help mitigate the risk of chargebacks. In the end, all of these solutions help to protect your merchant account and the payments that you receive.

  • Integration

Most businesses these days use a variety of quick and easy shopping carts that dumb down the web development process and let average Joe’s set up a whole eCommerce store. If you’re operating your online facet through one of these shopping carts, then integration becomes an important aspect of the payment processor selection process.

If you somehow choose a processor that doesn’t integrate with your shopping cart, then you might not be able to use their virtual payment terminal solutions. Always look into the details and ask if they can support your website.

The Final Word

Credit card payment processing is a standard need for businesses in the here and now. But it’s not always that easy to find one. Hopefully, this list of the best high risk Canadian credit card payment processing companies should help narrow your search and lead you to a provider that can truly match your standards. Just make sure to consider all the angles and keep your business in mind when you go through the selection process.

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