All businesses of any size – large and small – must be able to accept credit cards. Obviously, if only cash is accepted, you’ll be leaving a whole lot of greenbacks on the table.

Nevertheless, for many business owners, selecting a credit card processor is not an easy choice to make. After all, there are hundreds of processors, so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

The top credit card processor will have your business’s needs in mind. This way, you’ll be able to select the services that are suited best to your own lineup of products and/ or services. It must also be budget friendly and it should not enforce harsh requirements or any restrictions simply because your company is small.

Best Credit Card Processor with the Small Business in Mind

The best overall credit card processor for the smaller business is a company called Flagship Merchant Services. It’s an all-in-one solution for credit card processing and it comes with everything that you’ll need in terms of accepting any type of credit card for payment.

Flagship Merchant Services provide a merchant account together with an expansive range of processing options for credit cards. This includes online, in-person, and mobile. For a more advanced solution, you may wish to consider the iPad POS system that they also offer.

There’s another thing to like about this company, and that is that they make their application process very simplistic, unlike many other credit card processors that are in the market today. Flagship provides 24-7 customer support. They do not have an early termination fee either – not that you’d be concerned about this given that Flagship is the best processor around right now. And one more thing is that there is no lock-in long-term contracts to have to sign up to.

Best Credit Card Processor for Online Purposes

The best online credit card processor at this time has to be Stripe. It’s very easy to use and there’s no requirement for you to own a merchant account to use the Stripe services. That means you can begin to process card sales straight away.

With Stripe, you can opt for their simple checkout system. All you do here is copy and paste the data into your online store. Or, instead, you may prefer to have Stripe’s API programed into your shopping cart.

Stripe comes with a plethora of customization options and features. And what this means is that you’re able to tailor its service so it fits in with your specific requirements.

In terms of paying for the service, the company ensure that you as the end user know up front about all the fees, so there’s no danger of any nasty surprises at a later date.

Best Credit Card Processor for Lower-Volume Sales

PayPal is the one to use if you’re on the lookout for a flexible form of credit card processing that will fit in with many forms of businesses that have a relatively low sales volume. And you get all this with a budget-friendly price tag.

You may make sales in person. Or perhaps only online. Or maybe you sell while you’re travelling. Perhaps all together. Matters not because PayPal covers the lot.

PayPal’s credit card processing system has been designed with the small business and the startup in mind. There are additional perks, too, such as the complete POS system, a MasterCard program that comes with rewards, the capacity to extend a line of credit to your customers, and not least, a 24-7 support service in the form of email and phone.

Best Credit Card Processor for Mobile

Square represents an easy and quick way for accepting credit cards, and at anyplace, anytime. All you need to do is sign up for one of their accounts, download their app, then plug the company’s card reader into our Android or iOS smart phone, or into your tablet, and that’s it, you’re all set.

If you prefer, you can utilize the company’s standalone terminal which transforms your iPad into a POS system for use at your checkout.

There are dedicated systems that can be used for all forms of businesses – retailers, restaurants, entertainment, health, and more.

Square also makes deposits fast, has a simplistic pricing structure, a free online store, and more benefits, too.

Installing a credit card system can be a little tricky. If your business requires help with that, get in touch with Dharma Merchant Services.