Unless you’re planning to receive cash via a homing pigeon, you’ll need an efficient payment processor if you have an online store (or take payments digitally at your brick-and-mortar store).

The payment processing service you use is critical not only to facilitate secure transactions but also as part of the wider user experience. A frictionless checkout experience can minimize the chances of cart abandonment and maximize your sales.

Fortunately, payment processors have come a long way. There have never been more options to pick from. It’s common for businesses to use two or more payment processors.

In this article, we’ll discuss what to consider when looking for the best payment processing companies, along with our top 10 picks.

But First, What’s A Payment Processor?

Simply put, this is an entity that manages transactions on your business’s behalf.

A payment processor handles all the behind-the-scenes processes that occur after your customers provide their card info for a transaction. It ensures that your customers’ details have been validated securely and their funds are available so you can get paid.

A payment processor can either be hosted (direct you off-site to complete transactions) or integrated (allow customers to complete transactions on your site).

Features of The Best Payment Processing Companies

There are tons of payment processing companies out there riddled with ridiculous markups, hidden fees, limited security measures, etc.

The best payment processing companies typically offer the following features:

• Easy setup and use
• Fair pricing
• Multiple payment/integration options
• User-friendly interface
• Multiple layers of security
• Global reach
• In-depth reporting and analytics
• Reliable customer support
• Extra features (subscription support, invoicing, etc.)

The 10 Best Payment Processing Companies

Now that we’ve outlined what to look for, here’s our pick of the top 10 payment processing companies in 2023:

Exactly.com

We’ll kick off our list with a top option designed for digital business.

Exactly.com is a service that not only helps you process payments but also lets you benefit from streamlined technologies interflowing with flexible management and reporting solutions.

You can choose between hosted pages and API‐enabled integration to enjoy one-day payouts. There’s no need to engage external coding talent as the team at Exactly.com deals with all technical processes.

Exactly.com currently supports 100+ currencies and 40+ languages and offers merchants anti-fraud and anti-chargeback systems to help cut both friendly and criminal fraud.

PayPal

PayPal is a trusted payment processing company loved for its easy website integration, ubiquity, and ease of use.

The Buy now, pay later feature allows your customers to make purchases and then pay for them later in 4 installments.

PayPal’s wallet-friendly fee system makes it a great choice for small businesses with low transaction volumes.

Stripe

Stripe, a popular choice for small businesses, startups, and even Fortune 500 companies, promises 99.9 percent uptime, AES-256 encryption, and financial reporting tools.

This payment solution integrates with 450+ platforms. Being highly customizable means you can choose from a variety of powerful APIs to best match Stripe’s service to your own website. The Stripe checkout adapts to your customer’s location and device automatically, reducing cart abandonment.

Stripe will allow you to accept debit and credit card payments in 135+ currencies.

Venmo

You may have already heard of Venmo. Many people use the Venmo app to send and receive money from friends and family.

But Venmo is also a popular payment processing company for e-commerce merchants, especially in the United States. Over 83 million people use Venmo, and creating a Venmo business profile means you can easily accept payments from these users.

If you encounter any problem, you have access to Venmo’s 24/7 customer support.

Square

You can either use Square to set up an online store or add it to your existing e-commerce store.

With Square, you can take remote, online, in-person, and manually entered payments.

Some standout payment features of Square include a contactless chip reader, convertible stand, and magstripe reader. All these components allow you to accept payments directly from your smartphone.

The fees are on the cheaper side and Stripe has the technical capabilities to handle all of your transaction needs.

Authorize.Net

As your small business grows, you may need to consider scaling up to a payment processor that can handle higher volumes of transactions.

This Visa solution has been around since 1996. It aims at simplifying the payment process by letting you accept online payments through debit cards, credit cards, e-checks, Apple Pay, and PayPal.

Authorize.net’s Advanced Fraud Detection Suite detects, manages, and prevents suspicious fraudulent transactions.

Other features include recurring payments, customer info management, invoicing, a virtual POS system, and an optional card reader.

Verifone (formerly 2Checkout)

Founded in 2006, Verifone is an all-in-one monetization platform that serves over 180 countries.

“Trusted by 20,000+ industry leaders worldwide,” it aims to help merchants increase their sales by making the checkout process easy for buyers. The platform accepts major credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets.

Standout features include recurring billing, global tax and regulatory compliance, and access to 45+ payment methods.

AmazonPay

If your client base includes a high percentage of Amazon users, you’ll want to give them the choice of Amazon Pay.

Your customers will be able to pay without having to create a new account or give their card details. They will also enjoy fast checkout with Alexa.

Shopify Payments

This in-house payment provider works well if you’re currently setting up a Shopify store or already using the Shopify platform to power your online store.

Shopify Payments is the perfect solution if you don’t want the hassle of setting up a third-party payment provider.

Being fully integrated means customers will stay on your site at all times instead of being diverted to a payment gateway page and then back again.

Adyen

Adyen is an Amsterdam-based international payment processing company. It’s based in multiple countries, meaning you can accept money anywhere.

Adyen boasts multiple payment methods, including PayPal, AliPay, Apple Pay, bank transfers, and credit card payments. If you’re a small business that needs to transfer money in real-time, then you can give Adyen a try.

AI-based fraud protection tools and recurring payment solutions are the standout features of Ayden.

The tokenization feature allows you to recognize customers with their card number, which is saved as a token. Adyen lets you offer discounts and rewards to loyal customers.

Conclusion

Although card payments have been dominant for the longest time, they’re not the only way to accept customer payments. Shoppers now use debit cards, mobile payments, and online banking to make payments.

As you can see, many reputable and trustworthy payment processing companies offer features for accepting global payments while supporting multiple currencies from all over the world.

It’s advisable to analyze each of them carefully by weighing your budget against what you will get out of ultimately picking that company