Helcim review

Helcim is the value pick for a business with real card volume. Instead of a flat rate, it passes through the interchange cost set by the card networks and adds its own margin, which for keyed and online payments starts at 0.50% plus 25 cents under $50,000 a month and steps down at $50,000, $100,000, $500,000 and $1 million. The pricing page lists $0 account monthly fees, $0 PCI fees and $0 cancellation fees, with next-business-morning deposits on credit and debit transactions at no charge. Tools cover online checkout, payment pages and links, a virtual terminal, invoicing, a card vault and recurring payments, which cost an extra 0.4% per transaction. Chargebacks are free when resolved in your favor and $15 if lost. The trade-off is predictability: interchange varies by card type, so each sale costs a slightly different amount, and the platform has fewer global payment methods than Stripe or Adyen.

Who it is for

Small and midsize US businesses with steady card volume that want lower effective rates than flat pricing.

Price

No monthly fee; keyed and online cards from interchange + 0.50% + 25¢ under $50K per month, falling with volume.

$0 – $50K Interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ Interchange + 0.50% + 25¢
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 6, 2026.

Key features

• Interchange-plus pricing with automatic volume tiers
• Online checkout, payment pages and payment links
• Virtual terminal, invoicing and customer card vault
• Recurring payments at an extra 0.4% per transaction
• Integrations with QuickBooks Online, Xero and WooCommerce

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: No monthly, PCI, statement or cancellation fees
• Strength: Margin drops automatically as monthly volume grows
• Strength: Free next-business-morning deposits on card transactions
• Weakness: Interchange-plus makes per-sale costs harder to predict
• Weakness: Recurring billing adds 0.4% per transaction
• Weakness: Serves US and Canadian businesses only

Key facts

• Online rate under $50K a month: Interchange + 0.50% + 25¢
• In-person rate under $50K a month: Interchange + 0.40% + 8¢
• Monthly fee: $0
• Deposits: Next business morning, free
• Lost chargeback: $15

Where it ranks

Helcim is No. 3 in our Best Payment Gateways verdict.