Helcim plays it fair online. We do it in person.
Credit where it's due. Helcim is one of the most honest processors you can sign up for online: transparent interchange-plus, no monthly fee, no lock-in. This page is about what a local broker adds on top of an already-fair rate.
Compare against my real numbersWhere Helcim shines
Transparent interchange-plus
Helcim publishes its margin and passes interchange straight through, no tiered games. That's the pricing model we'd pick too.
No monthly fee or contract
No monthly minimum, no long lock-in, and volume discounts that kick in automatically as you grow. Genuinely merchant-friendly terms.
A clean self-serve dashboard
Modern software and a quick online signup. If doing it yourself online is what you want, Helcim is a fair choice.
Where the broker wins
Dual pricing that removes the fee
Interchange-plus lowers the rate; a dual pricing or surcharge program can take most of the cost off your books entirely. We set it up compliant, on the device.
Local hands, not a signup form
We install on your counter, program the terminal and train your staff in person across Seattle and Tacoma. Helcim ships you a box.
Someone bidding and policing it
A published rate is still a rate nobody negotiated for you. We put your volume in front of competing processors and keep reading the statement after the sale.
Free equipment, set up for you
Terminals placed free on accounts we open, programmed for your fee program. No self-configuring.
Helcim is a fair place to land if you want to do it all yourself online. If you'd rather have dual pricing set up, equipment placed and a local human policing the rate over time, that's the broker difference, on top of pricing just as transparent.
Compare your next step
- Ways to lower your processing fees
What a broker changes that a flat-rate app does not.
- Dual pricing for counter sales
Posted cash and card prices can fit a growing counter business.
- What our clients say
Real Seattle-Tacoma businesses we work with.
- Get a free rate analysis
See your real numbers before you decide anything.
Fair questions
Is Helcim a good processor?
Yes. It's one of the fairer online options, with transparent interchange-plus and no monthly fee. We don't pretend otherwise. The question isn't whether Helcim is honest, it's whether you want to self-serve online or have a local broker set it up and police it.
How could a broker beat Helcim's interchange-plus?
Often not on the raw rate; Helcim's margin is already thin. The bigger lever is a dual pricing or surcharge program, which can remove most of the processing cost, plus free equipment and a rate we keep negotiating over time.
Can you set up dual pricing like Helcim does?
We set up dual pricing and surcharging on the terminal, compliant and programmed before it reaches your counter. It's one of the main reasons merchants come to us.
I'm on Helcim now. Is it worth switching?
Send us one statement. If we can't add real value through a fee program, equipment or local support, we'll tell you to stay put. Helcim's a fine place to be.
Do I lose transparency by going through a broker?
No. We show the interchange-plus math the same way, in writing. The difference is you also get someone local who set it up and answers the phone.