Payment processor Helcim has launched its Merchant Buyout Program – and the provider is promising to waive $500 of processing fees to any business that ends their current contract and swaps to their platform.
This will be a huge boon to business owners tied into agreements laced with hefty cancellation fees, as well as anyone looking for a payment processor or POS system that’s completely transparent when it comes to transaction fees and the margins they make.
But, what is Helcim’s Merchant Buyout Program, and what do customers who have already made the switch think about the platform? In this article, we’ll take a closer look.
What Is Helcim?
Helcim is a payments company that processes in-person and online transactions. It deals with billions of dollars of purchases every month taken by businesses operating across more than 800 industries in the US and Canada.
Instead of keeping prospective customers in the dark about transaction fees or providing rough estimates, Helcim goes against the grain by letting business owners work out precisely how much they’ll be paying based on their monthly sales volumes, the industry their business is in, and whether they process in-person or online.
This is all the information a business needs to work out if Helcim will be a cheaper alternative to their current payment processor – Helcim doesn’t charge any setup, PCI, user or cancellation fees, and there are no monthly subscription charges to pay either.
What Is the Merchant Buyout Program?
As any merchant already taking payments will know, payment processors and POS providers often weave hefty cancellation fees into their contracts, discouraging customers from moving even if they’re unhappy with the rates that they’re paying.
Helcim is looking to remedy this with its Merchant Buyout Program, which includes $500 of processing fees on the house.
This will likely shift the dial for many companies, as they can now move to a more affordable and sustainable payment processing contract without worrying that they’ll be massively out of pocket due to the cancellation process.
Determined to make the switching process seamless and stress-free, Helcim resources their in-house support team and an easy-to-follow step by step guide to help new customers through the process and support them with different aspects of the paperwork.
Why Helcim Is Cheaper Than Other Payment Processors
Rather than charging flat-rate processing fees, Helcim takes into account interchange rates (the complete cost of a transaction) which contain the interchange fees set by card issuers. These fees fluctuate and impact the overall cost of all transactions a business is processing.
While flat-rate processing fees can be an affordable and straightforward option for small businesses making small numbers of low-cost transactions, there are fewer savings to be made for businesses selling big-ticket items with hefty fees attached.
Why? If you’re locked into flat rates that vastly exceed the interchange rate – and processing fees offered by major providers will always be higher – you’re going to be paying a lot more in fees than you would be with a provider like Helcim.
In fact, Helcim just charges you between 0.15 and 0.40% on top of the interchange rate – and states that this model saves businesses an average of 25% more than comparative flat rate deals offered by other providers.
Helcim’s Switchers Reap the Benefits
While $500 of waived processing fees will be enough to convince some merchants to switch, that’s really just the beginning – something recent switchers know all too well.
“I switched my credit card processing to Helcim after a month of frustrations with Square,” explains Taiga Tech Labs founder and Helcim customer Amber Reichardt.
“I’m SO glad I switched, because Helcim is great” she continued. “They are exactly the company they report to be: fair transparent credit card fees”.
Along with its fair processing rates, Helcim’s attentive customer support is helping keep businesses on its books – and they’re better off for it.
“It’s been such a pleasant surprise to do business with Helcim,” Cato Batista, Cato’s Auto Salon Inc. “Personal service is to another level, instant response to my needs and an efficient and intuitive software to navigate my requirements”.
“Definitely very happy to have switched” she added.
Other customers – such as Sonia Lopez of Two by Two and Company – also praised the “professional, kind [and] patient” approach to customer service.
If you’re looking to make the switch from a payment processor no longer meeting your needs – and you’d like the process to be as painless and affordable as it can be – Helcim has to be one of your top considerations.
