The 7 Best ACH Payment Processors For Small Businesses

PaymentCloud is at the top of the list of Merchant Maverick’s best all-around high-risk payment processors for its fair treatment of hard-to-place businesses. High-risk businesses can greatly benefit from alternative payment methods, and bank-to-bank transfers in particular.

PaymentCloud stands out as one of the most reputable high-risk specialists we’ve found. In addition to offering ACH and echeck processing, the company can provide just about any service your business might need, including the following:

• Choice of Authorize.Net or USAePay payment gateways
• Included virtual terminal
• Extensive third-party shopping cart compatibility
• Credit card terminals and POS systems
• Chargeback protection and fraud prevention features

• No application fee
• No account setup fee
• Variable monthly account fee
• Other fees vary depending on the back-end processor you’re placed with

PaymentCloud offers ACH processing, either as an add-on to your existing merchant account or an ACH-only option for high-risk merchants who can’t be approved for a merchant account.

PaymentCloud’s virtual terminal can support ACH-related features upon request. The company boasts of getting ACH service up and running for businesses within 48 hours so long as you have a business checking account, photo ID, and a voided check. Additionally, PaymentCloud supports echeck payments, which allows business that may not qualify for

eCommerce darling Stripe has an exhaustive list of features that can potentially meet the needs of just about any business. It serves merchants in over 35 countries and can process transactions in over 135 currencies and payment methods. ACH processing is included with every account at no extra cost, and processing charges are very competitive with what other payment providers can offer you.

Stripe’s main draw is its outstanding integrated payments platform, which can seamlessly consolidate a wide variety of payment methods and offer unparalleled analytics and reporting data. Stripe also features great international support, although ACH transfers are a US-only payment method. With virtually endless customization options and a broad assortment of services to help you run your business, Stripe may be all you need.

Stripe has long been one of the dominant payment processors in the eCommerce world but has recently begun making inroads into retail payments. Here are the major features that Stripe has to offer:

• ACH processing included with every account
• Stripe Payments integrated payments platform
• Stripe Virtual Terminal
• Stripe Radar anti-fraud protection
• Broad support for international payments and local payment methods
• Stripe Terminal for card-present transactions
• Extensive library of APIs and developer tools
• Many ancillary services for establishing and running your business

• No monthly fees for a basic account
• 0.8%/ACH direct debit transaction ($5.00 maximum)
• 1.2%/ACH direct debit transaction (two-day settlement)
• $1.50/instant bank account validation
• $1.00/ACH credit payment
• $5.00/check received
• $4.00/failed ACH direct debit payment
• $15.00/disputed ACH direct debit payment

When you factor in the free account and low ACH transaction fee, Stripe turns out to be one of the cheapest ways to accept ACH payments. Add in the fact that Stripe has extensive billing and invoicing features and excellent support for recurring payments, and you have a great all-around platform for bank-to-bank transfers.

Square is one of the most accessible ways for new businesses to accept credit cards and, as it turns out, ACH payments as well. Square’s feature list is massive, and most of it is available without a monthly fee.

Small-business favorite Square has long been a great choice for businesses that only need to take an occasional non-cash payment. Square has evolved from a basic, mobile-only processing solution to a full-featured payments ecosystem and now includes the following major features:

• Credit and debit card processing
• ACH processing included with every account
• Complete line of Square terminals and POS systems
• Square Online Store for eCommerce businesses
• Basic Square Invoices feature included at no extra cost
• Analytics and reporting available through Square Dashboard
• Extensive list of free and premium business productivity software

• No setup fee
• No monthly fee
• 1%/ACH transaction (minimum $1 charge)
• No ACH reject fee
• $50,000 maximum/ACH transfer

For Square Invoice users (such as freelancers, independent contractors, or professional services), ACH processing will be a welcome feature that gives your customers an additional way to pay you. ACH processing charges are competitively priced. The lack of an additional monthly fee for this service makes it a great choice for businesses that only occasionally accept an ACH payment.

Unfortunately, ACH payments can only be processed through Square Invoices, making it unavailable to eCommerce merchants using the Square Online Store to run their business. Also, ACH transfers take three to five business days to reach your bank account. At the same time, the account stability issues that Square is known for won’t be as much of an issue with ACH payments, as the funds are coming directly out of the customer’s bank account.

Not to be confused with the similarly-named National Processing Company, National Processing is one of the smaller processors on our list, but it provides a lot of value for your dollar, particularly for businesses that want to use the Clover line of terminals. ACH and echeck are available as add-ons.

National Processing is a great option for small businesses looking to get a full-service merchant account at an affordable cost. In addition to an ACH/echeck processing option, the company offers the following key features:

• Authorize.Net payment gateway
• Virtual terminal included
• Credit card terminals and POS systems are available
• Mobile processing with Clover Go is available
• “Free” credit card terminal available with long-term contract
• Offers interchange-plus and membership pricing for credit card transactions

• $25 setup fee for ACH processing
• $15/month account fee for ACH processing
• 0-1.5% + $0.48/ACH transaction
• $3.50/returned ACH payment
• $15/ACH rejection
• $9.95/month for a merchant account (interchange-plus pricing)
• $59-$199/month for a merchant account (subscription pricing)

While ACH processing is often including in third-party payment platforms, it can be a bit of a pain to add on through a full merchant account provider. National Processing offers one of the cheaper ACH/echeck solutions for businesses that want their own merchant account and the option to do bank-to-bank payments.

In addition to affordability, National Processing also excels in customer service, which we’ve found to be a critical feature for any merchant services provider.

With its roots in the web-hosting industry, Host Merchant Services is a technology-first provider that’s especially well-suited to online businesses. In addition to competitive interchange-plus rates for credit and debit card processing, the company offers ACH processing through either its proprietary Transaction Express gateway or third-party services such as the NMI gateway or Authorize.Net.

Host Merchant Services (HMS) offers a full array of products and services for any business but is especially focused on the eCommerce sector. Major features include the following:

• Full-service merchant accounts
• Proprietary Transaction Express payment gateway & virtual terminal
• Authorize.Net and NMI payment gateways are also available
• Extensive integration with third-party shopping carts
• Basic web hosting services included with all accounts
• Loyalty/gift card programs
• $100,000 data breach insurance policy included with all accounts

• $14.00/month account fee
• $5-$10/month gateway fee (additional per-transaction fee of $0.05-$0.08; only applies for third-party gateways)
• $24/year IRS 1099 reporting fee
• ACH transaction fees vary by payment gateway
• No application or setup fees
• No monthly minimums
• No PCI compliance fees

Merchant service providers like Host Merchant Services are generally focused on one thing: providing merchant accounts for credit card processing. As such, alternative payment methods like ACH are left to payment gateways, which can be added to the service. This means you can compare the costs of compatible payment gateways and pick the one that best fits your needs.

Costs will vary depending on which partner is handling your ACH account. You can expect to pay both a monthly fee and a reasonable per-transaction processing charge — both of which will be disclosed in your contract before you sign up.

Helcim offers a fully-underwritten merchant account with no long-term commitment and no early termination penalties. It’s one of the very few providers in the industry to provide a stable, full-service merchant account with no monthly account fees. While you will have to pay extra for some optional features, ACH processing isn’t one of them. It’s free, and all you have to pay are the transaction processing fees.

Helcim has long been one of our favorite merchant services providers for both Canadian and US-based merchants. The company offers full-service merchant accounts for less money overall than most of its competitors. It also provides a full range of features for most businesses, including the following:

• ACH payment processing included with all accounts
• Exclusive interchange-plus pricing for credit/debit transactions
• Hosted online store for eCommerce merchants
• Affordable Helcim Card Reader for in-person credit/debit transactions
• Integrated virtual terminal
• Proprietary Helcim POS software
• Online invoicing is included with all accounts

• No monthly account fee
• No PCI compliance fee
• No monthly minimum
• 0.5% + $0.25/ACH debit payment
• $5/returned or rejected ACH transfer

Helcim offers some of the best value in the business when it comes to payment processing, and this extends to its low cost ACH transfer costs. That you can get this and interchange-plus pricing for no monthly fee is practically unheard of. The one downside is that Helcim caps ACH transfers at $25,000.

Durango Merchant Services offers almost all of its customers month-to-month billing, including high-risk customers, which is always good. Durango Merchant Services has a reputation for excellent service for high-risk merchants and businesses seeking offshoring merchant accounts. Durango Merchant Services offers eCheck services (read our guide) as an alternative to traditional ACH processing.

Durango Merchant Services features include:

• Low-, high-risk, & international merchant accounts
• eCheck processing
• Support for POS, online, & mobile transactions
• Fraud protection services
• A variety of credit card terminals and POS systems are available
• Cryptocurrency support

• High-risk pricing varies from business to business
• No setup fee
• Some very high-risk businesses may require a rolling reserve

While the term “high-risk” is usually associated with credit card processing, high-risk businesses can also run into challenges getting approved for an ACH merchant account under NACHA guidelines. One way around this is through eChecks, which are offered by Durango Merchant Services. eCheck accounts can be up and running within 24 hours and function similarly to taking a customer’s check to the bank but through an electronic checking system.