Lower your processing fees on every sale

Retail businesses choose Helcim for its low interchange-plus rates, automatic volume discounts, free built-in software, and complete freedom from monthly fees or long-term contracts. Helcim allows retailers to process orders at the counter, online, or over the phone, as well as handle special-order deposits and wholesale sales, so every channel feeds into the same catalog, customer records, and accounting books. Helcim also offers extra online payment tools for invoicing and e-commerce checkout at no monthly cost, complete with unlimited staff logins and no per-user fees. Plus, retailers can purchase hardware outright instead of leasing or paying extra per device.

Yes. Helcim's margin drops automatically across five volume tiers as monthly card volume grows, saving high-volume retailers up to 70% on the Helcim portion of their fees with no negotiation or plan upgrade. In-person debit is priced separately from credit at 1.00% + 8¢ in the US and a flat $0.09 in Canada, which matters when you are running thousands of small tickets a month. For trade and wholesale buyers paying with business or corporate cards, Level 2/3 optimization can bring qualified transactions as low as 1.45%, and ACH bank transfers cost 0.5% + 25¢ capped at $6 on large orders. Free next-business-day deposits keep working capital moving when you need to pay suppliers. Explore Helcim pricing here.

Yes, Helcim offers different payment tools for retail businesses such as free POS software, inventory management, customer management, online checkout and payment pages. Retailers can get the Helcim POS with inventory management, variants management, discount codes, and customer management, a free online store builder at no monthly fees.

No, retail businesses can buy Helcim hardware outright, with no leases, no 48-month terms, and no per-device software fee. Helcim Smart Terminal is $349 USD ($429 CAD) and Helcim Card Reader is $199 USD ($239 CAD). Retailers can buy Helcim Smart Terminal at full price or enroll in the 12-month installment plan of $32 per month.

Retail businesses can get Helcim POS software for free, along with other POS tools like inventory management, customer management, invoicing, online checkout, integrations, and reporting. There is no monthly software fee, no per-device fee, and no per-user fee, so every employee can have their own login and PIN. Retailers only pay processing fees on the sales, plus the one-time cost of any Helcim payment hardware they buy. The Helcim POS app runs on iPhone, Android, iPad, Mac, and Windows, so retail businesses can start accepting payments on a device they already own.

Retail stores can set up the Helcim POS system easily by following these steps: Create your free Helcim account, then download the Helcim POS app from the App Store, Google Play, or your Helcim dashboard for Mac and Windows. If you bought a Helcim Smart Terminal or Helcim Card Reader, the Helcim POS software are already built in, so you just connect it to Wi-Fi or mobile data and log in. Learn more about how to set up the Helcim POS system.

Helcim Interchange-plus rates fluctuate every transaction. On average, retail businesses pay from 1.96%+15¢ to 2.31%+25¢ per online non-Amex transaction, and from 1.79%+8¢ to 1.54%+6¢ per in-person non-Amex transaction, depending on the processing volume.

For American Express transactions, on average, retail businesses pay from 2.59%+8¢ to 2.34%+6¢ per online Amex transaction, and from 2.99%+25¢ to 2.64%+15¢ per in-person Amex transaction, depending on the processing volume.

Helcim is one of the lowest-cost payment processors for retailers because of the low-cost interchange-plus rates, automatic rate discount up to 70%, free POS software and tools, free surcharging tool (Helcim Fee Saver), affordable in-person debit card fees, and level 2/3 optimization. Most payment processors and POS providers charge an expensive flat rate no matter the card volume that the retailers process. Some processors even charge high credit card fees for debit card transactions and pocket the difference. Helcim uses interchange-plus that passes through the true low processing cost set by the banks and card networks to merchants. Besides, Helcim's margin then drops automatically as retailers' volume grows, debit is priced on its own, and business cards get Level 2/3 optimization that flat-rate pricing cannot offer. On top of that, retailers don't have to pay any monthly fees, PCI fees, statement fees, or other hidden fees when working with Helcim.

Retail businesses can lower payment processing fees by encouraging customers to pay by debit cards at the counter or passing the credit card fees to customers if they're eligible. Helcim charges a low in-person debit card rate of 1.00% + 8¢ in the US and a flat $0.09 in Canada so retailers can save significantly on payment processing fees. If customers still choose to pay by credit card, retailers can use Helcim Fee Saver to pass the credit card processing fees to customers.