Helcim 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

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Overview
Pricing and Plans
Features
Integrations
User Reviews

Overview

Helcim

3.7

(32)

Pricing

Pricing available upon request

About Helcim

Helcim is a payments company that helps businesses accept credit card payments.

At Helcim, our goal is to provide small to medium sized businesses with the opportunity to accept credit card payments at affordable rates with industry-leading technology backed by excellent customer service. Whether you need to accept payments by generating online invoices, creating an ecommerce website, adding payments to an existing website, setting up monthly recurring plans, using the virtual terminal, or accepting cards in person, Helcim has the solution.

Helcim merchants benefit from Interchange Plus pricing, no contracts, no hidden fees, no PCI fees, and access to all of our software tools at no additional cost.

Helcim doesn't charge a monthly fee. To explain interchange plus pricing, it is a billing method used by Helcim to give you complete transparency and greater savings. When you process a transaction we pass the interchange and card-network costs directly on to you, giving you access to the true wholesale rates. As your business processes more you can automatically qualify for volume discounts.

Small or medium sized businesses can start accepting transactions online. Merchants can g...

Helcim Screenshots

Helcim Pricing and Plans

Starting price: Connect with an advisor for pricing

Free Trial

Free Version

Basic

Pricing available upon request

No plan information available

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Helcim Features

Popular features found in Payment Processing
ACH Payment Processing
Billing & Invoicing
Debit/Credit Card Processing
In-Person Payments
Mobile Payments
Multi-Currency
Multiple Payment Options
Payment Fraud Prevention
Payment Gateway Integration
PCI Compliance
Recurring/Subscription Billing
Reporting/Analytics
More features of Helcim
Accounting Integration
API
Billing Portal
Catalog Management
Client Portal
Compliance Management
Contact Database
Contactless NFC
Credit Card Management
Credit Card Processing
CRM
Customer Accounts
Customer Database
Customizable Branding
Customizable Invoices
Customizable Templates
Data Security
Discount Management
eCommerce Management
Electronic Payments
Email Marketing
Email Reminders
For iPad Devices
For Retail
Fraud Detection
Inventory Management
Inventory Optimization
Inventory Tracking
Invoice Creation
Invoice History
Invoice Management
Invoice Processing
Mobile Access
Mobile Card Reader
Multi-Channel Management
Multi-Period Recurring Billing
Multi-Store
Online Invoicing
Online Payments
Order Management
Order Tracking
Partial Payments
Payment Processing
Point of Sale (POS)
Product Identification
Promotions Management
Purchase Order Management
Real-Time Data
Real-Time Reporting
Recurring Invoicing
Refund Management
Reminders
Reporting & Statistics
Retail Inventory Management
Returns Management
Reviews Management
Sales Order Management
Sales Reports
Sales Tax Management
Self Service Portal
Shipping Management
Shopping Cart
Subscription Management
Tax Calculation
Templates
Third-Party Integrations
Transaction History
Website Management

Helcim Integrations

WooCommerce

Xero

QuickBooks Online

Helcim User Reviews

Overall Rating

3.7

Ratings Breakdown

47%

16%

13%

16%

Secondary Ratings

Ease of Use

3.9

Value for money

3.9

Customer support

4.0

Functionality

3.8

Courage W.

Verified reviewer

Real Estate

Self-Employed

Used daily for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed June 2025

Small business friendly

I feel like Helcim is very small business friendly. They make the payment process easy for me and my customers.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

My favorite feature of Helcim is the ability to pass the processing fees onto the customer or not, it's my choice.

Cons:

I don't like the fact that I don't receive a notification when a customer pays an invoice online. I have to manually check if its paid.

Reasons for choosing Helcim

Ability to pass processing fees onto customers.

Reasons for switching to Helcim

Their fees for online invoicing were way too high

Chaya F.

Verified reviewer

Retail

2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed May 2021

Simply great merchant services

i absolutely love using Helcim. i have used many other platforms in previous jobs, and not one matches the level of customer service which Helcim provides. coupled with the fairly easy to use system and setup, I believe Helcim is one of the best, definitley the best for the price point, which I was just informed has been removed!

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

fairly easy to set up and use, although if I didnt have experience setting up pos systems it might have been slightly more challenging. in my opinion the absolute best part of Helcim is their customer service. whenever I hit a bump in the road, I just called customer service and an agent was able to walk me through it.

Cons:

i dont have any real cons that come to mind. maybe additional features when customizing invoices and receipts would be a cool option.

Reasons for choosing Helcim

from my research Helcim seemed like the best option. plain and simple. having used square, and lightspeed in the past, I knew that i was not a fan of their systems even though they were highly rated. I wanted to try something new and what was most important to me when doing my research was the customer service aspect as I have found in the past this is where most of the merchant companies severely lack. Helcim appeared to be the best reviewed for that aspect and I am thrilled to say they have not disappointed.

Vendor Response

Thank you, Chaya, for expressing your feelings about Helcim's unique value in the merchant services industry. We feel the same! Customer service, low fees, and high value for you and your business are what drive our mission - that merchants would love everything you experience as you partner with Helcim.

Replied May 2021

Verified

Reviewer

Accounting

2-10 employees

Used weekly for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed December 2025

Closed Tickets, No Transparency, and Misleading Onboarding – A Disappointing Helcim Experience

I attempted to onboard my incorporated business with Helcim in late 2025. Despite multiple tickets and direct emails to sales and support, I never received clear answers to basic questions such as my actual payment processing rates, settlement timelines, or a copy of my merchant agreement. Tickets were closed without resolution, responses were generic links, and callback requests were ignored. My overall experience was negative. Helcim activated my account without providing clear rates or agreements, ignored sales inquiries, and closed tickets prematurely. Their responses were impersonal and evasive, leaving me with no confidence in their governance or compliance standards. I chose to continue with my existing provider of three years, who values transparency and ethics. I was evaluating Helcim for recurring billing, invoicing, and payment processing for both corporate and nonprofit accounts. I deliberately held back from transferring clients until I had clarity on rates and agreements — which never came.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

The marketing materials and website initially appeared transparent and modern. The Learning Centre and developer documentation are well‑organized, but they are not a substitute for real onboarding support.

Cons:

Lack of transparency on actual rates and agreements. Tickets closed without resolution. No callback or dedicated onboarding support. Contradictory and sugar‑coated messaging from staff. Aggressive marketing that does not match the reality of customer experience.

Paul B.

Verified reviewer

Management Consulting

Self-Employed

Used monthly for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed November 2025

Misleading Pricing and an Unnecessarily Difficult Setup Process

I'm unhappy. They bait-and-switched me with their pricing, and put me through the ringer with initial onboarding.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

The site is well designed, UI is easy to navigate. While I am not happy with Helcim, I will say their customer service was quick to respond.

Cons:

I selected Helcim because their website highlights a 2.22% average processing rate, which they frame as a competitive advantage. My first real transaction proved otherwise: the effective rate ended up being 3.14%. When I raised the issue, Helcim stated that the numbers shown are merely “averages,” not actual rates. That distinction is tucked into the fine print rather than clearly disclosed, and it feels intentionally vague. Compounding the disappointment, the onboarding experience was far more burdensome than advertised. Helcim required detailed financial documentation (balance sheet, P&L, cash flow) plus multiple rounds of clarification. This is far from the simple, transparent process they promote. Between unclear pricing, refusal to address the cost discrepancy, and a cumbersome onboarding process, my experience was extremely poor. I would urge others to be wary before signing up.

Reasons for choosing Helcim

I thought they were competitive on price. Turns out their marketing comms were misleading.

Leah M.

Verified reviewer

Arts and Crafts

Self-Employed

Used monthly for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed April 2021

Good software -- slightly confusing user interface, but terrific support staff.

So far, really good. The support staff are TERRIFIC -- I had to call a couple of times to figure out how to do things, but they were very fast and efficient at getting me rolling and moving ahead, and were very professional and polite.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Once I understood how to do things, it all worked out very well.

Cons:

The user interface is a bit confusing, and sometimes seems like the processes are a bit redundant.

Reasons for choosing Helcim

Less expensive, and a business friend recommended them. So far, I'm really liking the support, low fees, and most of the user screens.

Reasons for switching to Helcim

PayPal was really frustrating me: impossible to reach support staff at all, and when I did, they were surly and rude. They charge a fortune for the service per transaction, and won't help you do anything or fix anything without a 10 to 14 day delay in the mix. On top of that, I couldn't deal with US customers without making them pay a wire transfer fee. And to boot, transfers to my bank account took several days each time unless I paid an extra fee. After three years of this, I decided enough was enough and started shopping around.

Vendor Response

We're happy you switched to Helcim and we're proud to serve you, Leah!

Replied April 2021

Steve W.

Verified reviewer

Building Materials

2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 12 months

Review source

Reviewed April 2025

Frustrated with invoicing timing out after 30 seconds

The timing out issue is very annoying creating extra time when working with invoices. I still like a lot of features, so overall pretty good.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I like the invoice options and customization. I like how quick the payments show up in my bank. I like that non-admin personnel can log in.

Cons:

I would give Helcim 5-stars if weren't for the site timing out after about 30 seconds. I'm constantly adding new customers, referencing past customers in invoicing, but it keeps timing out sometimes as soon as 20 seconds. I have to refresh by going back to home and then to invoicing. Very frustrating! I also wish the estimate feature would say EST instead of INV and not have a due date. I also wish my address would appear on the top of the invoice instead of the bottom.

Reasons for switching to Helcim

square was too expensive. Why do I have to have 40 minimum characters? Annoying!

Vendor Response

Hi Steve, Thank you for your review and for taking the time to leave us this feedback. I believe we may be able to help with some of your concerns, I have addressed these below. 1. We'd love to chat to you more about the site timing out as that is not a expected function of our platform. If you could reach out to our support team we'd be happy to look into that for you. 2. You can adjust the prefix and type for your invoices in the 'invoice' settings of your account, you can set a custom prefix of EST and adjust the invoice from 'invoice' to 'estimate'. 3. Our invoice theme designer does allow for some customization in order for your address to appear at the top. You can add in an upper message that will appear on every invoice to include your address. If you give our support team a call on +1-877-643-5246 or submit a ticket through your account we'd be happy to chat further and help resolve some of these points for you! Best, - The Helcim Team.

Replied April 2025

Kelly C.

Verified reviewer

Luxury Goods & Jewelry

2-10 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed May 2021

Terrible card terminal, but a fantastic company!

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I've done quite a bit of shopping around and have yet to find any card processing company that has lower or more comprehensive rates. On the rare occasion I or my staff have had to call customer service, we've had a very short wait to talk with a live person, and our issue was always easily remedied. I also appreciate that Helcim customer support were always careful to not share my personal information with my staff.

Cons:

By far, my least favorite thing about using Helcim has been the card terminal itself. I've use a couple different ones, and they're rather clunky and tricky for our clients to use. Even walking our client through each step, they'd still often make a mistake and have to start over because they'd hit the wrong button.

Reasons for choosing Helcim

Recommendation from a fellow business owner, great processing rates.

Reasons for switching to Helcim

I couldn't bare having my clients leaving with their last impression of their experience at my studio being frustration. Changing to a more intuitive terminal with a touchscreen has also drastically raised how much clients tip us.

Vendor Response

We're glad to hear your customer service experience was top notch while enjoying low rates. Thank you for sharing, Kelly. Also, thank you for your feedback on the card terminal. You give us guidance on how to improve as we seek to improve the transaction experience for merchants and their customers. We have new terminals launching soon with more upgrades and options for merchants coming in the future.

Replied June 2021

megan p.

Verified reviewer

Health, Wellness and Fitness

2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed September 2022

Complete mess

This company created a complete mess for me in the end, but even from the very start there were so many issues and I was constantly contacting support. The main issue however was when I processed a declined transaction a second time (because I thought I may have done something wrong the first time), and they froze my account AND CANCELLED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN TRANSACTIONS because it triggered some kind of fraud alert. They didn't even send cancellation notifications to my clients or me, so I had to trust that these transactions were actually cancelled and had to contact all my clients to explain the situation and ask them to pay again using a different method. I still don't have access to my account with Helcim, even though I responded to all of their verification emails and communicated with their team on numerous accounts. I wasted a huge amount of time and damaged my reputation with my clients due to Helcim's poor way of dealing with the situation

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I liked their lower fees than Stripe, Square, etc

Cons:

Many implementation issues, and they cancelled thousands of dollars in transactions without a decent explanation or resolution of the issue.

Reasons for switching to Helcim

I switched from stripe due to lower fees, but now I'm going back

Vendor Response

Hello Megan, Thank you for your feedback, we're sorry for any inconvenience caused. We can see from our notes that a member of our Trust and Safety team reached out to address the concerns you outlined in your review. The fraud alert was triggered due to a number of details specific to that transaction. As a financial service, we take the financial security of our merchants and their customers very seriously and from time to time this may mean we need to perform additional due diligence. Our team works hard to be proactive in these situations in reaching out to the business with further information and to work quickly to resolve these issues. We understand this process may have been frustrating and wish you and your business all the best. - The Helcim team

Replied November 2022

Verified

Reviewer

Marketing and Advertising

2-10 employees

Used monthly for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed July 2025

Helcim Was Great… Until an Unexpected Hold Changed Everything

Until this account hold issue, I was completely satisfied with their service. However, this experience has made me hesitant to process my primary business charges through them, as I cannot risk another unexpected hold. For now, I will continue to use the service on a limited basis as a test. If they can consistently process transactions without interruptions for the next 90 days, I would be open to trusting them with all of my business. But before that happens, I need to see reliable proof that I can depend on them with my livelihood.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

They have several strong points but also some significant drawbacks, which I’ll discuss below. The rates are competitive, and the system is simple to set up. Their ACH and debit card rates are excellent, and I appreciate the pass-on fee options they provide. As for support is is very good. They offer phone and live chat. I had recommended them to several business associates. They had a 5+star rating in my book... but now I had to give a WEAK 3.

Cons:

I manage two separate business accounts with this company, and both were unexpectedly flagged and placed on hold without any clear explanation. There were no chargebacks, no complaints, and no unusual activity—nothing that would justify a hold. Having been in business for over 30 years, I take pride in taking care of my clients and have never had an account frozen before. As a low-volume business, I know each client by name. The first account was flagged over a single charge of less than $1,000. Despite providing an invoice with full details, they still requested an explanation for the transaction. The second account was flagged after processing four charges in the $600 range—identical recurring payments that had cleared without issue the previous month. While they did send an email alert, it was buried among numerous promotional emails, making it easy to miss. A prominent alert within the account dashboard would be far more effective, ensuring that anyone reviewing account activity could not overlook it. The second account remained on hold for over 30 days before I realized deposits were missing. Since all charges appeared as “cleared” in the dashboard, I didn’t dig deeper. Like many businesses, we review bank deposits and balances monthly, so a dashboard alert would have brought the issue to my attention much sooner. It is unacceptable for accounts to be locked—while still accepting charges—without any follow-up communication via phone, text, or additional urgent emails. This process caused unnecessary disruption, and their communication methods need significant improvement to better serve business customers.

Ana G.

Verified reviewer

Marketing and Advertising

Self-Employed

Used monthly for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed February 2025

Unreliable and poor customer service

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I wanted to use Helcim as an alternative processing where I could add a CC surcharge (as oppossed to ACH/debit, etc) - and Helcim looked like a promising choice. The fees looked to be good too in comparison, until someone pointed out how the fee % actually fluctuate depending on the situation (payment method, card type, product type, billing type, etc)

Cons:

Couldn't get past the approval stage. I read how they arbitrarily also closed other people's accounts. The customer service was not helpful at all, and quite abrupt - it felt like they were doing me a favour by allowing me to become a client. I also had dissolved an LLC at the time and wanted to change the Business Name - but they didn't allow that either. I went ahead and created a new account, and they totally blocked that, despite me giving proof of the second company legality..

Vendor Response

Hi Ana Thank you for your review. We appreciate the feedback and we're sorry it didn't work out. As a financial service provider we do have to adhere to certain regulations surrounding Know Your Customer and Risk policies. There may have been certain aspects of your business that did not satisfy our risk policies and therefore we were not able to onboard you. We would love to be able to onboard every merchant to our platform but sometimes we are unable to clear the requisite regulatory hurdles. You can see our full terms of service at https://legal.helcim.com/us/terms-of-service/. Our pricing model is Interchange Plus. This means that we pass the cost of the transaction onto you with our margin on top. We believe this is fairer and more transparent for our merchants. You can find more information about interchange plus pricing at helcim.com/pricing. If you wish to discuss this further, we'd be happy to chat at +1-877-643-5246. Best, - The Helcim Team

Replied March 2025

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