Do I Really Need to Accept Credit Cards?
- Amy Gilpin
- May 2, 2018
- 2 min read
As a small business owner in Canada, I’ve been trying to make the decision about whether I need to accept credit card payments. First, it has traditionally been expensive for a new or small business to get set up. Secondly, I am not selling a product. Cash is generally understood to be my payment option of choice.
The Ontario government, however, appears to be leaning in the direction of reducing cash transactions in small business so they can crack down on the ‘underground economy’. So, what other choice do I have? This industry is constantly changing and innovating. Throughout my years working for other small businesses, most used a bank-based service. Moneris, TD Merchant Services, and Desjardin were the most commonly used.
If you are looking for Canadian owned companies that provide Merchant services, they are difficult to find, can be expensive and are not always geared toward new or small businesses. At present, our options include:
Moneris Solutions, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. This company’s target market is medium and large businesses, as well as small businesses looking to expand their operations quickly.
Payfirma: Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Vancouver, BC. Their target market is any business looking to take payments in multiple ways on a single platform.
TD Merchant Services: Owned solely by TD Bank, it is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. They are best suited for existing TD customers.
Helcim: Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Their target market is retail and online commerce clients.
NXGEN Canada: Founded in 2005 as Paylogec, this Canadian based company has locations across Canada, but is headquartered in Richmond, BC. Their target market is small to medium sized, growing businesses. They are also a reseller of Elavon.
VersaPay: Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Their products are suitable for any size business.
Bambora: Founded in 2000 as Beanstream Internet Commerce Corp, it has now changed its name to Bambora and is headquartered in Vancouver, BC. Their target market is retail and online commerce clients.
There are several other services providers that we will look at another day, based in the US but that provide services to Canadian businesses. This is not a review of these companies, nor do I recommend or endorse any of these service providers. The purpose of this blog entry is to provide you with ‘Made In Canada’ options.
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