Processors

Helcim as a Stripe alternative

Helcim is a payment service provider. On November 9, 2026 the rate line is Interchange + 0.50% + $0.25 online, at the base tier. The dispute line is $15 if lost. $0 if resolved in your favor. Confirm the billed row before you leave Stripe.

Type: Payment service provider
Pricing: Interchange-plus
Card rate: Interchange + 0.50% + $0.25 online, at the base tier
Dispute fee: $15 if lost. $0 if resolved in your favor.
Payouts: Next-business-morning deposits for credit and debit. The pricing page lists this at $0.
Where: United States and Canada. Margins below are the US disclosure.
Underwriting: Application. Not positioned as an instant high-risk signup.
What it replaces: Processing for a standard-risk US or Canadian business that wants interchange-plus.

Pricing page · Website

What is Helcim?

Helcim publishes an interchange-plus margin that steps down as volume rises. There is no monthly account fee on the pricing page. The total rate is interchange plus that margin, so the calculator shows it only as an illustration.

Helcim's US fee disclosure, last updated 2 February 2026 with effect from 1 April 2026, matches the online margins on the pricing page read November 9, 2026. The pricing page says volume discounts use the average of the last three months. Interchange itself is not Helcim's fee. The lowest-fee page adds a stated interchange assumption so you can see the shape of the bill. That sum is a model, not a quote. Helcim's pricing page also says that for most merchants the in-person effective rate is near or below 2% and the keyed and online effective rate is below 2.5%. That is Helcim's statement about a typical mix, not a rate this directory multiplies by volume.

Who should choose Helcim?

Helcim fits: US and Canadian businesses with enough volume that a published interchange-plus margin beats a flat rate. A listing here is not an approval, and a published rate is not a quote.

Who should look elsewhere?

What Helcim replaces: Processing for a standard-risk US or Canadian business that wants interchange-plus. Look elsewhere when you need something outside that.

Underwriting: Application. Not positioned as an instant high-risk signup.

How does Helcim charge?

Helcim has 15 fee lines in this dataset, each read on November 9, 2026. Headline rate: Interchange + 0.50% + $0.25 online, at the base tier.

Fee	Amount	Source
Online and keyed, $0 to $50,000 a month	Interchange + 0.50% + $0.25	Source
Online and keyed, $50,001 to $100,000	Interchange + 0.45% + $0.20	Source
Online and keyed, $100,001 to $500,000	Interchange + 0.35% + $0.20	Source
Online and keyed, $500,001 to $1,000,000	Interchange + 0.25% + $0.15	Source
Online and keyed, above $1,000,000	Interchange + 0.15% + $0.15. Helcim's pricing page says merchants over $5 million a month should contact sales.	Source
In person, $0 to $50,000	Interchange + 0.40% + $0.08	Source
In person, $50,001 to $100,000	Interchange + 0.35% + $0.07	Source
In person, $100,001 to $500,000	Interchange + 0.25% + $0.07	Source
In person, $500,001 to $1,000,000	Interchange + 0.20% + $0.06	Source
In person, $1,000,001 to $5,000,000	Interchange + 0.15% + $0.06. Over $5 million a month, Helcim says to contact sales.	Source
Recurring payments	+0.4% per transaction	Source
Chargeback	$15 if the case is lost. $0 if it is resolved in your favor. The US fee disclosure describes the $15 as refunded on a win.	Source
ACH	0.5% + $0.25, capped at $6 under $25,000, plus 0.05% on the amount over $25,000	Source
ACH reject	$5 per reject	Source
Deposits	Next-business-morning deposits on credit and debit. Listed at $0 on the pricing page.	Source

What does Helcim cost at $10,000, $100,000, and $1 million a month?

The arithmetic below uses a $50 average ticket and successful charges only. It is not a quote for international cards or disputes.

Monthly volume	Stripe US cards, $50 ticket	Helcim published online margin
$10,000.00	$350.00 (200 × $0.30 + 2.9% of $10,000.00)	Interchange + 0.5% + $0.25
$100,000.00	$3,500.00 (2000 × $0.30 + 2.9% of $100,000.00)	Interchange + 0.45% + $0.20
$1,000,000.00	$35,000.00 (20000 × $0.30 + 2.9% of $1,000,000.00)	Interchange + 0.25% + $0.15

Helcim's dollar total is interchange plus that margin. This page does not add an assumed interchange figure to Helcim's margin. The lowest-fee page shows a labeled illustration separately.

Where does Helcim operate?

Coverage: United States and Canada. Margins below are the US disclosure. That is where Helcim operates, not a list of industries it accepts.

Do not treat a processor logo as an industry approval. If the business is on Stripe's prohibited list, switching the logo does not make the card payment lawful. The restricted-business guide is the map of Stripe's own words.

How does Helcim differ from Stripe?

Stripe is a payment service provider at 2.9% + $0.30 for US domestic cards, read November 9, 2026, and it can review an account after you have started processing. Helcim is a payment service provider with the rate line Interchange + 0.50% + $0.25 online, at the base tier and the dispute line $15 if lost. $0 if resolved in your favor.

Helcim and Stripe can both process cards, and the bill still depends on which published row matches the payment type you actually take.

How do you switch from Stripe to Helcim?

Stripe's data export page, read November 10, 2026, says Stripe transfers saved cards only to a PCI DSS Level 1 processor and does not export subscriptions or payment history. The switching guide covers what moves, what needs Stripe's approval, and how to keep subscriptions billing. Read it before you cancel the Stripe account.

Export Stripe customers, prices, and dispute history while the dashboard still allows it.
Ask Helcim, in writing, whether it can receive a card transfer from Stripe. The switching guide names the providers whose own pages describe one.
Recreate plans and the next billing date. Run five real customers in a test mode, including one annual plan and one past-due plan.
Map webhooks and payout reconciliation before the cutover. Do not bill the same period on both systems.
If Stripe has already closed the account, plan for customers to enter cards again.

What usually goes wrong?

The dispute fee is the small line. The disputed amount and the card-network ratio are the ones that close accounts.

The other failure is comparing a different product, such as a merchant-of-record percent or a gateway monthly fee, to Stripe's card rate as if they were the same line.

Which providers are similar?

These listings share Helcim's type. The order is alphabetical, not a rank.

Mollie: Per method and country. See Mollie.
NMI: Set by the reseller.
Payoneer: Not a card-checkout rate.
PayPal: 3.49% + $0.49 checkout · 2.99% + $0.49 cards.

Also read Stripe's fee breakdown and the pricing dataset.

What does Helcim publish as its card rate?

Helcim's rate line in this directory is Interchange + 0.50% + $0.25 online, at the base tier, read on November 9, 2026. Use that line only for the product it describes.

What is Helcim's dispute fee?

Helcim's dispute line is $15 if lost. $0 if resolved in your favor. Stripe's published fee to receive a dispute is $15 on the same date, November 9, 2026.

Is Helcim the merchant of record?

Helcim is a payment service provider, not a merchant of record in this directory. You remain the merchant unless a contract you sign says otherwise.

Where does Helcim operate?

United States and Canada. Margins below are the US disclosure. That is the coverage note stored with the November 9, 2026 reading. It is not a list of merchant category codes Helcim has approved.

Should you leave Stripe for Helcim?

Only when this is the fit: US and Canadian businesses with enough volume that a published interchange-plus margin beats a flat rate. If the Stripe account is healthy and Stripe's other products are part of why you chose it, staying is often the smaller move. Helcim does not become a yes just because it is on this page.

How much is Helcim at $10,000 a month?

Helcim does not publish a flat dollar total. At $10,000 a month its online margin is interchange + 0.5% + $0.25, read November 9, 2026. Stripe on a $50 ticket is $350.00.

Which sources were checked?

Helcim has 15 fee lines in this dataset. Each one links to the page it was read from.

Last verified November 9, 2026.

Which related pages should you read next?

Open the Stripe profile before you treat a single percent as the whole decision.