Fee Disclosures
Last Updated February 2, 2026, with effect from April 1, 2026
Helcim has always been committed to honest and transparent pricing. Our fees are also set out on our public website at https://www.helcim.com/pricing/.
You can also see summary of card brand interchange rates at:
https://www.helcim.com/visa-usa-interchange-rates/
https://www.helcim.com/mastercard-usa-interchange-rates/
https://www.helcim.com/discover-usa-interchange-rates/
https://www.helcim.com/american-express-usa-opt-blue-rates/
https://www.helcim.com/us-pin-debit-interchange-rates/
Understanding Our Payment Fees
Helcim provides all merchants with a billing method known as Interchange Plus pricing (also known as Interchange+ or Cost+). All card association fees, network fees and interchange rates are passed onto the merchant directly. Helcim then adds its processing margin, which includes a (%) rate and a per transaction ($) fee.
Card-present (also referred as "in-person") are transactions processed and verified using either Chip & PIN, Chip & Signature, Magnetic Swipe or Tap (NFC). Card-not-present (also referred as "keyed") are transactions manually entered into the Helcim platform, such as payments processed using the Virtual Terminal, Card-Vault and Ecommerce portals. Recurring transactions are processed using Helcim's Recurring & Subscription functionality, which in most cases will qualify for discounted interchange rates from the card-networks.
Helcim provides discounted rates based on on your card processing volume. These discounts are divided into 5 tiers, and are automatically assigned to a tier based on a 3-month rolling processing average of all card-based transactions.
| Discount Tier Monthly Card Volume |
Processing Method | |
|---|---|---|
| Card-Present | Card-Not-Present | |
| Tier 1 - $0 - 50,000 | 0.40% + 8¢ | 0.50% + 25¢ |
| Tier 2 - $50,001 - $100,000 | 0.35% + 7¢ | 0.45% + 20¢ |
| Tier 3 - $100,001 - 500,000 | 0.25% + 7¢ | 0.35% + 20¢ |
| Tier 4 - $500,001 - 1,000,000 | 0.20% + 6¢ | 0.25% + 15¢ |
| Tier 5 - $1,000,001 + | 0.15% + 6¢ | 0.15% + 15¢ |
International Transactions
Card associations and networks will charge additional fees for 'international transactions', which are transactions where the cardholder issuing bank is located in a different country than the merchant. The merchant's acceptance currency will also play a factor in the fees charged by the network, as displayed below.
| Card Network | Processing Method & Currency | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Card-Present USD | Card-Not-Present USD | ||
| Visa International | +1.45% + 4¢ | +1.45% + 4¢ | |
| MasterCard International | +1.45% + 0¢ | +1.45% + 0¢ | |
| Discover International | +1.30% + 0¢ | +1.30% + 0¢ | |
| American Express International | +1.00% + 0¢ | +1.00% + 0¢ | |
Helcim Bank Payments
| Description | Fee Details |
|---|---|
| ACH Payment |
0.5% + 25¢ per approved transaction below $25,000
|
| NSF / Reject / Return | $5 USD per transaction that is rejected or returned by the bank network. |
Other Fees
| Description | Fee Details |
|---|---|
| Chargebacks | $15 USD or $0 per occurrence. Chargebacks that are resolved in your favor will have their fee fully refunded back to you. |
| Helcim Card Reader Purchase | $199 USD plus applicable taxes |
| Helcim Smart Terminal Purchase | $349 USD or 12 monthly payments of $32 plus applicable taxes |
| Helcim Level 2/3 Interchange Optimization | Helcim will optimize corporate and commercial credit card data to help reduce your interchange fees, a 30% optimization fee will be retained on savings generated. |
| Tap to Pay on iPhone | 10¢ USD per approved transaction |
| Helcim Recurring Payments | 0.4% per applicable recurring transaction |
| Mobile Data Service Fee | $7 USD per month for the monthly data allowance (MDM) of one hundred (100) megabytes. Overage charges may apply if the MDM is exceeded. |