Accepting Credit Cards

By accepting card payments, you are opening your business to over 400 million Visa and MasterCard customers worldwide! Credit and debit transactions are a must for retailers and restaurants, but also play a significant role in the success of wholesalers and service-based businesses.

Small business owners often find themselves in front of an attractive sales opportunity with a customer insisting on paying by credit card. Customers enjoy making purchases on their credit cards for many reasons:

• To collect travel points and other rewards
• To reduce their purchase risks thanks to their cardholder protection policies
• To allow them to make larger purchases on credit

There are also a number of reasons why accepting credit cards can benefit your business:

• Receive immediate payment without having to chase cheques
• Increase your sales by broadening your customer-base
• Project a professional image for your business

Frequently Asked Questions

What currency can I accept credit card payments in?

Helcim allows your business to choose between Canadian or U.S. Dollar processing. This is the currency that your customers will be charged in, and the currency that you will receive your funds in. If you choose to process in USD, you will need a USD currency bank account from a Canadian financial institution in order to avoid any currency conversions. You can also choose to process in both currencies, with transactions deposited in each bank account accordingly.

I'm a Canadian business, can I accept payments from any customers or only Canadians?

With your Helcim merchant account you can accept payments from customers anywhere in the world, as long as they have a Visa or MasterCard branded credit or debit card.

What name appears on my customer's card statements?

Your business' operating name appears on your customer's credit card statements. This is also known as your "DBA" (doing business as) name. Currently, Visa and MasterCard limit this name to 24 characters.