Best payment app for small business: Top 7

Panna Kemenes

26.08.22

6 minute read

The best payment apps for small businesses help you save time by making payments available on the go.

Mobile payment revenue was expected to hit $1.7 trillion in 2021. Most of this revenue is generated from a small interchange fee that is charged per transaction.¹

So what is the best payment app for small business? Let’s find out.

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What you'll find in this article:
Payment apps for small businesses: Summary Best payment apps for small business What is the best app for receiving payments?

Payment apps for small businesses: Summary

Payment app	Great for
Wise	Sending & receiving international payments
Square	Implementing a mobile POS system into a physical store
Veem	Low-cost payments for businesses
PayPal	Convenient payment processing
QuickBooks GoPayment	QuickBooks customers who require an in-person POS system
Stripe Dashboard	Contractors and freelancers receiving payment for work completed
Venmo	Quick peer-to-peer transfers

Wise

Best payment apps for small business

The following seven apps are considered by many to be the best app payment options for small businesses. Each app provides a simplified interface for managing money, whether it’s sending payments or receiving them.

There are many features besides the transactions, though. Some of these apps offer access to historical data to measure performance. Others provide the option to set up recurring invoices to suppliers.

As you’re looking at each app, consider your particular business needs.

Wise

Wise offers one of the best mobile payment apps for small businesses for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. It's a great payment app for small businesses who want to go global.

With the Wise money transfer app, you can send and receive local and international transfers, manage cash flow, and convert funds at the real mid-market rate. Hold 50+ currencies and convert between them instantly. Get the Wise app on the App Store and Google Play.

You can also set up repeat payments and keep tabs on the status of your transfers with instant push notifications for every transaction.

As a small business, every cent and second saved counts. With all these features in one place, the Wise mobile app makes managing business finances easier and cheaper.

Pros	Cons
Allows you to bypass high currency conversion and bank exchange rate fees Provides the option to pay others in their local currency You can repeat payments to previous recipients Licensed money transmitter registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)	Senders can track payments, but recipients can’t

Main features:

You can pay recipients in their local currency
Local account details make it easy to receive money
Always use the mid-market rate to avoid high fees and markups
Repeat payments to previous recipients
Track or cancel your payments
Easily withdraw from Amazon, Stripe, and more in up to 10 currencies
Connect Wise Business with QuickBooks Online

Pricing:

The Wise app is free to download.

Opening an account with Wise that lets you receive money and hold 50+ currencies is free. You also have the option to pay a one-off fee of $31 to get account details in 10 major currencies.

The fee for sending money starts at 0.41%, with the exact percentage determined by currency.

🚀 Get the free Wise app

Square

Unlike other payment apps for small businesses, Square offers a comprehensive POS system through its mobile app.

Square Point of Sale allows you to implement a POS system in your store. With the app and a mobile card reader, you can take customer payments and use your phone to process payments.

The app which is available for both Android and iOS, offers various features to simplify the order taking process.

You can process payments, print out receipts, and issue refunds. You can also monitor your inventory and sync with devices such as bar code scanners and cash drawers to streamline the in-store process.

Pros	Cons
Allows you to implement a mobile POS system to your brick-and-mortar business The account includes a free card reader	Each transaction through Square incurs a processing fee

Main features:

Your phone or tablet becomes a mobile POS with a Square account
Pair with barcode scanners and cash drawers for simplified payment processing
Take in-store payments through the app
Free card reader when you register for an account

Pricing:

Until September 2022, payments vary based on whether they’re carried out in person or online. In-person payments currently cost 2.6% + 10¢ and 6% + 30¢ online.²

Veem

Veem offers a web-based app to help you manage both accounts payable and accounts receivable. While the app is for desktop users, you can access it with a mobile device using a browser.

With the Veem app you can pay in bulk, add unlimited members and clients, and set up recurring payments and invoices.

Veem also offers two-way syncing with QuickBooks Online, Xero and NetSuite.

Pros	Cons
You can pay in bulk Set up recurring payments and invoices Receive domestic and overseas payments free of charge Two-way syncing and integration with popular accounting software	You can’t send money from some countries Additional fees are applied when paying by credit card

Main features:

Pay in bulk
Establish recurring payments and invoices
Receive payments for free
You can connect Veem with Xero, QuickBooks Online, and Netsuite

Pricing:

Veem offers a wide variety of payment options, and as such, fees vary depending on the method you choose.

Sending money from your bank account is free, except for when you send USD abroad when you’ll pay $29 - $40 or faster ACH which costs 0.5% of total payment amount (Max $20) .

From a US credit card you pay 2.9% of the total amount to send payment, and 1% from a US debit card.³

PayPal

In 2021, there were 19.3 billion transactions made through payment processor PayPal.⁹ One of the best electronic payment apps for small businesses, PayPal has a mobile app which allows you to make instant payments.

You can sync your bank account and credit cards to the app to facilitate easy money transfers. Robust security and encryption ensures safe transactions, too.

Pros	Cons
Almost instant payments Connect your bank account and multiple credit cards Encryption for secure transfers Payments to friends and family members are free	Business account users pay fees on every transaction There’s sometimes also a bank fee applied to transactions

Main features:

Quick money transfers
Free transfers to friends and family
Works with your bank account and multiple credit cards
Robust security measures and encryption

Pricing:

To send money to the US or overseas through the PayPall app it costs 2% of the total transaction sum. There are maximum fee caps for each currency: $1 for US transactions and $20 for international payouts.

You could also be subject to a credit or debit card link and confirmation fee.⁴

QuickBooks GoPayment

The QuickBooks GoPayment app aims to make accounting accessible wherever you are. With it, you can add transactions you’ve made, track your expenses, and invoice customers on the go.

QuickBooks also backs up all your data automatically to the cloud, and syncs it across your devices.

Pros	Cons
Track expenses Invoice customers Log transactions Set up recurring invoices	You can only access the app’s features with a QuickBooks account Fees on transactions and monthly fees to pay

Main features:

All your accounting features accessible on your mobile device
Automatic data backup to the cloud

Pricing:

QuickBooks GoPayment charges 1% for ACH bank payments with a max of $10 per transaction. Swiped transactions cost 2.4%, invoiced are 2.9%, and keyed are 3.4%, with an additional 25¢ per transaction.⁵

Stripe Dashboard

Stripe Dashboard is a mobile app that gives you access to your Stripe account so you can easily receive and track payments. With the app you can see information on everything from your earnings to customers, and payments to balances.

The app also allows you to access historical data to measure performance through daily views up to yearly views. Plus you can issue refunds directly through the app.

Pros	Cons
Offers straightforward international payment options Lets you view historical data Take actions such as issuing refunds	First payout often takes up to 14 days The app is mostly for viewing your data

Main features:

Access a wealth of historical and current data
Issue refunds

Pricing:

Stripe charges 2.9% of the payment plus 30¢ for a successful card charge and 1% extra for international cards or currency conversion. ACH direct debit costs 0.8% with Stripe, up to a cap of $5.⁶

Venmo

Over 70 million people used Venmo in 2021.⁷ The peer-to-peer payment app makes it easy to send, track, and manage your transactions. With Venmo you can make instant transfers to bank accounts and debit cards.

The app works with all US-based bank accounts, and though there’s a fee for paying with credit card, every other method of sending money is free.

With a Venmo business profile you can receive customers payments for goods sold.

Pros	Cons
Quick money transfers Compatible with all US-based banks	There’s no FDIC insurance You have to pay to cashout to your bank account

Main features:

Quick and easy to use
Works with all US banks
Allows for transfers to bank accounts and debit cards

Pricing:

Using the Venmo debit card doesn’t incur any fees. Venmo instant transfers to eligible US bank accounts or Visa/Mastercard debit cards cost 1.75%. There’s a minimum fee of $0.25 and a maximum of $25.⁸

What is the best app for receiving payments?

Each app offers different features and not all of them allow you to send or receive payments the same way.

There’s no clear answer as to which is the best app for receiving payments, since it depends on your business needs.

As such, it’s best to choose an app based on how you prefer to handle transactions, what payment method you use, and how much you’re willing to pay.

When it comes to pricing, you’ll have to consider both monthly fees (if applicable) and transaction fees.

If you need to send and receive international payments, for example, Wise Business offers the real mid-market rate to help you avoid hefty fees.

Sources:

All sources checked August 25, 2022.

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