Transparent interchange-plus. No monthly fees. No contracts. Same model, different numbers.
Last verified against helcim.com/pricing: September 28, 2026
$3,356
About $280 a month back in your business compared with Square, and $10,069 over three years.
At $40,000 a month in card sales
Estimate on Payzium's published rate card and real Visa Canada and Mastercard Canada interchange, $50 average ticket, Interac at the standard contactless rate. Competitor figures from each processor's published Canadian rates (Global Payments modeled at a mid-range of its bank-channel plans). Final pricing depends on your actual card mix and current network rates.
We say this on the record because we have to.[1] Now here is where the math differs.
Monthly savings with Payzium: $77.50. Annual: $930. Same interchange. Same networks. Same model. Lower margin.
Sample volume: $50,000/month, 80% in-person credit, 15% Interac debit, 5% keyed/online. Average ticket $50 across 1,000 transactions. Underlying interchange and network passthroughs identical for both processors.
| Card type | Volume | Txn | Helcim | Payzium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-person credit | $40,000 | 800 | 0.40% × $40K + 8¢ × 800 = $224.00[3] | 0.30% × $40K + 5¢ × 800 = $160.00 |
| Keyed/online (CNP) | $2,500 | 50 | 0.50% × $2.5K + 25¢ × 50 = $25.00[3] | 0.40% × $2.5K + 5¢ × 50 = $12.50 |
| Interac debit | $7,500 | 150 | 9¢ × 150 = $13.50[3] | 5¢ × 150 = $7.50 |
| Monthly account fee | - | - | $0 | $5.00 |
| Monthly total | $262.50 | $185.00 |
At $1M+ monthly volume with a heavily CNP-weighted card mix, Helcim's per-transaction percentage rate is lower (0.15% vs 0.25%). For volumes between $500K and $1M, Helcim's CNP rate (0.25%) is also lower than ours (0.30%). For most Canadian SMBs processing $0-500K monthly, Payzium is cheaper on every transaction and on Interac debit regardless of volume.[1]
| Volume | Helcim CP | Payzium CP | Helcim CNP | Payzium CNP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0-50K | 0.40% + 8c | 0.30% + 5c | 0.50% + 25c | 0.40% + 5c |
| $50K-100K | 0.35% + 7c | 0.30% + 5c | 0.45% + 20c | 0.40% + 5c |
| $100K-500K | 0.25% + 7c | 0.25% + 5c | 0.35% + 20c | 0.35% + 5c |
| $500K-1M | 0.20% + 6c | 0.20% + 5c | 0.25% + 15c | 0.30% + 5c |
| $1M+ | 0.15% + 6c | 0.15% + 5c | 0.15% + 15c | 0.25% + 5c |
| Interac debit | 9¢ chip / 12¢ tap[1] | 5¢ flat across all tiers[2] |
Helcim charges no monthly account fee.[1] Payzium charges $5 per month. The fee is disclosed in our hero subhead and on /pricing, but it is worth addressing directly here.
The $5 fee funds infrastructure: real-time settlement reporting, our rate engine, and the switching reimbursement budget of up to CA$1,000 tied to Pay less or it's free. Helcim subsidizes the equivalent cost by charging a slightly higher margin per transaction (0.40% Tier 1 vs our 0.30%). The choice is structural, not gotcha.
Eligible Payzium-controlled processing cost only. Interchange and network fees excluded.At $50,000/month volume, the $5/month costs $60/year. At the same volume, our lower margin saves $990/year. Net favorable to Payzium by $930/year.
Below about $3,000 a month, the $5 fee outweighs our lower margin and Helcim is likely cheaper for you; our application flow will tell you which way your volume lands. We do not chase merchants we cannot help.
Lower margin matters. Contractual commitment matters more.
If a Payzium-controlled fee is ever charged beyond the pricing schedule in the application you signed, we refund it at twice the amount, paid within 15 days after approval. A standalone Payzium commitment, set out in its own signed instrument. Helcim does not offer this.
Read the promise →Process with Payzium for 90 days. If your effective rate is not lower than what you were paying your previous processor, the eligible Payzium fees come back AND we cover up to CA$1,000 of switching costs to whatever processor you choose next. Helcim does not offer this either.
Read the guarantee →Read Helcim's pricing page from top to bottom. They commit to transparency. They do not commit to outcomes. Payzium does both.
Helcim wins customers by transparency. Payzium wins customers by transparency plus contractual downside protection. The merchant's risk on switching to Payzium is structurally zero.
These are category standards. Pick the processor with the better math and the stronger commitment.
Two reasons. Lower margin at every tier through $500K monthly volume (sometimes higher; see the rate ladder). And two guarantees Helcim does not offer: the Honest Rate Promise and Pay less or it's free. If you trust the math but want downside protection, that is what Payzium adds.
Payzium-controlled fees only, against the pricing schedule in your signed application. Interchange and network fees excluded.Eligible Payzium-controlled processing cost only. Interchange and network fees excluded.Use our calculator at /calculator to compute your effective Payzium rate from your monthly volume and card mix. Then compare it against the rate Helcim publishes for your volume in their pricing FAQ. The difference is your monthly savings. We do not embed Helcim's rate calculation in our calculator because their rates are published transparently on their own site, and we trust merchants to do the side-by-side themselves.
They auto-apply at $50K, $100K, $500K, and $1M monthly volume thresholds. So do ours, at $100K, $500K, and $1M. The rate ladder in this page shows the parallel structure. At every tier where both apply, Payzium's margin is lower or equal except for the high-volume CNP exceptions documented in the rate ladder footnote.
The fee funds infrastructure cost that Helcim subsidizes through a higher margin per transaction. At $50,000 monthly volume the $5/month costs $60/year while our lower margin saves $990/year. Net favorable by $930. Below about $3,000 a month, the $5 fee outweighs our lower margin and Helcim is likely cheaper for you; our application flow will tell you which way your volume lands.
Interchange rates change twice yearly (April and October per Visa and Mastercard schedules). Both Helcim and Payzium pass these through automatically. Our published margin is locked at signup for as long as you process with us, written into your Merchant Agreement. Helcim's published margin is stable but not contractually locked. If our margin ever changes, we tell you in writing before applying it. If Helcim's changes, you read about it on their pricing page.
Yes. /calculator gives you a no-signup estimate from your monthly volume and card mix. Application is also commitment-free; we review your file and put your rates in writing on the application you sign before you switch.
Last verified against helcim.com/pricing on 2026-09-28. Helcim publishes rate changes on the same page; re-verify quarterly or when Visa/Mastercard interchange shifts (April, October).
We publish ours and guarantee the outcome. The merchant who runs both numbers and reads both contracts knows what they actually owe.