Comparing Payzium and Helcim
Helcim is the closest competitor we have. Here is where the math diverges.
Transparent interchange-plus. No monthly fees. No contracts. Two Canadian acquirers, same model, different numbers.
Last verified against helcim.com/pricing: May 26, 2026
what Helcim does right
Four things Helcim genuinely gets right.
01
Real interchange-plus pricing.
Helcim publishes per-tier margin on their pricing page in plain text. No card-network surcharges hidden in a downloaded PDF.
02
Short, accurate fee table.
No monthly account fee. No statement fee. No PCI fee. No cancellation fee. The fee table on their site is short and accurate.
03
Built-in volume discounts.
Margin drops automatically as a merchant scales, no renegotiation required.
04
Solid product.
Helcim was founded in 2006 in Calgary. Their card reader, virtual terminal, and recurring billing tools work.
We say this on the record because we have to.[1] Now here is where the math differs.
the math at $50,000/month, 1,000 transactions
$262.50 vs $185.00. Same interchange, same networks, lower margin.
| 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 | ||
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.
the full rate ladder
Every tier, side by side.[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 | 0.20% + 5c |
| Interac debit | 9¢ tap / 12¢ chip[1] | 5¢ flat across all tiers[2] | ||
At $1M+ monthly volume with a heavily CNP-weighted card mix, Helcim's per-transaction percentage rate is lower (0.15% vs 0.20%). 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.
the $5/month account fee, head-on
What about the $5 monthly account fee?
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 underwriting engine, and the $1,000 switching reimbursement budget 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.
At $50,000/month volume, the $5/month costs $60/year. At the same volume, our lower margin saves $930/year. Net favorable to Payzium by $870/year.
If you process less than about $3,000/month, the $5/month fee narrows our advantage to near zero or slightly negative depending on your card mix. Our application underwriting will flag this and tell you on the application screen if Helcim is a better fit for your volume. We do not chase merchants we cannot help.
where Payzium beats Helcim on commitment
Two guarantees Helcim does not offer.
Lower margin matters. Contractual commitment matters more.
Honest Rate Promise
If we ever charge you a fee that is not on your published rate card at signup, we refund it at twice the amount within 14 days. Written into your Merchant Agreement. Helcim does not offer this.
Read the promise →Pay less or it's free
Process with Payzium for 90 days. If your effective rate is not lower than what you were paying your previous processor, every Payzium fee comes back AND we cover up to $1,000 of switching costs to whatever processor you choose next. Helcim does not offer this either.
Read the guarantee →What Helcim commits to
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.
what both offer
The category standards.
- Interchange-plus pricing model
- No long-term contract or cancellation penalty
- Transparent published fee disclosure
These are category standards. Pick the processor with the better math and the stronger commitment.
common questions
Questions merchants ask when comparing Helcim and Payzium.
Helcim is a respected competitor. Why should I pick Payzium?
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.
How much would I save vs Helcim on my actual volume?
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.
What about Helcim's volume discounts?
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.
Why does Payzium charge $5/month when Helcim doesn't?
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 $930/year. Net favorable by $870. If your volume is under $3,000/month, the $5/month narrows our advantage to near zero or slightly negative depending on your card mix. Our application flow will tell you which way it lands for you.
What happens if Helcim changes their rates? What happens if Payzium changes theirs?
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.
Can I run the numbers on my own volume before committing?
Yes. /calculator gives you a no-signup estimate from your monthly volume and card mix. Application is also commitment-free; we underwrite and quote your published rate card before you switch.
Same model, different math
Helcim publishes their rates. We publish ours and guarantee the outcome. The merchant who runs both numbers and reads both contracts knows what they actually owe.
Sources
Last verified against helcim.com/pricing on 2026-05-26. Helcim publishes rate changes on the same page; re-verify quarterly or when Visa/Mastercard interchange shifts (April, October).
- [1] Helcim pricing page. Source for the verified Helcim figures referenced on this page: Tier 1 in-person (IC + 0.40% + 8 cents), Tier 1 keyed/online (IC + 0.50% + 25 cents), the full 5-tier ladder, $0 monthly/setup/PCI/cancellation/statement fees, recurring payments +0.4%, chargeback $0 if won / $15 if lost, Interac debit 9 cents tap / 12 cents chip. https://helcim.com/pricing. Verified 2026-05-26.
- [2] Payzium pricing on this site. Rate card sourced from lib/pricing.ts. https://payzium.com/pricing. Verified 2026-05-26.
- [3] Sample volume math: $50,000/month, 80% in-person credit, 15% Interac debit, 5% keyed/online (CNP), $50 average ticket across 1,000 transactions. Calculations shown inline in the math block. Underlying interchange and network passthroughs assumed identical for both processors. Verified 2026-05-26.