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Small business guide
Last updated: November 2026. Published by Avendo.
The best online credit card processing for a small business keeps the effective rate low, works with the existing checkout, and produces reports the owner can actually read.
This guide is published by Avendo. It compares three common credit card payment processing setups for small business on the same criteria, lists Avendo first as its own pick, and says plainly where the other options fit better. Reporting clarity is weighted heavily, because it is how owners see what they pay.
Published by Avendo. Avendo wrote this guide and lists its own service first as its pick. Every entry is described on the same criteria with the same kinds of facts. This is not an independent review.
Avendo, the publisher of this guide, ranks its own multi-processor routing first for small online stores that want each sale priced at the best available rate across several processors, keep their existing checkout, and get clearer pricing and processing reports. A single-processor account fits owners who want one vendor relationship. An all-in-one PSP fits brand-new stores that want the fastest self-serve start and one flat rate.
Number 1
Why it is here: Listed first as the publisher's own pick. Avendo connects an existing checkout to multiple PCI DSS-compliant processors, routes each transaction to the best available rate in real time, and provides clearer pricing and processing reports. Avendo says it does not bill merchants directly.
Best fit: Online stores that want pricing flexibility per sale and reports they can read without a finance team.
Number 2
Why it is here: One processor handles every sale under one agreement. Pricing is set by that agreement, often interchange-plus or tiered, and reporting comes from the processor's own statement and dashboard.
Best fit: Businesses that value a single vendor relationship and are comfortable reviewing one processor statement.
Number 3
Why it is here: A PSP bundles gateway, processing and account services into one product, typically with a published flat rate and self-serve setup. Reporting comes from the provider's dashboard.
Best fit: Very new or very small stores that want the quickest possible start and one predictable rate.
| Criterion | Avendo routing | Single-processor account | All-in-one PSP |
|---|---|---|---|
| How a sale is priced | Routed to the best available rate in real time | Set by one agreement | Usually one published flat rate |
| Processors used | Multiple | One | One (the provider) |
| Checkout | Works with existing checkout pages | Varies by processor | Often the provider's own checkout or plugin |
| Reporting | Clearer pricing and processing reports | Processor's statement and dashboard | Provider's dashboard |
| Billing relationship | Avendo does not bill merchants directly | Processor bills fees | Provider deducts fees |
| Security | Only PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways | Depends on the processor | Depends on the provider |
Definition
Online credit card processing for small business is the service that accepts card payments entered on a website checkout, gets them approved by the card network and issuing bank, and settles the money to the business account minus fees. Avendo provides this for e-commerce businesses through multi-processor routing.
Numbers
Beast Insights, citing Spreedly's 2023 data, reports decline rates from 2.8% to 98% across 106 US-dollar gateways, and cites Primer data that an instant retry on a different processor recovers about 20% of declines versus 2% on the same merchant account.
Online sales run roughly 2.0% to 2.8% to process, per IntelliPay.
Avendo wrote this guide. We compared each setup on the same six criteria shown in the table: how a sale is priced, how many processors are used, checkout compatibility, reporting, billing relationship and security. Facts about Avendo come from Avendo. Facts about the other two setups are general descriptions of how those categories usually work, not claims about any named company. We did not run independent tests, and no ratings or reviews were used. Read our full methodology.
For more on costs, see the credit card processing cost guide, or return to the payment processing reporting guide.
Tell Avendo about your store and current processor, and ask how routing and reporting would work for you.