Stax Review 2024: Top Credit Card Processing Services

Why Stax Is Ideal for High-Revenue Businesses

Boasting its interchange-plus pricing model, Stax ranks as our top credit card processor for enterprises earning $500,000 or more in annual revenue. We evaluated Stax’s diverse point-of-sale (POS) system options, alongside various free integrations. The company also offers add-ons, such as the ability to securely store card information, track sales, and customize branding for invoices, receipts, and websites. Stax extends funding options for merchants, particularly those classified as higher risk, through partnerships with lenders including Bank of America, Chase Bank, and Wells Fargo, enabling merchants to access Stax’s technological framework for additional funds.

Usability

Stax provides a centralized dashboard that summarizes the most critical metrics for your business. Source: Stax

Our evaluation found Stax’s user interface to be intuitive, feature-rich, and highly user-friendly. The software surpasses the technology offered by numerous payment processors and provides better functionality than many comparable POS solutions.

A sidebar highlights Stax’s key features, including reporting, payments, invoices, and dispute management. The primary dashboard showcases important data such as settlements and deposits, sales and refunds, and a reconciliation report for aligning your bank account deposits. We appreciated the ability to filter transaction reports by day, week, month, or year, or to choose a preset time frame for transaction analysis. You can also view who executed a transaction, the sales volume involved, overdue invoices, and more.

Stax offers advanced customization options, allowing users to modify display settings like color coding.

A key feature is the recurring payments system, enabling business owners to securely store payment details and schedule transactions accurately. Should customers alter payment methods, modification of their information is straightforward without needing to establish a new payment profile. Stax’s same-day deposits set it apart from competitors like Merchant One and ProMerchant, which typically provide deposits within two days.

We found the Stax Pay mobile application to be well-crafted, with a stylish interface that’s easy to navigate, although some customer feedback indicated technical issues with the mobile card reader.

All of Stax’s systems adhere to PCI compliance with no liability for the business owner, alleviating a technical challenge many small businesses face.

Stax Features

Credit Card Terminals

We appreciate that Stax has a variety of card readers available for purchase, along with an array of payment gateway integration choices. Card reader rentals and protection plans range from $9 to $29 per month for each device. Coverage plans include device upgrades and replacements. Stax offers free gateway integration, unlike many gateway providers who typically charge fees, presenting a significant advantage for businesses already utilizing a POS system.

Security

As a Level 1 PCI Service Provider, Stax maintains the highest standard of PCI compliance. The company encrypts and tokenizes payment data on all devices to safeguard cardholder information, which is purged upon transaction completion. This secure procedure aids in preventing unauthorized access to data or transaction information.

Furthermore, Stax is HIPAA compliant, which is particularly beneficial for merchants in the healthcare sector who require secure payment processing.

POS Integration

We tested Stax’s integration capabilities with some of the top POS systems, including ShopKeep, Revel, and Vend. These integrations are offered at no additional cost through Stax, although the POS vendor may have its own integration fees. Stax supports around 90% of third-party POS systems. Customers are encouraged to directly contact Stax for integration inquiries regarding specific systems.

Customer Support

We appreciate Stax’s commitment to 24/7 customer support via phone, email, or live chat, alongside a comprehensive online FAQ knowledge base.

Mobile Payments

The Stax Pay mobile app empowers small businesses to process transactions, review sales analytics, manage inventory, and issue receipts. Users can connect a mobile swiper to their phone or tablet via Bluetooth for payment acceptance. Stax Pay is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. One notable feature is the text-to-pay option, allowing businesses to send customers a mobile-friendly payment link via text, a capability not commonly offered by other credit card processors.

Customization and Integration

Stax provides customization options for invoices, receipts, and payments to align with your brand identity and allows for setting permissions for employees. Seamless integration with platforms such as QuickBooks, Wave, Xero, Mailchimp, HubSpot, and Zoho is also available.

Additionally, Stax is platform-agnostic concerning POS systems. Should you prefer a specific POS solution, Stax can resell it to you as it connects with systems like Clover and Lightspeed, but not with Square and Toast, which do not interact with other POS providers.

Stax provides exceptional customization options for every type of business. Source: Stax

Invoicing

One of Stax’s advantages over basic credit card processors is the ability to send invoices via email or text, streamlining the payment process for customers. You can also accept recurring payments, which is beneficial for subscription-based businesses. Leveraging Stax’s automated invoice reminders, partial payments, and recurring billing can enhance your cash flow and decrease subscriber churn. Additionally, Stax offers payment links that can be integrated into customer invoices for quick and easy payments.

Stax Pricing

Stax is well-known for its interchange-plus pricing model. If your business consistently handles large volumes of sales, Stax’s pricing structure could lead to significant savings. Unlike Square and other processors that charge by user or provide SaaS licenses, Stax enables unlimited team members within your account while saving costs.

Stax offers the following pricing tiers:

• Growth: For $99 a month, this plan includes a free terminal or mobile reader, ACH processing, free surcharging capabilities, a dashboard with analytics (Lite version), and rapid payments backup processing.
• Pro: Priced at $159 per month, this plan encompasses all features from the Growth plan and additionally includes digital invoicing, text-to-pay options, website payment links, secure credit card storage, open API integration, enhanced reports, and accounting reconciliation syncing with QuickBooks Online. [Discover more about this software in our QuickBooks Online review.]
• Ultimate: At $199 per month, this plan includes all of the features in the Pro plan and adds recurring invoices and scheduled payments, automatic updates for saved credit cards, one-click shopping cart setup, advanced reporting, data exports, and premier support access.
• Enterprise: Pricing for this plan is contingent upon custom requirements and is best suited for businesses with an annual revenue exceeding $1 million.

Early-Termination Fee

Stax does not impose a contract nor an early-termination fee, although a 30-day written notice is required prior to service cancellation.

Monthly Fees

Instead of variable fees, Stax offers a flat monthly subscription rate. Starting at $99, this fee stands out compared to other processors listed; however, for businesses with high transaction volumes, the fixed fee can result in savings as this cost is distributed over many transactions. Additionally, Stax employs fixed interchange rates.

PCI Compliance Fee

Unlike some competitors, Stax incorporates the PCI compliance fee within the subscription cost, which is a significant advantage for high-volume businesses.

Alongside subscription plans, Stax offers optional add-on features for every level, which can include customized branding, digital gift cards, same-day funding, and swift shopping cart setup.

Equipment Costs

Stax does not require any equipment purchases or leases; you can utilize the payment terminal of your choice. Hardware needs will vary depending on the types of payments accepted (in-store, mobile, online, etc.).

Here are some hardware options:

• Dejavoo terminals
• PAX A920 terminals
• Mobile card readers
• Chipper BT
• Chipper 2X BT

Other mobile readers are available for $75. Should you already possess equipment, it will likely integrate seamlessly with Stax, which claims integration capabilities with 99% of available hardware and software.

Stax Pay, the integrated payments platform offered for free, features a dashboard to examine customer data, oversee inventory, manage invoices, and streamline reporting.

Additional add-ons (with personalized pricing) encompass options like:

• Advanced dashboard customization
• Chargeback monitoring through dispute managers
• QuickBooks Online integration for syncing data
• Terminal protection

While interchange rates remain stable with Stax, expect additional transaction fees: each in-person transaction incurs a charge of $0.08, while manually entered transactions cost an extra $0.15.

Setup

To initiate the application for Stax’s services, reach out to a sales representative via phone or fill out an online form. Following this, a questionnaire will assist in identifying the right package for your enterprise based on your industry, background, and hardware considerations. You will then receive a quote for the pricing tier suited to your needs. (Businesses with annual revenues exceeding $500,000 can contact the company for a tailored quote.)

Once your application obtains approval, a representative from Stax will introduce you to a dedicated account manager, who will commence the onboarding process tailored to your specific business requirements and guide you through the payment methods needed.

Customer Service

Stax delivers 24/7 customer support via phone, email, fax, or live chat, and offers an extensive online FAQ knowledge base. Customers benefit from access to a dedicated account manager and in-house technical support.

The range of customer service options provided by Stax significantly surpasses many competitors in our selection of credit card processors. Additionally, we found Stax’s support team to be readily accessible and well-informed about the functionalities of the service.

Drawbacks

While Stax is highly regarded for its extensive feature set, you must be ready to invest in this functionality. The minimum monthly subscription of $99 may not be feasible for numerous small businesses on tight budgets. Customers are required to procure their own payment hardware. Reviews on platforms like Trustpilot indicate some complaints regarding extra fees and price hikes. While Stax offers round-the-clock customer support, instances of understaffing have caused some reviewers to experience long holds and delays in communication.

Methodology

To conduct our assessment of Stax’s credit card processing service, we arranged a live demonstration with the Stax team, allowing for an in-depth exploration of the product along with a comprehensive question-and-answer session. Additionally, we scrutinized Stax’s website, marketing materials, and online customer reviews. Our evaluation criteria focused on affordability, user-friendliness, and the relevant features for small businesses. Ultimately, we designated Stax’s credit card processing services as the best option for high-revenue businesses due to its tiered, flat-rate pricing model, facilitating growth without the need for changing providers.

Overall Value

Stax is recommended for …

• Rapidly evolving businesses processing a high transaction volume.
• Subscription-based enterprises.
• Organizations seeking advanced data visualization and features typically unavailable from standard credit card processors.
• Business owners requiring diverse customer service and technical support options.

Stax is not recommended for …

• Businesses processing under $5,000 monthly.
• Organizations on a stringent budget.
• Entities preferring an integrated POS and credit card processing solution, or proprietary hardware from the same processing company.