Dharma Merchant Services Review 2024: Pricing & Features

Dharma Merchant Services is a solid option for businesses that process at least $10,000 in monthly credit card transactions.
Brian O'Connor
By Brian O'Connor 
Updated
Edited by Sally Lauckner

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4.5

NerdWallet rating 

What is Dharma Merchant Services?

Dharma Merchant Services helps retailers process in-person and online credit card transactions. It integrates with most point-of-sale hardware systems. Dharma offers a good service at a good price, but it’s best for businesses that process at least $10,000 a month in card transactions.

Deciding factors

Payment processing fees

  • Interchange plus 0.15% + 8 cents for in-person transactions.

  • Interchange plus 0.20% + 11 cents for online transactions.

  • Interchange plus 0.25% + 8 cents for in-person AmEx transactions.

  • Interchange plus 0.30% + 11 cents for online AmEx transactions.

Monthly fee

$25.

Hardware cost

  • $149 for Walker 2 chip, swipe and NFC card reader.

  • $295 for First Data FD-150, Verifone Engage V200c, Ingenico Desk/3500 or Dejavoo Z11 terminals.

  • $369 for Ingenico Desk/5000 terminal.

  • $480 for FD-150, Desk/3500, V200c or Z11 terminals plus a separate pinpad.

  • $649 for Clover Flex mobile card reader with printer.

  • $899 for Clover Mini POS device.

  • $1,649 for Clover Station Solo POS bundle.

  • $1,999 for Clover Station Duo POS bundle.

Accepted payment methods

Credit and debit cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover; digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay; ACH transfers.

Contract length

Month to month.

Customer service

Phone, email and online ticketing system.

Dharma Merchant Services pricing

Payment processing fees

  • Interchange plus 0.15% + 8 cents for in-person transactions.

  • Interchange plus 0.20% + 11 cents for online transactions.

  • Interchange plus 0.25% + 8 cents for in-person AmEx transactions.

  • Interchange plus 0.30% + 11 cents for online AmEx transactions.

Discounts available for merchants processing over $100,000 per month, over 5,000 transactions per month or restaurants with an average ticket of $25 or less.

Monthly fees

  • $25.

Other fees

  • $49 for account closure.

  • $25 chargeback fee.

  • $39.95 per month if not PCI compliant.

Pros

Cost

Dharma Merchant Services provides competitive rates that are clearly disclosed on its site.

Flexibility

Dharma Merchant Services doesn’t require merchants to buy custom, proprietary POS machines and terminals. Instead, the software works with several existing POS systems, which allows you to pick the solution that works best for you. Dharma Merchant Services promotes Clover’s hardware on its website, but it also works with Aloha, Lavu, Shopify and other POS systems.

Cons

Barrier to entry

If your business conducts less than $10,000 per month in transactions, Dharma is probably too big for you to use. The static monthly fees are relatively expensive at that level, and that threshold can preclude many early-stage small businesses from using the platform. If you’re not conducting most of your transactions via plastic, you might need to look elsewhere.

Separate accounts

Dharma may require some merchants to set up different accounts for online transactions and in-person transactions, if the merchant is doing a significant amount of business through both channels. This may be an inconvenience worth navigating, however, because the pricing could work in the merchant’s favor.

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NerdWallet rating 

5.0

/5
NerdWallet rating 

5.0

/5
NerdWallet rating 

5.0

/5

Payment processing fees 

0.40% + 8¢

plus interchange, in-person; 0.50% + 25¢ plus interchange, online.

Payment processing fees 

2.6% + 10¢

in-person; 2.9% + 30¢ online.

Payment processing fees 

2.7% + 5¢

in-person; 2.9% + 30¢ online.

Monthly fee 

$0

Monthly fee 

$0

Starts at $0/month for unlimited devices and locations.

Monthly fee 

$0

Dharma Merchant Services alternatives

If Dharma Merchant Services isn’t for you, there are plenty of alternatives to consider.

For easy integrations: Braintree

Pricing:

  • 2.59% plus 49 cents per transaction for credit cards, debit cards and digital wallets.

  • 3.49% plus 49 cents for Venmo (U.S. only).

  • 0.75% for ACH (maximum fee of $5). Discounts available for enterprise businesses.

Why we like it: Braintree, which is owned by PayPal, offers a virtual sandbox for prospective clients to test out the software before committing. It’s easy to customize services to fit your existing technology stack, meaning you don’t need to completely restructure the rest of your technology in order to use the service. Each user has a unique merchant account; the provider doesn’t pool several payments from various clients into one account. Braintree accepts Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and other regional digital payment systems. It supports more than 130 currencies worldwide.

For simple solutions: Square

Square is a well-known brand that offers simple POS solutions; it is ubiquitous among small businesses.

Pricing:

  • 2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions.

  • 2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions.

  • 3.5% plus 15 cents for manually keyed transactions.

  • 3.3% plus 30 cents for invoices.

Square provides free credit card readers that work with Apple and Android devices.

Why we like it: Square isn’t as cheap as Dharma Merchant Services' fee structure, but Square’s lack of monthly fees (for payment processing) make it an attractive option for small businesses that may not hit Dharma Merchant Services' high minimums. Square is a straightforward option for small business owners who want to get started easily, and for whom simplicity is a must.

Square POS

Square
NerdWallet rating 
Shop Now

on Square's website

A version of this article was first published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

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