Wave, a popular Canadian accounting software-as-a-service for freelancers, also offers integrated credit card processing. But is Wave Payments a good value for small businesses?
WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Lead Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Managing Editor
| Total Rating | 4.5 |
|---|---|
| Fees & Rates4.7 | |
| Products & Services3.4 | |
| Contract5.0 | |
| Sales & Advertising Transparency5.0 | |
| Customer Service4.2 | |
| User Reviews3.1 | |
Table of Contents
Wave Payments is a payment service provider that integrates with Wave Accounting, an online invoicing and accounting platform for freelancers, self-employed workers, and small businesses in the US and Canada.
Wave’s integrated payment services allow your clients to pay you online right from the invoices you email them.
Wave Payments supports remote, card-not-present transactions, Apple Pay, and ACH payments (EFT in Canada).
| Products & Services3.4 |
|---|
| Software & Services 4.3 |
| Hardware & Equipment 2.4 |
Wave’s products and services are somewhat limited in scope—they don’t offer a credit card reader to take card-present payments, for example.
However, most freelancers and small companies that get paid remotely via invoice will find that it provides all the payments-related tools they need, especially when paired with Wave’s built-in accounting software.
| Fees & Rates4.7 |
|---|
| Pricing 5.0 |
| Affordability 4.4 |
Wave’s fees and rates are fully in line with industry averages, though you will need to purchase a paid plan and add-ons in order to unlock all features. The paid “Pro” plan also offers the advantage of lower payment processing fees for your first ten transactions each month.
Wave’s flat-rate processing fees depend on your plan; other standard fees, such as ACH transfer fees, do not vary based on plan. Note that the lower processing fees on the Pro plan only apply to the first ten transactions in a month.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Pricing Starts At | $0/month |
| Contract Length | Month-to-month |
| Processing Model | Flat-rate |
| Card-present Transaction Fee | N/A |
| eCommerce Transaction Fee | 2.9% + $0.60 (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex); On Pro plan, first 10 transactions per month are 2.9% + $0.00 (3.4% + $0.00 for Amex) |
| Keyed-in Transaction Fee | 2.9% + $0.60 (3.4% + $0.60 for Amex); On Pro plan, first 10 transactions per month are 2.9% + $0.00 (3.4% + $0.00 for Amex) |
| Equipment Cost | N/A |
| Wave Payments Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0/month | If your business needs only basic invoicing, accounting, and payment processing services. |
| Pro | $16/month (or $170/year) | If your business needs additional invoicing, accounting, and payment processing features. |
| Wave Payments Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| Upload Receipts | $8/month (or $72/year) with Starter Plan; $0 with Pro Plan |
| Payroll | $20+/month |
| Wave Advisor (Personalized bookkeeping services) | $149+/month |
| ACH/ETF Transfers: | 1% of the transferred amount (minimum fee of $1) |
| Instant Payouts | 1% of the transferred amount (minimum fee of $1) |
| Chargebacks | $15 per chargeback |
| Late Payment Fee | $25 per late payment |
To learn more about Wave’s Payroll add-on, please check out our Wave Payroll review.
Square and PayPal offer competing invoicing and online payment processing services, also with “freemium” plans that charge no monthly fee for basic features. Payment processing fees for these three vendors are all pretty similar, but there are some differences.
Wave’s standard transaction fees on the free Starter plan are lower than those you’ll pay on the free Square Invoices plan—Square charges 3.3% + $0.30 per invoice paid online on its free plan. However, the PayPal Invoicing transaction fee is slightly lower than Wave’s, at 2.9% + 0.30.
Also, notably, Wave charges higher fees on Amex transactions, whereas Square and PayPal do not.
Freshbooks and Quickbooks are some other similar alternatives to Wave, but neither has a free plan.
| Sales & Advertising Transparency5.0 |
|---|
| Sales Practices 5.0 |
| Web Presence 5.0 |
Wave has pretty excellent sales and advertising transparency. The Terms of Service on Wave’s website features a “translation” of the legalese into plain, friendly language, making it easy to decipher just what you can expect and what’s expected of you as a Wave merchant.
| Contract5.0 |
|---|
| Commitment 5.0 |
| ETF & Other Fees 5.0 |
All Wave contracts are month-to-month with no early termination fee. You can cancel your account at any time without penalty. Yay!
| Customer Service4.2 |
|---|
| Personal Support 3.8 |
| Self-Service 4.6 |
Wave offers multiple customer support options to its Wave Payments users, including live chat and email support during business hours, as well as a detailed Help Center and chatbot you can access to answer any questions that arise after hours.
Wave does not have live telephone support, although there is a number you can call if you have specific questions about the transactions on your monthly statement.
| User Reviews3.1 |
|---|
| Customer Feedback 4.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 2.8 |
User reviews for Wave are rather mixed, and it can be difficult to separate complaints and praise of Wave Payments from those regarding Wave Accounting. On TrustPilot, Wave has a score of only 1.3/5 (138 reviews total), and on the BBB website, their score is 1.03/5 (31 reviews total).
But over on GetApp, Wave earns an impressive 4.4/5 stars (1.6K reviews total) and they have a 4.3/5 on G2 (294 reviews). It may be the case, however, that Wave encourages its customers to post positive reviews on GetApp and G2 to dilute the bad ones.
As follows are some common user complaints and praise you’ll find online for Wave Payments.
So, should you use Wave Payments? When it comes to using Wave Payments, a better question is whether you should use Wave in general.
We evaluate and test each payment processor that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on certain key characteristics in order to generate our granular ratings for merchant accounts and credit card processors.
For payment processing reviews, we use a 24-point rubric to evaluate the provider. First, we look at pricing structure – interchange plus, subscription-based, tiered, or hybrid – giving the most points to providers that provide fair, transparent pricing and docking those that rely on tiered models. Then we examine rates, the presence and transparency of early termination fees, and any additional fees.
We also look at contract length and fairness and test out sales staff and customer service channels ourselves to ensure that the company uses reputable, above-the-board sales techniques. Finally, we take the company’s online reputation into account, reading customer reviews and comments.
Read more about how we rate payment processors.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
|
Wave Payments
|
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Wave Payments for yourself.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
|
Wave Payments
|
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Wave Payments for yourself.
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Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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Our team of experts spends hours on every review so that we can find the best companies to recommend to our readers. Wave Payments made the cut.
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