CDG Commerce vs Helcim: interchange plus rates, tools, and who each one fits

The worked example: $20,000 a month

Assume a business doing $20,000 a month across 333 transactions, so an average ticket of $60. Run it twice, once all in person and once all online. Helcim sits in its $0 to $50K tier. CDG sits on Interchange Plus.

Interchange is the part of every card fee that goes to the card-issuing bank. It is set by Visa and Mastercard, not by CDG or Helcim, and it varies by card type. For this example we assume a blended consumer credit interchange of 1.55% + $0.10 for card-present sales and 1.80% + $0.10 for online sales, plus network assessments of 0.14%. Those are mid-range figures from Visa's published schedule. Rewards cards cost more, regulated debit cards cost far less, so your real interchange will differ. Both processors pass interchange through, so the fair comparison is the processor markup plus any monthly or hardware fees you actually pay.

In person

	CDG Interchange Plus	Helcim ($0 to $50K tier)
Interchange (assumed)	$310.00 + $33.30 = $343.30	$343.30
Network assessments (assumed)	$28.00	$28.00
Processor markup	0.30% + $0.10: $60.00 + $33.30 = $93.30	0.40% + $0.08: $80.00 + $26.64 = $106.64
Monthly total	$464.60	$477.94
Effective rate	2.32%	2.39%

Under these assumptions CDG comes out about $13 a month cheaper on in-person markup before hardware. That gap is small enough that terminal preference and software can decide the deal.

Online

	CDG Interchange Plus	Helcim ($0 to $50K tier)
Interchange (assumed)	$360.00 + $33.30 = $393.30	$393.30
Network assessments (assumed)	$28.00	$28.00
Processor markup	0.35% + $0.15: $70.00 + $49.95 = $119.95	0.50% + $0.25: $100.00 + $83.25 = $183.25
Monthly total	$541.25	$604.55
Effective rate	2.71%	3.02%

Online the gap grows to about $63 a month, or roughly $760 a year, because Helcim's entry online markup is 0.50% + $0.25 while CDG publishes 0.35% + $0.15 for the same volume band. That is the clearest rate win for CDG in this comparison.

What changes the answer

• Higher volume on Helcim. At $50K to $100K a month Helcim's online markup drops to 0.45% + $0.20. At $100K to $500K it is 0.35% + $0.20. The percentage can match CDG's Interchange Plus while the per-transaction fee stays a few cents higher. Re-run the math at your real volume.
• CDG Wholesale. Above $200K a month CDG publishes cost plus $0.15 to $0.06 per transaction with a $49 to $199 membership billed annually. That structure can beat percentage markups when tickets are large and volume is steady.
• Debit-heavy sales. Both pass regulated debit interchange through. The processor markup still differs; CDG's lower online cents and percent at mid volume keep an edge in the example above.
• Rewards-heavy sales. High interchange raises the shared base for both. Markup gaps stay similar in dollar terms.
• Subscriptions. Helcim's fee disclosures list a 0.4% charge on applicable recurring transactions. CDG does not publish a matching add-on on its pricing pages. If recurring is most of your volume, ask both for a written quote that includes it.
• ACH. Helcim publishes 0.5% + $0.25 with a $6 cap under $25,000. Merchant Maverick reports CDG ACH at 0.75% + $0.15. Large invoice ACH favors Helcim's published cap until CDG quotes something better.
• Hardware. CDG places a terminal for $79 a year. Helcim sells a Smart Terminal for $349 (or $32 a month for 12 months) and a reader for $199. Cheap year-one hardware favors CDG's placement; owned hardware and Helcim's POS software favor Helcim.
• Nonprofits. CDG publishes a nonprofit markup. Helcim does not list a separate nonprofit rate on the pricing table we checked.

Where they differ beyond price

Signup and underwriting. Helcim markets a short online signup and often cites approval in under a day, with underwriting reviews that can ask for more documents. CDG starts with a quote request and a phone call, then an application, and estimates about 1 to 3 business days. If you want rates on a sheet before you apply, CDG's quote step is explicit. If you want to click through without talking to anyone first, Helcim fits better.

Software. Helcim's pitch is an all-in-one free account: POS, invoicing, virtual terminal, gateway, and related tools with no monthly software fee. CDG includes a gateway, virtual terminal, recurring billing, and invoicing, and expects you to bring a store platform or POS when you need a deeper stack. Teams that already run Shopify, WooCommerce, or a custom store often care more about Authorize.Net or Quantum than about a built-in POS.

Gateway. CDG includes Quantum or Authorize.Net with no per-transaction gateway fee. That matters if your cart, ERP, or billing tool already speaks Authorize.Net. Helcim's gateway is Helcim's; integrations run through Helcim's platform and API.

Volume discounts. Helcim automatically lowers its markup as a three-month average volume climbs through published tiers. CDG moves you across named plans (Flat Rate, Interchange Plus, Wholesale) rather than a continuous discount ladder inside one plan. Neither approach is wrong; Helcim is more automatic, CDG is more plan-shaped.

Support. CDG describes support as 24/7/365, U.S.-based, and in-house on every plan. Helcim emphasizes human support and does not publish the same 24/7 claim on the pages we used for this article. If night and weekend phone coverage is a hard requirement, ask both to put hours in writing.

Fees outside processing. Helcim publishes chargebacks at $15 (refunded if you win), ACH rates, terminal prices, Tap to Pay at $0.10, and a recurring percent in its fee disclosures. CDG publishes processing markups clearly and leaves chargeback, retrieval, batch, and ACH figures off its own site; Merchant Maverick reports those. Transparency of the full fee sheet currently favors Helcim.

Choose CDG Commerce if

• You do most of your volume online in the $10K to $50K a month range and want the lower published online markup in the worked example
• You need Authorize.Net or Quantum included without a separate gateway fee
• You are a U.S. nonprofit and want the published nonprofit markup
• You want a quote call and a rate sheet before you apply
• You prefer terminal placement at $79 a year over buying a $349 terminal
• You want CDG's stated 24/7 in-house support on the base plan

Choose Helcim if

• You want self-serve signup and Helcim's free software suite more than a sales conversation
• You expect to grow through Helcim's automatic volume tiers
• You invoice large amounts by ACH and want Helcim's published $6 cap
• You want owned Helcim hardware and a built-in POS
• You care that chargeback, ACH, and recurring fees are written on Helcim's fee disclosures page
• You operate in Canada as well as the United States (confirm eligibility on Helcim's site)

Frequently asked questions

Is CDG always cheaper than Helcim? No. At $20K a month online under our assumptions, CDG's Interchange Plus markup is lower. At higher Helcim tiers, or when ACH, hardware, and software value dominate, Helcim can win overall. Always re-run the math at your volume and card mix.

Do both use interchange plus? Yes. Both pass interchange and network fees through and add a published markup. That is why a side-by-side markup table is meaningful here.

Can I get a CDG quote without applying? Yes. The quote form asks for name, email, phone, and business type. A CDG representative calls about volume and how you take cards. You see a rate sheet before you apply.

Does Helcim charge monthly fees? Helcim's pricing page says there are no account monthly fees, no PCI fees, and no cancellation fees for the processing account. Hardware purchases and optional services (for example mobile data on a terminal) are separate line items on the fee disclosures page.

What about subscriptions? Ask both for a quote that includes recurring. Helcim lists a 0.4% recurring charge in its U.S. fee disclosures. CDG markets recurring billing as a feature; confirm whether any percent sits on top of Interchange Plus for your use case.