Payment Depot vs WePay: Which Payments Provider is Right for You?

Payment Depot vs WePay: Which Payments Provider is Right for You?

There are hundreds of payment service providers (PSPs) out there, so finding the right one for your business can be a challenging process.

Thankfully online reviews can help you in your quest to a large extent. This article is one such guide, that focuses on comparing two payment processing solutions—Payment Depot and WePay. 

We will explore the features, integrations, and pricing models offered by both payment platforms and the pros and cons of each before discussing which of the two may be the best suited for your business.

Let’s get started.

About Payment Depot

Payment Depot is a payment processor that was recently acquired by Stax. It operates on a membership-based pricing model. The goal of this approach is to help merchants or small business owners save money on their payment processing costs.

Merchants pay a monthly subscription fee based on the volume of transactions they process each month. They don’t need to pay any recurring expenses other than this single monthly charge, and there are no hidden fees.

This membership fee is at the heart of Payment Depot’s value proposition. Unlike other payment service providers that charge markups in addition to the interchange rate you pay, that single monthly fee covers all of your transactions. This means that instead of paying a fee for each transaction, you will pay a fixed monthly fee—no matter how many transactions you process that month.

Wepay_Pd Pricing Model_Infographic

Luckily, Payment Depot’s interchange rates are among the lowest in the industry. There are also no contracts or early termination fees. You can close your account at any time without penalties.

This pricing model makes Payment Depot an ideal payment processor for businesses with high sales volumes that process more than $10,000 each month. The fixed monthly charge ensures immense cost savings as you process more and more transactions.

About WePay

WePay is a payment service provider that allows software vendors to integrate its API into their platforms so that end users can make payments without being redirected. 

The solution is a bit different from Payment Depot. For starters, small businesses don’t need to interact with WePay directly—which is necessary when subscribing to Payment Depot. Instead, WePay offers its services to SaaS platforms that partner with it and embed it in their software. Merchants will only encounter WePay as a payment processing option if they are using one of those SaaS platforms.

For example, let’s say you use the email marketing software Constant Contact to curate a list of people who will attend a business workshop, and you must select a payment gateway to accept the conference registration fee from them. At this point, you may have the option to choose between PayPal, Amazon Pay, WePay, and Apple Pay.

That’s how you, a business owner, may get to use WePay. It is a platform that helps users quickly facilitate payments without having to integrate with another payment processing tool. You will find WePay on platforms like FreshBooks, GoFundMe, Meetup, Ecwid, and several others.

Wepay_About Wepay_Infographic

Payment Depot Features

When it comes to features, the company offers everything you need to run the payments side of your business seamlessly. Here are some of the core features offered by this payment provider:

  • Merchant accounts: Payment Depot will set up a merchant account on your behalf and also provide you with hardware and software solutions for managing customer payments. However, the company is not a direct processor. Instead, it has partnerships with Fiserv and TSYS, which handle the payment processing at the backend.
  • Card terminals: The provider offers several payment terminal options, including standard credit card terminals, mobile card readers, and even cash registers. All of its terminals support the entire range of payment methods, including EMV and NFC-based payments, and are from Clover, Dejavoo, and SwipeSimple. If you already own a terminal, the company will help you reprogram it.
  • Point of Sale (POS) systems: The company primarily offers the Clover line of POS systems, which include Clover Flex, Clover Mini, Clover Go, Clover Shop Station, and Clover Shop Station Duo.
  • Mobile payments: Payment Depot lets users receive payments on their smartphones via the SwipeSimple app that works on iOS and Android devices. There is also the SwipeSimple B250 reader that connects to your device over Bluetooth and accepts swipe, tap, and dip payments.
  • Free virtual terminal: The credit card processing company lets you key in your customer’s information manually via the virtual terminal in situations where the credit card, debit card, or card reader is not available.

WePay Features

For software companies and online marketplaces that use WePay, the company offers three packages depending on the extent to which you want to integrate your platform with Chase payments infrastructure—WePay is a JPMorgan Chase company.

The three tiers are:

1. Link: Here, the SaaS company’s integration with Chase will be minimal, and the payment gateway UI, risk compliance, as well as the flow of funds will be handled by WePay. The provider labels this kind of user a referral partner.

2. Clear: At this level, the SaaS company will be responsible for the payment gateway UI and user experience, while WePay will be responsible for the flow of funds and risk & compliance.

3. Core: Here, the SaaS company will have complete control over the entire process, including the flow of funds as well as risk and compliance. This is possible because Chase allows users at this level to fully integrate with the bank’s infrastructure.

In terms of features, there isn’t much information on the company’s website, so we decided to build a general picture of the company’s services. 

  • White-label payments: The online payment processor lets its users self-brand the payment solution when they become a WePay partner. You will be able to offer the payment solution to your customers with your own brand name when you partner with the company.
  • API: SaaS platforms that integrate with WePay use API calls to link up with Chase. There are tons of documentation to help their developers navigate the process.
  • Merchant pricing: SaaS platforms have the opportunity to add their own charges to each transaction. They can get that money via periodic payouts, which can happen weekly or monthly.
  • Mobile point of sale (mPOS): Businesses can also use WePay’s apps and mobile POS systems to accept payments from customers.
  • Fraud protection: Chase takes 100% responsibility for any payment-related risks. That means the bank will refund the owner of the WePay account for any fraud losses and chargebacks.

Payment Depot Integrations

The payment processor supports the following integrations:

  • WordPress
  • QuickBooks Accountants
  • WooCommerce
  • Authorize.net
  • Magneto
  • Stella

Its support for Authorize.net gives you access to other third-party apps and shopping cart integrations, including OpenCart, 3dcart, Shopify, Zen Cart, and Prestashop.

WePay Integrations

We’ve already explained that WePay integrates with SaaS platforms to serve as a payment facilitator for end users of those platforms. Below are the platforms that support WePay:

  • SchoolAuction.net
  • Ecwid
  • Time to Pet
  • Desktop.com
  • CS-Cart
  • Synder
  • JobNimbus
  • SportsPlus
  • Yapsody
  • InvoiceBerry
  • LessAccounting
  • NeatFiles
  • ChargeAutomation
  • NeatInvoices
  • Cratoflow
  • FroogalPay
  • Stripe Revenue Recognition

Payment Depot Pricing

One of the major advantages of Payment Depot’s wholesale rates is that they are designed to meet the needs of each type of business. If your business is still at the early stage, there is an affordable plan for you, and as you scale, there is another tier of subscription to meet your needs.

The whole pricing model is transparent, and unless you are processing above $250,000 annually, there won’t be any need to negotiate rates with the company.

Below are the subscription plans Payment Depot offers in exchange for unlimited access to its all-in-one software:

  • Subscriptions start from $79 per month allowing you to process up to $250,000 a year. This is ideal for small, mid-sized, and growing businesses that have a foothold in their industry.
  • Large businesses that need to process more than $250,000 a year can reach out to Payment Depot for a custom quote based on their business needs. 

NOTE: The subscription price does not include cents per transaction and is dependent only on processing volume. 

WePay Pricing

There is no information about the payment processor’s pricing plans on its website since the provider primarily works with established SaaS companies that tend to have varying needs.

Just like Payment Depot, WePay does not bind its users to long-term contracts, and they can terminate the payment service at any time. 

Payment Depot Pros and Cons

Let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons of Payment Depot.

Pros

  • Zero interchange markup
  • Transparent pricing model
  • Excellent customer support 
  • Significant cost savings for businesses with high sales volumes
  • 24/7 phone and email support 

Cons

  • Limited to US merchants
  • Not available to businesses in high-risk industries

WePay Pros and Cons

Below is a short summary of the pros and cons of WePay.

Pros

  • Good developer documentation
  • Excellent onboarding program
  • Zero setup fees

Cons

  • Unsuitable for individual business owners
  • Limited adoption means most people are unaware of the service, which makes fund transfers difficult 
  • Limited customer service channels 

Final Verdict

Payment Depot Highest Rated Processor_Banner

Payment Depot and WePay are very different from each other, so figuring out which provider is right for your business should be a fairly straightforward process. 

Payment Depot offers a membership-pricing model for individual merchants that can save up to 40% of processing fees that would otherwise be spent on an alternative provider. 

On the other hand, WePay is not a traditional payment processor. The company’s services are oriented towards SaaS companies that will enjoy the flexibility offered by the provider. Once they integrate with Chase’s infrastructure, they won’t have to set up a new payment gateway to start processing payments on their platform and earning fees on each transaction. 

All this to say, if you are a small business owner looking for a merchant services provider that will save you money, sign up for Payment Depot. SaaS companies that want to integrate a payment gateway into their platform, should consider WePay or our sister company’s offering for ISVs and SaaS companies looking to facilitate payments—Stax Connect

Want to save 40% on payment processing? Let's Talk!