Best Payment Processors for Med Spas (2026): 8 Compared

Card processing for a med spa has to handle more than a normal retail counter: deposits, packages, memberships, card-on-file, in-person checkout, payment links, high-ticket treatment plans and sometimes patient financing. This guide compares 8 processors and financing options that a med spa owner is likely to evaluate. It separates true card processors from financing products, because a Cherry or CareCredit approval is not the same thing as your everyday merchant account.

For med spa owners and practice managers. Updated October 22, 2026 · Prepared by Prospyr. Prospyr makes practice software with payments workflows, not a standalone merchant-services brokerage, and none of the companies below is a Prospyr product. Each summary reflects public provider pages checked October 22, 2026. Rates, underwriting rules, funding timelines and contract terms change, so get a written fee schedule before you switch.

What should a med spa look for in a payment processor?

Start with how patients actually pay. A med spa usually needs in-person terminals for checkout, online payment links for deposits and balances, card-on-file for memberships, ACH for larger invoices, and a financing option for packages or surgery deposits. Then check what the processor will underwrite. Injectables, weight loss, telehealth, compounded medications, memberships and high-ticket prepaid packages can all change risk review. Finally, make sure your practice software can reconcile the payment to the patient, invoice, package or membership without duplicate entry.

The 8 payment processors and financing options at a glance

How we chose this list

We included a mix of everyday processors, healthcare payment platforms and patient financing options because most med spas need more than one payment path. We checked four things a practice owner can verify before signing:

• Payment fit. In-person, online, invoices, card-on-file, ACH, financing or all of the above.
• Pricing clarity. Published flat rates, interchange-plus margins, or a clear statement that pricing is custom.
• Healthcare posture. Whether the company explicitly addresses healthcare, medical offices, med spas, patient information or compliance.
• Operational fit. Whether the payment can connect back to invoices, memberships, deposits and patient records.

The order is our editorial view, not a rate quote. A low advertised rate can still be a poor fit if the contract has monthly fees, reserves, surcharges, equipment leases or poor reconciliation with your practice software.

1Stripe#

Stripe is a broad payments platform for online and in-person payments, recurring billing, invoices, payment links and developer-built checkout. Its public pricing page lists 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction for standard online card payments and states there are no setup fees, monthly fees or hidden fees on that standard pricing.

What stands out:

• Stripe supports online and in-person payments through Terminal, including pre-certified card readers.
• The platform is developer-friendly, which matters if your practice software already uses Stripe or needs a custom checkout.
• It supports recurring billing and invoices, useful for memberships and payment links.

Right for: a practice using software that already integrates Stripe, or a group that wants flexible online and in-person payment infrastructure. Ask: your exact in-person Terminal rate, card-on-file rules, payout schedule, dispute fees, and how PHI is kept out of payment fields.

Visit Stripe →

2Square#

Square combines payment processing, POS hardware, invoices, online booking, online checkout and business tools. Its pricing page lists 2.6% + 15¢ for in-person payments and 3.3% + 30¢ for online payments or invoices, with custom pricing available for sellers processing over $250,000 per year.

What stands out:

• Transparent flat rates make it easy to estimate monthly cost.
• Square offers hardware, invoices, online booking, gift cards and staff tools under one brand.
• Setup is usually simpler than a custom merchant account, but underwriting still matters for your services.

Right for: a small med spa that wants to start quickly and can live with a general small-business POS. Ask: whether all of your treatments are allowed, how Square handles memberships and deposits, and how payments reconcile to your clinical record.

Visit Square →

3Helcim#

Helcim publishes interchange-plus pricing with no monthly account fees, no minimums, no software fees, no statement fees, no setup fees, no PCI fees and no cancellation fee. Its public margins start at interchange plus 0.40% + 8¢ for in-person transactions and interchange plus 0.50% + 25¢ for keyed and online transactions for merchants under $50,000 in monthly card volume, with automatic volume discounts above that.

What stands out:

• The pricing model is more transparent than a bundled flat rate if you understand interchange.
• ACH is listed at 0.5% + 25¢ and capped at $6 for US and Canadian merchants, with an additional 0.05% on amounts over $25,000.
• Helcim offers a virtual terminal, card vault, payment pages, online checkout, recurring payments, reporting and hardware.

Right for: an established practice that processes enough volume to care about effective rate and statement transparency. Ask: whether your med spa services are accepted, what your projected effective rate is by card mix, and how card-on-file and membership billing work.

Visit Helcim →

4Clover#

Clover is a POS and payments platform sold directly and through banks and resellers. Its professional-services pricing page lists keyed card payments at 3.5% + 10¢ on the Clover.com plans, while hardware and in-person pricing depend on the plan and sales channel.

What stands out:

• Clover's professional-services plans include features such as invoices, estimates, client database tools and, on higher tiers, appointment management and online booking.
• The app market and hardware ecosystem can matter for a front desk that wants a traditional POS setup.
• Pricing and contract terms can vary when Clover is sold through a bank or reseller.

Right for: a practice that wants countertop POS hardware and business tools more than a developer platform. Ask: for the full merchant agreement, hardware cost, software plan, in-person rate, cancellation terms, PCI fees and who supports you after sale.

Visit Clover →

5Rectangle Health#

Rectangle Health is built for healthcare organizations and offers Bridge Payments, Bridge Compliance and Bridge Engagement. Its site says it integrates with 50+ healthcare systems, works with 500+ systems, and is backed by HITRUST, SOC 2 Type I, PCI DSS Level 1, P2PE, EMV and HIPAA compliance programs. Pricing is custom by organization size, specialty and chosen solutions.

What stands out:

• The platform is healthcare-specific rather than a general retail processor.
• It emphasizes text-to-pay, patient payments, payer payments and compliance workflows.
• It may fit larger or more medical practices that want payments connected to compliance and revenue-cycle workflows.

Right for: a medical aesthetics, dermatology or surgery group that wants healthcare payment infrastructure and compliance tools in the same vendor conversation. Ask: whether med spa cash-pay workflows are supported, how it integrates with your EMR, and the full monthly plus transaction cost.

Visit Rectangle Health →

6North#

North, formerly North American Bancard, publishes healthcare payment processing pages that describe HIPAA-compliant POS systems, invoicing, recurring billing, virtual terminal, tokenization and point-to-point encryption. Its pricing page lists 2.69% per in-person transaction and 3.49% + $0.19 for online, keyed-entry and invoice transactions, with monthly plans from $0 to $29.95.

What stands out:

• Healthcare is a named industry on its own site.
• Recurring billing and invoicing are relevant for memberships, packages and balances.
• Published flat rates make it easier to compare with Square, Clover and your current statement.

Right for: a practice that wants healthcare-positioned processing with public rates before a sales call. Ask: whether your services are eligible, which monthly plan is required, whether a cash-discount or dual-pricing program is appropriate and legal for your state, and how refunds and disputes are billed.

Visit North →

7Cherry#

Cherry is patient financing, not your everyday card processor. Its medical aesthetics page says med spas can offer payment plans up to $50,000, from 6 weeks interest-free to longer terms up to 60 months with qualifying 0% APR or rates as low as 5.99%. Cherry's comparison page lists merchant fees from 1.7% to 13.9%, and its merchant-fee page states no setup or monthly fees and payment to the merchant in 2 to 3 business days.

What stands out:

• It is built around med spa and aesthetic treatment financing.
• Patients apply quickly and Cherry handles repayment directly with the patient.
• It can sit beside a card processor for larger treatment plans.

Right for: practices selling packages, memberships or treatment plans where patients ask to split a large balance over time. Ask: your exact merchant fee by plan, whether you can choose which plans to offer, refund rules, promotional compliance, and how the financing transaction posts in your practice software.

Visit Cherry →

8CareCredit#

CareCredit is a health, wellness and beauty credit card accepted at enrolled locations. Its med spa provider page says clients can prequalify with no impact to their credit score and that providers get paid in 2 business days with no recourse if clients delay or default. Its aesthetic FAQ says CareCredit charges no annual or monthly provider fees, while provider processing fees vary by financing option.

What stands out:

• Patients may already know the CareCredit name from dental, veterinary or medical offices.
• It supports promotional financing options for aesthetic and wellness services.
• It is financing, not a replacement for your card-present and online payment processor.

Right for: practices that want a familiar financing option for high-ticket treatments and retail. Ask: exactly which promotions you will offer, merchant fees for each one, minimum purchase amounts, patient disclosures, and how staff should explain deferred interest.

Visit CareCredit →

Questions to ask any payment processor

1. What is my all-in effective rate? Ask for a sample statement showing interchange, assessments, markup, monthly fees, PCI fees, chargeback fees and gateway fees.
2. Which services are approved? List injectables, lasers, weight loss, compounded medications, telehealth, memberships, packages and prepaid balances.
3. How do deposits, refunds and chargebacks work? A refund policy that looks fine for retail can be painful for prepaid packages or surgery deposits.
4. Can we store cards on file? Ask about tokenization, consent language and recurring billing rules.
5. Will you sign a BAA if PHI is involved? Keep PHI out of payment notes either way, but ask how the vendor handles healthcare data.
6. Who owns the hardware and account? Avoid long equipment leases and make sure the merchant account is in the practice's name.
7. How does it reconcile to the patient record? Your team should not have to copy payments from a terminal into the EMR by hand.

Where Prospyr fits

Payments work best when they are connected to the rest of the visit. Existing Prospyr copy describes point of sale, payment links, deposits, split payments, patient financing, memberships and packages as part of the practice workflow. If you use Prospyr, compare processors by how well they support the patient record, invoice, package, membership and receipt flow your team already uses, then book a practice demo if you want to see the checkout path.

For adjacent payment decisions, see our guide to patient financing options for aesthetic clinics and our membership margin calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best payment processor for a med spa?

There is no single best processor. Stripe is strong when your software already uses it, Square is simple for small practices, Helcim can be attractive for transparent interchange-plus pricing, and healthcare-specific platforms like Rectangle Health or North may fit more medical workflows. High-ticket treatments may also need financing through Cherry or CareCredit.

Is patient financing the same as payment processing?

No. A card processor handles everyday card, ACH, invoice and terminal payments. Financing products such as Cherry and CareCredit let approved patients pay over time while the practice receives funds under the financing program's rules. Many med spas use both.

Can a med spa surcharge card payments?

Sometimes, but it depends on card network rules, state law and how the surcharge is presented. Do not copy another clinic's policy. Ask your processor and attorney before adding a surcharge, cash discount or dual-pricing program.

What payment features matter most for memberships?

Card-on-file, recurring billing, account updater, failed-payment retries, easy cancellation handling and clear receipts. If a processor handles the card but your practice software tracks the membership, test the full failed-payment and refund flow before launch.

Should we use ACH for large packages?

ACH can lower fees on large balances, and Helcim lists ACH at 0.5% + 25¢ capped at $6 for US and Canadian merchants. The tradeoff is timing, return risk and patient preference. Ask whether your practice software supports ACH cleanly before making it a default.

Want your company considered?

We review this list quarterly. Payment processors and financing providers that serve med spas can send their website, public pricing and med spa underwriting details to info@prospyrmed.com. Inclusion is editorial and not paid.

Editorial scope

This list is based on provider websites checked October 22, 2026. Companies did not review this article before publication. It is not financial, legal or compliance advice, and it is not a rate quote. Confirm all fees, underwriting, funding, refund and contract terms in writing. Read our methodology or report a correction.