Switch Guide: Moving from Stripe to Helcim

Stripe is excellent technology — but it's a San Francisco company that charges flat-rate pricing that systematically overcharges Canadian businesses processing higher-value B2B transactions. Helcim is a Calgary-founded payment processor offering interchange-plus pricing, which means you pay actual card network costs plus a small margin — not a fixed 2.9% + 30¢ regardless of card type. For Canadian businesses processing more than $10,000/month, Helcim typically saves 0.5–1.5% on processing costs. That's real money, staying in the Canadian economy, processed by a Canadian company.

What You'll Gain

• Lower fees on most transactions: Interchange-plus pricing means you pay actual costs. Debit cards and corporate cards become much cheaper to process.
• Canadian company: Helcim is founded and headquartered in Calgary with Canadian customer support.
• No monthly fees: Helcim has no monthly subscription fees — you pay only when you process.
• Interac e-Transfer processing: Helcim supports Interac, which Stripe does not — critical for many Canadian B2B workflows.
• Canadian bank settlement: Funds settle to your Canadian bank account in 1–2 business days.
• Free virtual terminal and invoicing: Included at no extra cost.

What You Might Miss

• Developer ecosystem: Stripe's API documentation, SDKs, and developer tools are industry-leading. Helcim's API is functional but not as polished.
• Startup integrations: Stripe has native integrations with nearly every SaaS tool. Helcim has fewer out-of-the-box integrations.
• Stripe Radar fraud tools: Stripe's ML-powered fraud detection is exceptional. Helcim's fraud tools are solid but less sophisticated.
• Global reach: Stripe supports 135+ currencies. Helcim is focused on Canadian and US markets.

Migration Checklist

1. Calculate your potential savings — Use Helcim's fee calculator with your actual monthly volume and card mix. Confirm the savings justify the migration effort.
2. Apply for a Helcim account — Approval typically takes 1–2 business days for established Canadian businesses.
3. Update your payment integration — Swap Stripe's API credentials for Helcim's in your checkout code. Both use REST APIs; the object model differs but the concepts are similar.
4. Migrate saved payment methods — Contact Helcim about their card migration service (PCI-compliant transfer of tokenized card data from Stripe).
5. Update subscription billing — If you use Stripe for recurring billing, rebuild your subscription logic in Helcim's recurring billing module.
6. Test thoroughly — Run test transactions for each payment method and flow before going live.
7. Switch over and monitor — Go live with Helcim, monitor settlement times and dispute handling for the first 30 days.

Data Export Tips from Stripe

Export your complete transaction history from the Stripe Dashboard → Payments → Export. For customer data, go to Customers → Export. For subscription data, use Billing → Subscriptions → Export. Keep all exports for 7 years minimum for CRA audit purposes. Stripe also offers a Data Portability feature under your account settings for a comprehensive export.

Timeline Estimate

Most businesses complete the Helcim migration in 2–4 weeks. Simple integrations (hosted payment page, invoicing) can switch in 2–3 days. Complex integrations with saved cards and subscription billing require more planning — the card migration process alone typically takes 1–2 weeks to coordinate.

See all Canadian alternatives to Stripe →