It is the first question almost every owner asks me, and the honest answer is: it depends on your business. Not in a dodge-the-question way. Your cost is driven by which cards your customers use, how you take them, how big your average sale is, and how your processor prices you.
What I can do is show you exactly how the cost is built, what the big flat-rate companies publish, which fees to watch, and how to work out your own number in a few minutes.
What makes up the cost of a card payment
Every card transaction is priced from the same three layers, no matter who your processor is.
- Interchange: the largest piece. It goes to the bank that issued your customer's card, and the card networks set the rates. Visa and Mastercard publish their interchange tables, and there are hundreds of categories. Rewards and business cards cost more than basic debit cards, and a card typed in or used online usually costs more than one tapped or inserted in person.
- Card brand (assessment) fees: smaller fees Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express charge on transactions. Like interchange, they are the same no matter which processor you use.
- Processor markup: what your processor charges on top for moving the money, providing equipment and software, and supporting you. This is the only part that is actually negotiable.
Debit cards issued by large banks have interchange limited by a federal rule (the Federal Reserve's Regulation II). That is one reason debit transactions often cost less than credit when you are priced at cost plus a markup.
Flat-rate pricing: what Square, Stripe, and Clover publish
Flat-rate providers bundle all three layers into one rate. It is simple to understand, and you pay the same percentage whether the customer used a basic debit card or a premium rewards card. Here are the standard published rates as of October 2026:
| Provider | In person | Online or typed in |
|---|---|---|
| Square (Free plan) | 2.6% + 15¢ | 3.3% + 30¢ online; 3.5% + 15¢ keyed in or card on file |
| Stripe | 2.7% + 5¢ (Terminal) | 2.9% + 30¢ online; +0.5% for manually entered cards |
| Clover (retail plans on Clover.com) | 2.6% + 10¢ on Starter; 2.3% + 10¢ on higher plans | 3.5% + 10¢ typed in |
Why the published rate is not the whole story
Those headline numbers come with conditions. Square's paid plans (Plus and Premium) lower the in-person rate in exchange for a monthly subscription. Stripe adds 1.5% for international cards. Clover's lower rate comes with its higher-priced plans and hardware, and Clover notes that the prices shown are only available on its own website. A Clover system sold through a bank or reseller can be priced very differently.
On top of the rate, most setups carry monthly software fees, hardware payments or leases, and add-ons. Those often matter as much as the percentage, especially for a smaller business.
The other common model is interchange-plus (also called cost-plus), where interchange and card brand fees pass through at cost and the processor adds a fixed, visible markup. Because you are not paying the same rate on cheap debit cards as on expensive rewards cards, it often works out lower once a business processes steady monthly volume. It is also the easiest model to audit.
Monthly and annual fees to watch for
These are the fees that make two quotes with the same rate cost very different amounts:
- Monthly account, statement, or service fees.
- Monthly minimums: a top-up charge if your processing fees fall below a set amount.
- PCI compliance fees, and the separate (and avoidable) PCI non-compliance fee.
- Annual or yearly "compliance" or "regulatory" fees that show up once and are easy to miss.
- Gateway, virtual terminal, or software fees, sometimes billed for services you do not use.
- Batch or per-transaction authorization fees.
- Chargeback fees when a customer disputes a charge.
- Equipment leases, which can run for years and cost far more than buying the same terminal.
- Early termination fees, which can make leaving a bad deal expensive.
How to calculate your effective rate
Your effective rate is the single number that tells you what you really pay. Take your total processing fees for the month (every line, including monthly fees) and divide by your total card sales for the same month.
For example, if you took $20,000 in card payments and paid $600 in total fees, your effective rate is 3.0%. That is what every dollar you accepted by card actually cost you.
Do this for two or three months, not just one. A slow month can make your rate look higher because the fixed monthly fees are spread across fewer sales.
There is no single "good" effective rate for everyone. A coffee shop with lots of small tapped debit transactions and an online store with large rewards card orders will land in very different places, even with the same processor. What matters is whether you are paying a fair markup for your type of business.
Ways to lower what you pay
- Take cards in person (tap or insert) whenever you can. Typed-in and online transactions cost more on almost every pricing model.
- Ask to be moved to interchange-plus pricing if you are on tiered pricing, which hides the real cost in buckets.
- Remove fees for services you do not use, and file your yearly PCI questionnaire so you stop paying a non-compliance fee.
- Buy equipment instead of leasing it, when the numbers support it.
- Look at a cash discount or dual pricing program if your margins are thin, set up correctly for California rules.
When it is worth getting a review
If you have never calculated your effective rate, see tiered pricing words like qualified and non-qualified, or have fees on your statement you cannot explain, it is worth a second look. The same goes if your rate has crept up over the years without anyone telling you why.
That is what my free statement analysis is for. Send me a recent statement and I will calculate your effective rate, explain every fee, and give you a written side-by-side comparison you can keep. If your current setup is already a fair deal, I will tell you that too.
Published rates change. The flat rates above were taken from Square's, Stripe's, and Clover's own pricing pages in October 2026 and are standard rates, not quotes. Check each provider's site for current pricing.