Start with how customers pay

Businesses may accept small purchases, larger orders, recurring payments or deposits. Payments made in person, online, over the phone or through invoices can carry different costs. Review the mix your business actually uses.

Three numbers to start with

  1. Card sales volume: the total value of settled card payments for one billing month.
  2. All processing-related fees: percentage charges, per-transaction fees and applicable monthly charges shown for that month.
  3. Average ticket and payment mix: typical transaction size and how customers pay.

Your effective processing rate is total monthly fees divided by card sales volume, multiplied by 100. If you processed $30,000 in card sales and paid $990 in related fees, your effective rate would be 3.30%—an illustration, not an industry benchmark.

Questions to ask when comparing processing offers

  • Is the proposed price a true all-in effective rate or an advertised markup only?
  • Which fees vary based on card type, method of entry or ticket size?
  • Are terminals, point-of-sale software or integrations included?
  • Are there early termination, minimum processing or equipment lease commitments?
  • How are chargebacks, refunds and customer deposits handled?

Consider reliability as well as cost

A lower quoted rate may not justify new hardware costs, workflow disruption or incompatible business-software integrations. Check settlement timing, support and reliability alongside the complete price.