Accepting credit cards costs most small businesses between roughly 2% and 3.5% of each sale, plus a small fixed amount per transaction. On $10,000 a month that is $200 to $350, and the exact number depends on how the processor prices it, what kind of cards your customers use and whether the card is swiped, tapped or typed in. This page breaks the fee into its three layers, runs one $10,000 month through flat-rate and interchange-plus pricing, and lists the extra fees that make the total higher than the headline rate.

I'm not ranking processors. Fees change, so use this to read a fee page, not to replace it.

Why a card sale costs money

When a customer pays $250 with a card, four parties touch the payment: the customer's bank (the issuer), the card network (Visa, Mastercard, and so on), your processor and your bank. Each gets paid out of the $250. You receive what is left, usually the next business day or two.

The fee is not a penalty. It buys you a payment that is guaranteed by the issuer: the card is approved before the customer leaves, and you don't carry the risk of a bounced check. Nobody avoids it, so the useful question is how far your real cost sits from the number on the sales page.

Interchange, network and processor markup

Every card fee is three layers stacked together:

  • Interchange: the biggest piece. It goes to the customer's bank, and the rate depends on the card type (a rewards card costs more than a basic debit card) and how the card was used (in person is cheaper than keyed or online).
  • Network fees (assessments): a small percentage set by the card brand.
  • Processor markup: what the company that handles your payments adds. This is the only layer that varies by who you pick.

You can't negotiate the first two. You can compare the third. That is the reason "2.9%" on one fee page and "interchange plus 0.4%" on another are hard to compare until you do the arithmetic.

Flat-rate versus interchange-plus

Flat-rate pricing bundles all three layers into one price per transaction. As published on its site, October 2026, Stripe lists 2.9% + 30 cents per successful domestic online card payment and 2.7% + 5 cents in person. You always know the cost before the sale. You also pay the same rate on a cheap debit card and an expensive rewards card.

Interchange-plus pricing shows each layer: the actual interchange and network cost on that card, plus a fixed markup you've agreed to (for example, a small percentage plus a few cents). Your cost varies from sale to sale, and your statement is longer. Stripe's page, as published, notes interchange-plus is available under custom pricing and doesn't list a standard rate for it.

A $10,000-a-month example

Say a fictional cabinet refinisher, Joanne, takes $10,000 a month on cards across 40 payments of $250, all keyed in or paid online.

Flat-rate at 2.9% + 30 cents: 2.9% of $10,000 is $290, and 40 payments at 30 cents add $12. Total: $302, or 3.02% of sales.

Interchange-plus: the numbers below are my assumptions, not anyone's published rate. Assume a blended interchange and network cost of 1.85% of sales ($185), a processor markup of 0.40% ($40) plus 10 cents a payment ($4), and a $15 monthly account fee. Total: $244, or 2.44% of sales.

The gap in this example is $58 a month, $696 a year. That's real money, but it's small enough that a few things can erase it: a monthly minimum fee, a batch fee, a statement fee or a mix of cards that carries higher interchange than assumed. At $10,000 a month, flat-rate is often the right trade for simplicity. At $50,000 a month the same percentage gap is $290 a month and worth a quote. Ask for a quote from two or three providers on your real last-three-months statement.

Hidden fees to look for

  • Monthly or annual account fees, PCI compliance fees and statement fees.
  • Minimum monthly fees: if your fees come to less than the minimum, you pay the minimum.
  • Chargeback or dispute fees. Stripe publishes $15.00 per dispute, as published October 2026. A single dispute on a $250 job can cost more than the card fees on the whole month.
  • Fast payout fees. Stripe lists 1.5% for instant payouts, with a 50 cent minimum, as published October 2026; standard payouts are the slower, cheaper option.
  • Early termination fees and equipment leases on terminals. Avoid a lease that runs for years.
  • Higher rates for keyed-in, international and corporate cards.

Passing the fee to customers: the rules

You can raise prices to cover card costs, which is always allowed. Adding a separate surcharge for card payments is more regulated: card networks have rules about the amount and about disclosing it, and some states restrict or ban surcharges. Offering a discount for cash or bank transfer is treated differently from a surcharge. Check your processor's terms and your state's rules before adding a line. This is general information, not legal advice.

For most service businesses, folding the cost into the price and offering a bank-payment option is simpler. Our guide to ACH payments compares the two on the same invoice.

When to renegotiate or switch

Look at a year of statements. If you've grown from $3,000 to $15,000 a month, or your average sale has gone up, ask your processor if a lower rate is available. If they say no, request quotes elsewhere with your last three months of volume. Do the switching in a slow month, and keep the old account open for a month to collect on returns and disputes.

Taking payment is one step in a longer chain, and the earlier steps are where businesses lose the most. Card fees cost you about 3% of a sale. Not getting the sale costs 100%, which is why customer acquisition cost deserves more of your attention than the processor does. If you don't have a site where a customer can pay, see what a service business website needs and whether to charge late fees for the other side of getting paid, along with the hours nobody invoices and the week you lose to admin.

Getting paid starts with getting the customer. Rocketship finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and both Launch and Frontier start with a 7-day free trial, card required.