Credit Card Processing Fees for Small Business

Short answer: most small businesses pay about 2.9% + 30¢ per online card payment on the flat-rate processors we checked on 26 October 2026, and 2.4% to 2.7% plus a small fixed fee in person. That price bundles three costs: interchange (paid to the card's bank), network fees, and the processor's markup. You can lower it by moving to interchange-plus pricing as you grow, cutting keyed-in and disputed payments, and taking large or recurring payments by ACH bank transfer, which costs 0.8% capped at $5 on Stripe. To see your own numbers, try the card vs ACH fee calculator.

What makes up a credit card processing fee?#

Every card payment carries three layers of cost:

Interchange is the largest part, and it varies with the type of card (debit, credit, rewards, business), how it is taken (in person or online) and the merchant's category. The Federal Reserve publishes data on debit cards, which fall under its Regulation II: in 2024, the average interchange fee was 23 cents per transaction (0.47% of the average transaction) for regulated (covered) debit issuers, and 51 cents (1.21%) for exempt issuers.

That debit figure explains a lot. On a flat 2.9% + 30¢ plan, a $100 debit card payment costs you $3.20, even though the issuer's share on a regulated card is typically far less. The difference covers network fees and the processor's margin, plus the processor's risk on credit cards that cost it more.

Pricing models: flat rate, interchange-plus and subscription#

Processors package those layers in three main ways.

Stripe also lists "IC+ pricing, discounted flat rates, subscriptions, and buy-rates for platforms" as custom options for "businesses with large payments volume or unique business models", and Square says businesses processing over $250,000 a year can ask about custom pricing.

Published credit card processing fees compared#

These are list prices for US businesses, from each provider's own pricing page on 26 October 2026. Your rate after underwriting may differ.

Two traps in this table. PayPal's fixed fee is 49¢, not 30¢, which matters on small orders. And Shopify's lower rates come with a higher monthly plan, so they only pay off above a certain volume.

What is your real (effective) rate?#

The headline percentage is not what you pay. Your effective rate is total fees divided by card sales, and the fixed fee pushes it up on small orders. On a 2.9% + 30¢ plan:

Add disputes ($15 each on Stripe, $20 on PayPal), international cards and any monthly fee, then divide by sales. If your effective rate is well above the headline rate, the cause is usually small tickets, foreign cards or chargebacks.

Fees beyond the card rate#

The per-payment rate is only part of the bill. These are the other charges listed on the same pricing pages, and they are where many small businesses lose money without noticing:

The instant payout fees deserve a second look. Paying 1.5% to get money today on top of 2.9% for the card itself takes a $1,000 sale from $29.30 in fees to $44.30. If cash flow is the reason, a standard payout schedule plus fewer large card payments usually costs less.

How to lower credit card processing fees#

1. Measure first. Work out last month's effective rate from your statement.
2. Ask about interchange-plus when you grow. With a fixed markup, you keep the savings on cheaper cards such as regulated debit.
3. Avoid keyed-in cards. Stripe adds 0.5% for manually entered cards, and QuickBooks charges 3.5% for keyed-in payments against 2.99% otherwise.
4. Cut disputes. Clear descriptors, fast refunds and good records save $15 to $20 a dispute, plus the lost sale.
5. Check your platform fees. On Shopify, using a processor other than Shopify Payments adds 0.6% to 2%.
6. Consider a surcharge, carefully. Visa's US rules allow a credit card surcharge capped at the lower of your merchant discount rate or 3%, not on debit or prepaid cards, with 30 days' notice to your acquirer. Some states restrict it.
7. Move large and recurring payments to ACH. This is the biggest single saving for stores with high-ticket orders, invoices or memberships, explained next.

When ACH is cheaper than cards (the math)#

Card fees grow with the order. ACH fees mostly do not. Using Stripe's public US prices (cards 2.9% + 30¢, ACH Direct Debit 0.8% capped at $5.00):

The ACH fee stops growing at $625, where 0.8% reaches the $5 cap. Above that, every extra dollar of order value adds 2.9¢ to the card fee and nothing to the ACH fee. Put in your own order sizes and monthly counts with the card vs ACH fee calculator.

ACH has its own costs, and you should count them:

• Verification. Stripe charges $1.50 per instant bank verification; micro-deposits are free but slower.
• Failures. Stripe lists $4.00 for a failed ACH payment and $15.00 for a disputed one.
• Time. Stripe says ACH Direct Debit can take up to 4 business days to confirm success or failure.

So ACH is a poor fit for a $15 impulse purchase shipped the same day, and a good fit for a $900 order, a B2B invoice, tuition, rent or a monthly membership. Most stores keep cards and add ACH as a second option, rather than replacing one with the other.

The weak point is the debit that bounces after you have shipped. That is where knowing the account is real, belongs to the buyer and holds the money pays for itself.

Choosing where to take ACH#

If you want to add bank payments, the options and their fees are compared in ACH payment processors for small business, and Stripe's full ACH fee list, including faster settlement, is in Stripe ACH fees. For setup on WooCommerce, see How to accept ACH payments in WooCommerce. If you run memberships, see ACH payments for membership sites.

How BankBridge helps you move large payments off cards#

BankBridge adds a "pay by bank" option to WooCommerce checkout and MemberPress signups using Plaid. The customer logs in to their bank in Plaid's window and picks an account, so there are no routing numbers to type. Before the debit, BankBridge can run Plaid Balance to check available funds, Plaid Identity to compare the account owner with the buyer, and Plaid Signal to score the chance of a return. The money then moves through a processor such as Stripe (with a Plaid processor token) or through Plaid Transfer, as described in the WooCommerce doc.

Plans start at $79 a month for a single site, with $149 for five sites and $299 for unlimited. Plaid's fees and your processor's ACH fees are billed separately by them. If most of your orders are under $50, the card fee saving may not cover that, and cards alone may be the better choice. If you take large or recurring payments, try the bank connection in Plaid's Sandbox on the live demo, then pick a plan.

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Prices are from the providers' public pages on 26 October 2026 and change over time; your rate may differ after underwriting. Surcharging rules vary by card network and state. Stripe, Square, PayPal, Braintree, Shopify, QuickBooks, Helcim, Authorize.net, Visa and Plaid are trademarks of their owners; BankBridge is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.