Average credit card processing fees
What businesses actually pay in the US and Canada, why the ranges are wide, and how to judge your own number in under a minute.
The short answer
Most small businesses pay an effective rate between 2.6% and 3.5% once every fee is counted. Businesses on well-structured interchange-plus with card-present volume typically run 2.1% to 2.6%. The gap between those two ranges is what a competitive review is worth.
By business profile
| Profile | Competitive | Common | Overpaying |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail, card present | 2.10% - 2.45% | 2.60% - 3.00% | 3.20%+ |
| Restaurant, dine-in | 2.25% - 2.60% | 2.80% - 3.20% | 3.40%+ |
| Salon and services | 2.30% - 2.65% | 2.80% - 3.25% | 3.45%+ |
| eCommerce | 2.50% - 2.95% | 2.95% - 3.40% | 3.60%+ |
| Professional services, keyed | 2.60% - 3.00% | 3.00% - 3.50% | 3.70%+ |
| B2B with Level III | 2.00% - 2.60% | 2.70% - 3.10% | 3.20%+ |
| Convenience, sub-$15 ticket | Judge per item | 3.20% - 4.20% blended | Any plan without a per-item quote |
Ranges observed across statements we analyse. Your card mix legitimately moves these — a merchant taking 70% premium rewards cards costs more to serve than one taking mostly debit.
What actually drives the number
- Card mix. Debit is cheap. Standard credit is mid. Rewards, business and corporate cards are expensive. This is interchange, not markup, and no processor changes it.
- Card present vs keyed. Keying a card can cost 0.50%-0.80% more than tapping the same card, because the fraud risk sits differently.
- Average ticket. Per-item fees dominate below $20 and become irrelevant above $200.
- Pricing structure. Tiered pricing adds 0.40%-1.00% versus interchange-plus at the same volume, invisibly.
- Monthly fees. On $15,000 of monthly volume, $70 of monthly fees is 0.47% by itself.
- Downgrades. Misconfigured AVS, late batching and missing data quietly push transactions into worse categories.
US and Canada, side by side
Canada. Interac debit is typically priced per transaction — often $0.04-$0.12 — which pulls blended cost down sharply for debit-heavy merchants. Credit interchange is broadly comparable to the US. Surcharging is permitted at up to 2.4% with advance notice, and Quebec adds its own price-presentation rules.
United States. Debit is regulated by the Durbin Amendment for large issuers, which caps that interchange, but small-issuer debit is uncapped. Surcharging is permitted in most states up to 3%, prohibited in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Puerto Rico, and restricted in presentation in New York.
The one-minute self-check
- Total fees ÷ total volume × 100 = effective rate.
- Compare against the table above for your profile.
- Add up the fixed monthly fees. Over $40 with no clear service attached is worth a phone call by itself.
- Look at three consecutive months. Any upward drift without a card-mix change is rate creep.
If the number is bad, it is fixable — usually within a week and without downtime. Send one statement and we will return every line labelled inside 4 hours, free, whether or not you switch.
Related questions
For small businesses, total cost typically lands between 2.6% and 3.5% of volume once every fee is counted. Well-structured card-present retail runs 2.1%-2.6%. Card-not-present and B2B sit higher because interchange itself is higher.
Interac debit in Canada is usually priced per transaction rather than as a percentage, which pulls blended costs down for debit-heavy merchants. Canadian credit interchange is broadly comparable to the US, and the surcharge cap is lower at 2.4%.
They should. Interchange does not change, but processor markup is negotiable and typically steps down with volume. If your effective rate has not moved after doubling volume, nobody repriced you.
Every fee named in 4 hours. Or call now and we quote you on the spot.
Everyone else in this industry says twenty-four hours. We say four — and if that is still too slow, pick up the phone and get your numbers while you are on the call. No contract, nothing to cancel, no pressure.