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Divide your total fees by your total volume — the only number that compares cleanly across processors.
Take three numbers off a single monthly statement — total volume processed, total fees paid, and number of transactions — and this works out what you actually paid as a percentage.
Take these three numbers from a single monthly statement so the period matches.
Every processor advertises a percentage plus a fixed fee. The percentage is comparable between providers; the fixed fee is not, because what it costs you depends entirely on your average transaction size.
| Average transaction | Fixed fee as a % | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $10 | 3.00% | 5.90% |
| $50 | 0.60% | 3.50% |
| $250 | 0.12% | 3.02% |
A coffee shop and a furniture retailer on identical published rates pay very different effective rates. That is why the effective rate is the only figure worth comparing.
Use a single settlement period so the volume and the fees cover exactly the same transactions.
Gross card volume before fees and before refunds are netted out.
Everything the processor charged: percentage, fixed fees, surcharges, monthly fees and dispute fees.
Multiply by 100 for a percentage. That is your effective rate.
GOOD QUESTIONS
It depends heavily on your average transaction size and card mix. For card-not-present ecommerce with a healthy ticket size, mid-to-high 2% is common; below a $15 average ticket, effective rates above 4% are normal regardless of provider.
Use gross processed volume, not net. Most processors do not refund the fixed fee on a refunded transaction, so netting refunds out understates what you paid.
Almost always some combination of the fixed per-transaction fee on small tickets, international or premium card surcharges, and monthly or dispute fees that the quoted rate never included.