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A 2.9% + 30¢ rate is not 2.9%. See what it actually costs at your average transaction size.
Every processor quotes a percentage plus a flat fee. The percentage is comparable between providers. The flat fee is not — what it costs you depends entirely on how big your average sale is.
Defaults are the standard published card rate. Drag the ticket size to see how much of your cost is the flat fee rather than the percentage.
At $10.00, the flat $0.30 adds 3.00% on top of the 2.9% headline rate. The fixed fee is costing you more than the percentage does.
Effective rate at each ticket size
Card pricing has two components, and only one of them scales with the sale. The percentage takes the same share of a $5 transaction as a $500 one. The flat fee takes the same absolute amount from both — which means it takes a hundred times more of the small one, proportionally.
| Average transaction | Fee | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $5 | $0.45 | 8.90% |
| $10 | $0.59 | 5.90% |
| $25 | $1.03 | 4.10% |
| $50 | $1.75 | 3.50% |
| $100 | $3.20 | 3.20% |
| $250 | $7.55 | 3.02% |
A business selling $5 add-ons and a business selling $250 annual plans are on identical published pricing and paying rates almost three times apart.
If your average transaction is small — micro-SaaS, per-seat add-ons, usage top-ups, tips, digital downloads — the flat fee is your dominant cost. Two consequences follow.
For your real blended number across all of those, run a month of statements through the effective rate calculator.
GOOD QUESTIONS
Almost always the fixed per-transaction fee. A quoted 2.9% only describes the percentage component; the flat 30¢ on top adds 3% on a $10 sale and 0.6% on a $50 one. Divide total fees by total volume on a real statement and you will see the true figure.
Total gross volume divided by the number of transactions, taken from one month's statement. Do not use your list price — refunds, partial charges, proration and annual plans all pull the real average away from it.
No. Below roughly a $75 ticket, a processor with a lower fixed fee and a slightly higher percentage costs less per sale. The smaller your average transaction, the more the fixed fee decides the outcome.
Yes, though debit interchange is capped in many markets, so some processors price debit separately at a lower rate. If a meaningful share of your volume is debit, check whether your provider passes that saving through.