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Your quoted rate is rarely what you actually pay. Enter two numbers from your statement to see your true all-in effective rate, what it costs you per year, and how it compares to businesses like yours.
Use one month from your processing statement. Only the first two fields are required.
Optional: a sharper read
This shows your current effective rate only. It is not a quote, and it doesn’t promise savings.
Monthly cost
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Yearly cost
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Per sale
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Avg. ticket
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What every 0.25% is worth
On your volume, each quarter of a percent is about — a year. That’s worth knowing in both directions.
How it compares
Comparison ranges are broad, general observations, not quotes. Your best rate depends on your industry, chargebacks, delivery timeline, ticket size, history, and the bank underwriting you.
Send us up to three recent statements and we’ll go through every line, then tell you in plain English:
No cost, no obligation. Statements are optional but get you an exact answer faster. We use them only to review your pricing.
Prefer to talk? Call Now: (818) 731-2227
Rates are only part of the story. Reserves, funding speed, contract terms, and how your processor treats you when something goes wrong all affect what processing really costs you.
Tell us a little about your business and we’ll walk you through your options, whether that’s a better rate, fairer terms, or confirming you’re already in good shape.
Want a line-by-line answer? Use the calculator above and choose Get a Free Statement Review to send your statements.
No hidden fees. No long-term contracts. Just a straight read on your processing costs.
By submitting this form, you are acknowledging and consenting to our terms.
We do not distribute your information
Quiet rate increases, new “compliance” fees, and surprise holds are some of the most common calls we get. Call us and we’ll take a look at what changed.
Definition
Your effective rate is the total you pay in processing fees divided by the total dollars you process, shown as a percentage. It’s the most honest single number for comparing processors, because it includes everything: interchange, card brand fees, markup, per-transaction fees, and monthly fees.
Effective rate
Total fees ÷ total card volume × 100
$1,450 in fees on $50,000 = 2.90%
All-in rate
(Processing + gateway + related fees) ÷ volume
Adds the costs that live outside your statement
Why it’s different from your quoted rate: a quote like “2.49% + 10¢” only covers part of the bill. Rewards cards, keyed-in sales, monthly minimums, PCI fees, statement fees, and gateway charges all land on top. The effective rate catches all of it.
There’s no single “good rate.” A rate that would be too high for a coffee shop can be a great rate for a business with moderate chargebacks or products that ship weeks after the sale. Banks price for risk, and risk looks very different from one business to the next.
| Type of Business | Rough Range We Commonly See | Why It Lands There |
|---|---|---|
| Retail and restaurants Mostly in person, card present | About 1.9% to 2.9% | Chip and tap sales carry the lowest fraud risk and the lowest interchange. |
| Lower-risk online or phone Card not present | About 2.5% to 3.5% | Higher interchange on keyed and online sales, plus gateway and fraud tools. |
| High-risk and specialty Chargebacks, future delivery, regulated products | About 3.5% to 6%+ | Banks price in dispute exposure, delivery timelines, and compliance work, and some add reserves. |
Two merchants, same 3.9% rate. For a busy retail shop with low chargebacks, 3.9% is likely too much. For a supplement brand with subscriptions and a moderate dispute rate, 3.9% with fair reserve terms may be an excellent deal. The number only means something next to your risk profile.
Ranges are broad general observations, not quotes or guarantees. American Express, ticket size, card mix, and pricing model can move your rate in either direction. See high-risk merchant account fees explained for more detail.
Your effective rate matters. But the lowest rate isn’t always the lowest cost. Some of the most expensive parts of a merchant account never show up as a line item at the bottom of your statement:
Reserves
A rolling reserve can hold 5% to 10% or more of every deposit for months. That’s working capital you can’t touch.
Funding holds and delays
Next-day versus three-day funding changes how much cash is stuck in transit at any moment.
Account closures
A shutdown means frozen funds, lost sales, and possibly a MATCH listing. No rate is worth that.
Risk reviews
Some processors pause funding for “reviews” every time volume spikes. Others plan for your growth.
Customer service
When a deposit is missing, can you reach a person who knows your account, or a ticket queue?
Contract terms
Early termination fees, auto-renewals, and equipment leases can cost more than a year of rate savings.
Chargeback costs
Per-dispute fees, plus the tools you need to keep your ratio in line, add up fast in some industries.
Compliance fees
PCI non-compliance fees, “regulatory” fees, and annual fees are often avoidable.
Gateway and add-ons
Separate gateway, tokenization, and fraud-screening charges belong in your real cost.
Cheaper rate, higher cost: a merchant processing $100,000 a month might save $250 a month moving from 3.2% to 2.95%. If the new processor adds a 10% reserve held for six months, $60,000 of that merchant’s cash is now tied up. If the account gets frozen during a review, the “savings” disappear entirely.
That’s why our calculator lets you add your reserve and funding time, and why we look at the whole account, not just the rate. More on how reserves work.
If your effective rate is well above what you were quoted, it’s usually one of these:
Most of these are visible on your statement if you know where to look. That’s exactly what our free review does.
How your pricing is built affects your effective rate as much as the rate itself.
| Pricing Model | How It Works | What to Watch For |
|---|---|---|
| Interchange-plus | The actual card network cost plus a fixed markup. | Usually the most transparent. Check the markup and the monthly fees. |
| Flat rate | One percentage for every card, like many aggregators use. | Simple, but often expensive at higher volume, and accounts can be frozen with little notice. |
| Tiered | Qualified, mid-qualified, and non-qualified buckets. | Many cards fall into the expensive tiers, so the effective rate creeps up. |
| Cash discount or surcharge | Some or all of the card cost is passed to the customer. | Must follow card brand rules and state laws, with proper disclosure. |
| Subscription or membership | A monthly fee plus interchange at cost. | Can be great at higher volume. Do the math at your actual volume. |
Considering passing fees to customers? Card brand rules and some state laws apply, so ask us before you change your checkout.
No sales pitch disguised as an audit. Just a clear read on where your money goes.
What helps: your three most recent statements, your monthly volume, and any reserve or funding terms from your merchant agreement.
Ready? Upload your statements here, or call (818) 731-2227.
We look at your rate the way you should: next to your reserve, your funding, your contract, and how stable your account really is.
Low-risk and high-risk banks, so we can match pricing to your real risk level.
Rate, reserves, funding, and terms, compared side by side.
If you’re in good shape, we’ll say so.
Every rate, reserve, and fee explained before you sign.
Call and talk to a person who already knows your file.
After 20 years in this industry, here’s what I can tell you about rates: they matter, but they’re rarely the whole story. I’ve seen merchants switch to save a quarter of a percent and end up with a reserve that choked their cash flow, or an account that got frozen the first time their volume jumped.
I’ve also seen high-risk merchants convinced they were overpaying when their rate was actually very good for their industry, and the real problem was a fee buried on page three of their statement.
Send me your statements. I’ll tell you honestly what you’re paying, what’s fair for a business like yours, and whether there’s a better setup out there.
Russell Silva, Founder, The Merchant Guru
Your effective rate is your total processing fees divided by your total card volume, shown as a percentage. It includes every fee, not just the quoted rate, which makes it the best single number for comparing what you actually pay.
Add up every fee on your monthly statement, divide by the total dollars you processed that month, and multiply by 100. For example, $1,450 in fees on $50,000 in sales is a 2.90% effective rate. Add gateway and related fees for your all-in rate.
It depends on your business. In-person retail businesses often land somewhere around 1.9% to 2.9%, lower-risk online businesses around 2.5% to 3.5%, and high-risk businesses around 3.5% to 6% or more. These are broad ranges, not quotes.
Quoted rates usually cover only part of your costs. Rewards and business cards, keyed-in sales, tiered pricing, monthly minimums, PCI fees, statement fees, and gateway charges all add to what you actually pay.
High-risk rates are usually higher because banks price in chargebacks, delivery timelines, and compliance. A rate that looks high next to a retail shop can be very competitive for a high-risk business, especially with fair reserve terms and reliable funding.
No. Reserves, funding delays, contract terms, customer service, and the risk of an account freeze can cost far more than a small rate difference. Compare the whole account, not just the rate.
A rolling reserve holds part of every deposit for months, and slower funding keeps more cash in transit. Neither shows up as a rate, but both reduce the working capital you can use. Our calculator estimates how much cash is tied up.
Yes, if you want your true all-in cost. Many merchants pay a separate gateway monthly fee and per-transaction fee that never appear on the processing statement.
Three recent months is ideal. It shows trends, seasonal swings, and any quiet rate increases. One statement still works if that’s all you have handy.
We use your statements only to review your pricing and account terms, and we don’t share or sell your information.
Sometimes, and sometimes the better win is improving your reserve, funding, or account stability. We’ll tell you plainly what we can and can’t improve after reviewing your statements. We never promise savings or approval before we’ve seen the numbers.
No. It shows your current effective rate based on the numbers you enter. A real quote depends on your industry, processing history, chargebacks, volume, and bank underwriting.
Know what you’re really paying. We’ll look at your rate, your fees, your reserve, and your terms, and tell you plainly whether there’s a better fit for your business.
Free review. No long-term contracts. No hidden fees.
By submitting this form, you are acknowledging and consenting to our terms.
We do not distribute your information
