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See all free tools · Payment processing fees explained

What card fees look like for two example businesses

Monthly fees at each provider's published online card rate, for two example sales profiles.

Table of monthly card fees by example business and provider.
ChartStripeSquarePayPal
Example 1: $2,000 a month, $25 average sale$82.40 a month$90.40 a month$99.20 a month
Example 2: $20,000 a month, $100 average sale$640.00 a month$720.00 a month$696.00 a month

Fee = percent of each sale plus the fixed fee per sale, times the number of sales. Rates are the published online card rates; other rates, plans and card types differ. The two businesses are illustrations to show the arithmetic, not real businesses.

Source: Stripe, Square, PayPal· as of

How a card payment moves

The parties in a card payment, as Visa names them in its merchant guidelines.

Five steps, in order: the customer pays with a card; you, the merchant, take the payment; the acquirer, your processor's bank, receives the sale; the card network passes the transaction between banks; the issuer, the cardholder's bank, holds the customer's account.

Source: Visa: Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024) · as of

Find your setup

Pick where you are and we will point you to the right guides.

  1. 1

    Start a business

    Form an LLC, get an EIN and open a business account.

  2. 2

    Accept payments

    Understand processors, merchant accounts and fees.

  3. 3

    Sell online

    Choose an ecommerce platform and set up a store.

  4. 4

    Run payroll

    Pay people correctly and on time.

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