What a Merchant Account Processor Does and Charges
A merchant account processor moves your card money from the sale to your bank. Here is the role explained, plus what five processors' own pages say they charge.
A buyer presents a card, the terminal flashes its approval, and the funds later land in your bank. The company in the middle of that journey is your merchant account processor. Picking one is a commercial decision. You are choosing who will handle your card money and what that handling will cost you each month and on each sale.
What a merchant account processor does between the sale and your bank
The processor sits in the middle of a short chain. When a card is used, the payment data travels from your reader or website to the card networks. The customer's bank checks it. Then the sale comes back approved or declined. Authorize.net's pricing page describes its payment gateway. It sends payment data safely between a customer, your website or terminal, and the payment networks.
Visa says merchants pay a merchant discount to their bank. Visa also says merchants do not pay interchange reimbursement fees. In plain terms, the merchant discount is the merchant's side of the cost. The size of that cut is what you are shopping for.
The processor and the merchant account are related but not the same. The merchant account is the holding place for card money on its way to you. Some processors bundle one in. Authorize.net's pricing page says its All-in-one plan includes both a payment gateway and a merchant account. A merchant account from that plan may have its own terms. You can read them at signup.
The fee types a merchant account processor charges, in the processor's own words
Authorize.net's pricing page names several fee types. The percentage part of the bill shifts with the kind of card behind each sale. A flat per-sale charge rides along on each authorization, whatever the ticket size. Recurring monthly charges pay for your gateway connection and the upkeep of the account. Cross-border fees are added when you take cards issued outside your home country.
So when you read a price like 2.9% plus 30¢, you are seeing the first two blocks at once. The percentage scales with the sale. The flat cents hit every ticket, which makes them heavy on small sales. Monthly fees arrive whether you sold anything or not. For a fuller walk through these costs, read merchant account fees.
What Stripe's pricing page says it charges
Stripe's pricing page says its standard online rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction for domestic cards. For sales made in person, Stripe's pricing page says in-person card payments cost 2.7% + 5¢ per successful transaction for domestic cards.
Some sales cost more than the base rate. Stripe's pricing page says manually entered cards add 0.5% to the online card rate. Cards from other countries add 1.5%. Changing currency adds 1%.
On the monthly side, Stripe's pricing page says its standard plan has no setup fees, monthly fees, or hidden fees. Standard pricing means you pay as you go. Businesses with large processing volumes can talk to Stripe about custom pricing.
What Square's pricing page says it charges
Square's pricing page puts counter card sales between 2.6% + 15¢ and 2.4% + 15¢, with the plan setting the rate. Card payments taken online or through invoices fall between 3.3% + 30¢ and 2.9% + 30¢, again set by the plan. Keyed-in sales and card-on-file charges are priced at 3.5% + 15¢.
Square's pricing page says the monthly fee per location is $0, $49 or $149, and Square Plus and Square Premium charge it per location. At the bottom tier, Square's pricing page says Square Free carries no monthly subscription, and processing fees only apply when a payment comes in. Square's plans begin at zero cost, with no surprise fees and no contracts that lock you in.
Square's pricing page says an additional fee applies to payments made on credit or debit cards issued outside of the United States. Businesses that process over $250,000 per year can ask its team about custom pricing.
What PayPal's fee page says it charges
PayPal's fee page says standard credit and debit card payments cost 2.99% plus a fixed fee. That fixed fee is 0.49 USD for US dollar sales. International commercial transactions add a 1.50% fee.
For sales at a counter, PayPal's fee page says PayPal Point of Sale card present transactions cost 2.29% + 0.09 USD. Manual card entry at the point of sale costs more: PayPal's fee page says those transactions run 3.49% + 0.09 USD. PayPal Checkout and PayPal Guest Checkout also cost 3.49% plus a fixed fee.
On monthly costs, PayPal's fee page says the monthly fee is no fee for Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments and ACH Services.
What Authorize.net's pricing page says it charges
Authorize.net works differently from the three above. Authorize.net's pricing page lists a $25 monthly fee on every plan, and it waives both setup costs and early termination penalties. The gateway subscription can be ended whenever you like, at no charge.
Its pricing page says a merchant account taken through the All-in-one plan may have separate terms, which you can review at signup. For more detail, see Authorize.net merchant accounts.
Shopify's stated pricing
Shopify ties its card rates to its store plans. Shopify's pricing page lists its Basic plan at $29 a month, with card rates beginning at 2.9% + 30¢ USD. The Grow plan is $89 a month and card rates start at 2.7% + 30¢ USD. The Advanced plan is $359 a month and card rates start at 2.5% + 30¢ USD. There are no setup fees on any plan.
At the counter, Shopify's pricing page gives card rates of 2.6% + 10¢ and keyed-in rates of 3.5% + 10¢.
One more line sits on Shopify's pricing page. Shopify's pricing page also shows a 2% transaction fee for third-party providers. That fee may apply if you use another payment provider instead of Shopify Payments.
How to weigh these stated prices against your own sales
No processor wins on paper for every shop, because the answer depends on how you sell. Pull last month's numbers and ask three questions. What share of your sales happens in person, online, or keyed in by hand? What is your average ticket? And do you sell enough to justify a monthly fee in exchange for lower percentages?
A shop with mostly counter sales and small tickets feels the flat cents most. A shop selling a few big items online cares more about the percentage. A store with regular, healthy sales could find the lower rates on a paid plan pay for the monthly cost. A slow month makes that same plan a drag. Run your own average ticket through each set of numbers above, then add any monthly fee spread across your sales.
Every rate and fee quoted here comes from a pricing page, and those pages change. Look at each company's pricing page the day you commit, because the figures on this page may have shifted by then.
Where to read next on merchant accounts
If you are still sorting out the pieces, start with what a merchant account means and how merchant accounts work with a provider. To go deeper on costs, read merchant account charges and how the merchant account process works. If you are ready to act, see how to set up a merchant account and how to open a merchant account. To compare specific companies, read about Stripe's payment fees, Square's rates and fees, PayPal's business fees, and Shopify's credit card processing fees.