Plain-English fee guideLast updated November 3, 2026Published by Avendo

Credit card processing rates and fees, explained

How much are credit card processing rates and fees?

Credit card processing rates and fees typically cost a business 1.5% to 3.5% of each transaction, according to NerdWallet.

That fee has three layers: interchange to the card-issuing bank, an assessment to the card network, and a markup kept by the processor. The Avendo Rate Guide explains each layer, shows how to find your real effective rate, and explains how Avendo routing sends each online payment to the processor with the best available rate.

Talk to Avendo Check your effective rate

Anatomy of a fee

What is inside a credit card processing fee?

Every card payment pays three parties. Two of them, the issuing bank and the card network, set their prices in published tables that apply no matter which processor you use. The third, the processor markup, is the only layer where your choice of provider changes what you pay.

InterchangePaid to the bank that issued the cardSet by card network tables
AssessmentsPaid to the card networkSet by the network
MarkupKept by the processorWhere processors compete, and where Avendo routes

The three layers inside one card fee. Illustration only: the share of each layer varies by card type, sale type, and processor.

Definition

What are credit card processing rates and fees?

Credit card processing rates and fees are the charges a merchant pays to accept a card payment. In the Avendo Rate Guide, "rate" means the percentage charged on each sale, and "fees" means the fixed per-transaction amounts and any account charges added on top.

Together they make up your effective rate: total fees divided by total card volume. Interchange goes to the bank that issued the card. Assessments go to the network, such as Visa or Mastercard. Markup goes to the processor. Online, card-not-present payments usually qualify for higher interchange than in-person taps, which is why e-commerce sellers often pay more per sale.

Numbers

What do businesses actually pay?

1.5% to 3.5% of each transaction is the typical range for credit card processing fees (NerdWallet, 2026).
2.3% is the average retailers pay on each credit card transaction to issuers, networks, and acquirers (Small Business Payments Alliance).
$2,000 a year is saved by cutting the effective rate by 0.20% on $1,000,000 of annual card volume (Clearly Payments).
$10,000 a month is the volume above which interchange-plus pricing typically offers lower rates (U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO).

Credit card processing cost

What drives credit card processing cost?

The cost of credit card processing moves with four things: the cards your customers use, whether the sale happens online or in person, your average ticket size, and the pricing model your processor uses. A $12 order with a 30 cent fixed fee carries a much higher effective rate than a $300 order on the same plan.

The lowest cost credit card processing is not the lowest headline rate. It is the lowest effective rate on your real transactions. Work out your credit card processing cost with the calculator, or see how interchange, assessments, and markups add up.

Compare

Which credit card processing pricing model costs less?

The four common models are judged below on the same criteria: how the price is set, whether the markup is visible, a published example, and who each one fits. Avendo publishes this guide and lists its own model first. The full ranking and its reasoning are on the pricing models comparison.

Avendo Rate Guide comparison of credit card processing pricing models, judged on the same four criteria. Published by Avendo, which offers the first model listed.
Pricing model	How the price is set	Is the markup visible?	Published example	Best fit
Multi-processor routing (Avendo)	Each transaction is sent to whichever connected processor offers the best available rate at that moment.	Processors compete on every transaction; Avendo provides pricing and processing reports.	Avendo says it does not bill or charge merchants directly. Its homepage does not state a price.	E-commerce businesses, from small businesses to enterprise, that want to keep their existing checkout.
Interchange-plus	Interchange and assessments pass through at cost, plus a fixed processor markup.	Yes. The markup appears as its own line.	0.4% plus 8 cents markup example (NerdWallet)	Businesses processing more than $10,000 a month typically get lower rates (U.S. Chamber CO)
Flat-rate	Interchange, assessments, and markup are blended into one set price.	No. The markup is built into the blended rate.	2.6% plus 10 cents example (NerdWallet); Stripe 2.9% plus 30 cents per successful domestic card transaction (Homebase)	Lower-volume sellers who value one predictable number.
Tiered	Transactions are sorted into qualified, mid-qualified, and non-qualified buckets with separate rates.	Partly. The processor decides which bucket applies.	No example figure appears in the sources this guide uses.	Hard to recommend without the processor tier criteria in writing.

Credit card processing for small business

What should a small business look for in credit card processing?

For credit card processing for a small business, the priorities are a clear effective rate, a pricing model that matches your volume, a processor that works with the checkout you already have, and statements you can actually read. Small online sellers with many sub-$50 tickets should pay the closest attention, because fixed per-transaction fees hit them hardest, a point Clearly Payments makes directly.

Avendo puts small businesses first and serves companies up to enterprise scale. Read the small business checklist.

How it works

How does Avendo's routing affect merchant costs?

Step 1
Keep your checkout
Avendo works with existing checkout pages, so customers see the same payment flow.
Step 2
Connect several processors
Your checkout is connected to multiple payment processors instead of one.
Step 3
Route every transaction
Each payment is sent in real time to the processor offering the best available rate.
Step 4
Read clearer reports
Pricing and processing reports show what you pay and where payments went.

Avendo says it does not bill or charge merchants directly; its compensation is handled between Avendo and the payment processors. It works exclusively with PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways. Read how payment routing works.

The guide

Every page in this guide

FAQ

Common questions

What are the processing fees for credit card payments?: Processing fees for credit card payments generally fall between 1.5% and 3.5% of the transaction, according to NerdWallet. Where you land depends on the card type, whether the sale is online or in person, your pricing model, and your processor markup. Online, card-not-present sales usually sit toward the higher end.
More in the FAQ
What is the average credit card processing fee in 2026?: NerdWallet, in its 2026 guide, puts typical credit card processing fees at 1.5% to 3.5% of each transaction. The Small Business Payments Alliance separately reports that retailers pay an average of 2.3% on each credit card transaction to card issuers, payment networks, and acquirers combined.
More in the FAQ
What is a reasonable credit card processing fee?: A reasonable fee is one where your effective rate sits inside the published 1.5% to 3.5% range for your type of business and you can see exactly what the markup is. Online sellers with many small tickets will land higher. If you cannot tell which part of your fee is markup, ask your processor for an itemized statement.
More in the FAQ
Who has the cheapest credit card processing fees?: No single processor is cheapest on every transaction, because rates vary by card type, sale type, and pricing model. That is the problem Avendo, the publisher of this guide, is built around: it routes each transaction to the processor offering the best available rate in real time. Judge any provider by your effective rate.
More in the FAQ
Why are businesses charging 3% to use a credit card?: Businesses add a card fee to recover what they pay to accept cards. NerdWallet puts typical processing costs at 1.5% to 3.5% per transaction, so a 3% surcharge roughly offsets the cost of many card payments. Surcharging is governed by card network rules and state law, so businesses must follow those rules.
More in the FAQ
Is it legal to charge a 3% card fee?: In much of the United States, adding a surcharge to credit card payments is allowed if you follow card network rules on caps and disclosure, but some states restrict it. Rules change, so check your state law and your card network rules, and tell your processor before you start.
More in the FAQ
How to avoid credit card processing fee charges?: You cannot avoid card fees entirely if you accept cards, but you can lower them. Compare your effective rate, choose a pricing model that fits your volume, use routing to get the best available processor rate per transaction, and, where your state allows, use a compliant surcharge or cash discount program.
More in the FAQ
Does Avendo charge merchants a fee?: Avendo says it does not bill or charge merchants directly. Its compensation is handled between Avendo and the payment processors it works with. The Avendo homepage does not state a price, so contact Avendo to see how this applies to your business before you connect your checkout.
More in the FAQ

See what routing could do for your checkout

Avendo connects your existing checkout to multiple processors and sends every transaction to the best available rate. Small businesses come first.

Contact Avendo