Most merchants can tell you what they pay to accept cards. Few can tell you why they pay that amount.

Beacon prices every transaction on an interchange-plus model, so that breakdown stays visible instead of buried inside a bundled rate. That means seeing exactly what goes to the card networks, what goes to the issuing bank, and what actually goes to your processor, which is the only piece of the equation worth negotiating in the first place.

What Makes Up a Credit Card Processing Fee?

A credit card processing fee is really three charges stacked together, interchange, assessment fees, and processor markup.

Interchange is the biggest piece of what you pay, typically 70 to 80 percent of the total, and it goes straight to the cardholder's bank, not to Beacon or any other processor. Card brand or assessment fees, set twice a year by networks like Visa and Mastercard, add a small fixed layer on top of that. What's left over, the processor markup, is the only part that actually changes depending on who you process with. Everything else is set by the networks no matter whose name is on your statement.

Typical Credit Card Processing Rate Ranges

Most small businesses pay somewhere between 1.5% and 3.5% per transaction, depending on how the card is accepted.

The exact number moves with card mix, average ticket size, and merchant category, but the table below shows illustrative ranges under interchange-plus pricing, based on published 2026 interchange data.

A lower quoted rate isn't always the full story. A flat-rate plan that looks cheaper on paper can cost more once monthly fees and your actual card mix are factored in, which is exactly why the headline rate shouldn't be the deciding factor on its own. Flat-rate pricing is easy to quote but usually costs more as volume grows, since it charges every transaction the same regardless of the interchange cost underneath. Tiered pricing bundles many interchange categories into a handful of buckets, which tends to push more transactions into a higher tier than the card actually requires. Interchange-plus is the one model that separates markup from wholesale cost, so it's the one a merchant can actually audit.

What Affects Your Processing Rate?

Your rate moves based on four things: how the card is accepted, what type of card it is, how much you process, and how your business is categorized.

• Transaction type: card-present transactions cost less to process than card-not-present transactions, since a swiped or tapped card carries less fraud risk than one typed in online or over the phone.
• Card type: standard debit cards carry the lowest rates, while rewards, business, and premium credit cards carry higher rates that help fund the issuing bank's rewards program.
• Processing volume: higher monthly volume can qualify a business for better-negotiated markups, though interchange itself doesn't change.
• Business category (MCC): the four-digit code that classifies your business affects which interchange rates apply, and a miscoded MCC can quietly overcharge a merchant for years.

Additional and Hidden Fees to Watch For

Most processors charge fees well beyond the rate they advertise.

Beyond the headline transaction rate, most processors also bill separately for a monthly or statement fee regardless of how much you process, a PCI compliance fee that's often charged annually even when compliance is straightforward, a batch fee each time transactions settle to your account, a chargeback fee per dispute regardless of outcome, and a monthly minimum that charges the difference if volume falls short of a set threshold. Beacon discloses all applicable fees up front, with no bundled surcharges layered on top of the interchange-plus rate.

How to Lower Your Processing Costs

The fastest ways to lower your costs, accept cards in person, cut down on chargebacks, choose transparent pricing, and consider dual pricing.

• Accept cards in person where possible, since card-present transactions consistently qualify for lower rates than card-not-present ones.
• Reduce chargebacks by keeping records of authorizations, shipment tracking, and clear return policies, since chargeback frequency can affect your risk tier over time.
• Choose a transparent pricing model like interchange-plus over flat-rate or tiered pricing, so markup is separated from wholesale cost and easy to audit.
• Consider dual pricing to offset card costs. Rules on surcharging and dual pricing vary by state, and some states restrict or require specific disclosures, so confirm what's allowed in your state before adding a fee at checkout.

See What You Could Save with Beacon

Transparent pricing and support wherever your business sells. That's what you get when you process with Beacon.

Ready to see where you could save? Contact Beacon today to review your current processing costs.