THE WAYTRIX FIELD GUIDE
Two quotes are only comparable when they price the same business. Here is how to line proposals up side by side and see the real cost.
THE SHORT ANSWER
To compare credit card processing proposals, give every provider the same information about your volume, average ticket, and card mix, then ask for itemized pricing. Calculate the total monthly cost and effective rate for each, and compare contract length, early termination fees, and equipment terms. A low headline rate can hide higher monthly fees.
Updated · Waytrix Pay editorial team
KEY TAKEAWAYS
STEP BY STEP
Monthly card volume, number of transactions, average ticket, and the share of in-person, online, and keyed payments.
Ask for every fee in writing: per-transaction, percentage markup, monthly, annual, PCI, gateway, chargeback, and equipment.
Apply each proposal to the same sample month to calculate total cost and effective rate.
Line up contract length, auto-renewal, early termination fees, and equipment ownership.
Quotes built on different assumptions cannot be compared. If one provider assumes mostly debit cards and another assumes rewards cards, the numbers will differ for reasons that have nothing to do with value. Share the same statement or summary with everyone.
Some fees are obvious; others appear only in the fine print.
Divide the total monthly fees by the total card volume for the month. If a proposal would have cost $450 on $20,000 of sales, its effective rate is 2.25%. Using one sample month for every quote makes differences clear.
Ask how pricing changes are communicated, how to cancel, who answers billing questions, and what happens to equipment if you leave. Keep the proposal and the final agreement together for reference.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Providers use different pricing models, markups, and monthly fees, and they may assume different card mixes. Comparing on the same data shows the real difference.
Interchange-plus passes through the card network’s interchange cost and adds a disclosed markup, which makes the processor’s share easy to see.
No. Monthly fees, contract terms, equipment costs, and support quality can outweigh a small rate difference.