Credit Card Processing Fee Calculator
Plug in your monthly card volume, average ticket, and rate. See what you're paying today and what a compliant dual pricing program could put back in your pocket. Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere. It's just math, in your browser.
This is an estimate built from the numbers above, not a quote. Your real savings depend on your card mix, your debit share, and your actual statement. A free rate analysis reads that kind of detail line by line.
Get your real number, freeHow card fees actually work
Every time a customer pays with a card, the fee you pay splits into three pieces. Two of them are fixed, no matter who processes your cards. Only one is up for negotiation.
This piece goes to the customer's card-issuing bank. Visa and Mastercard set the rate, and it's the same no matter which provider runs your account. Nobody can negotiate this part.
A small fee the card network itself charges, on top of interchange, for using its network. It's also fixed and the same across providers.
The part your provider adds and keeps. This is the only part you can actually negotiate or shop around on.
Not the headline rate a provider quotes you. What you actually paid, divided by what you actually sold.
Interchange is the fee that goes to the customer's card-issuing bank. Visa and Mastercard set it, and it's the same for every provider in the country. It usually makes up the biggest chunk of what you pay, often 70 to 80%.
Assessment is a small fee the card network itself charges, on top of interchange, for the right to run transactions on its network. Like interchange, it's set by the network and fixed no matter who you use.
Markup is the part your provider keeps. It's the only piece of the fee that changes from one provider to the next, and the only piece worth shopping or negotiating on.
That's why the rate a provider first quotes you can be misleading. What actually matters is your effective rate: your total fees divided by your total sales. A statement can bury markup inside confusing tiers and still add up to a high effective rate. See how to read your merchant statement to check yours line by line.
How this calculator works
The math is simple on purpose. "Estimated fees today" is your monthly card volume multiplied by your effective rate, the all-in percentage a statement usually calls the discount rate or the effective rate. 2.9% is a common starting point for a mixed card mix, but yours may run higher or lower depending on card type, industry, and how the account is priced.
"Estimated fees on dual pricing" assumes most of that cost shifts to a small, disclosed fee the cardholder pays at checkout, the way dual pricing works when it's set up to follow the network rules. Dual pricing covers every card type, including debit, since it posts two prices rather than adding a fee at the register. We model a small residual rather than zero as a conservative buffer, since not every transaction converts through the program right away and some edge cases stay outside it. That's an estimate, not a guarantee: the real number depends on your exact card mix, which is what a free rate analysis reads from your actual statement.
Average transaction size only changes the transaction-count estimate shown under "Estimated fees today." It doesn't change the dollar totals, since those are driven by volume and rate. It's there to help you sanity-check the numbers against your own day-to-day.
What the number doesn't capture
A calculator can't see your interchange category, your debit mix, or whether some of your card volume is already exempt from a surcharge. Those details move the real number up or down from the estimate above. That's why we read an actual recent statement, line by line, before recommending a program: see how to read your merchant statement if you want to check the categories yourself first.
Since interchange and assessment are fixed no matter who processes your cards, the only lever left to cut your cost is who covers the markup, and whether it's your business or the cardholder paying it. That's exactly what dual pricing and surcharging do: they shift the fee to a disclosed charge at checkout instead of coming out of your revenue. If the estimate above looks worth chasing, the next step is a free rate analysis: send one recent statement, get a plain-English answer with your real number, no obligation.
Fair questions
How accurate is this calculator?
It's a directional estimate, not a quote. It uses your monthly volume and effective rate to show what you're likely paying today, and models a small residual fee under dual pricing as a conservative buffer, since not every transaction runs through the program and not every business converts its full volume at once. Your real number depends on your exact card mix, which is what a free rate analysis reads from an actual statement.
What's my effective rate, and where do I find it?
It's the total fees a statement charges divided by your total card volume, expressed as a percent. Most statements show it directly, sometimes labeled 'effective rate' or 'discount rate.' See how to read your merchant statement if it's not obvious on yours.
What is interchange, and can I negotiate it?
Interchange is the biggest piece of every card fee, usually 70 to 80% of it. It goes straight to the customer's card-issuing bank, and Visa and Mastercard set the rate. Every provider pays the same interchange for the same transaction, so it's not negotiable no matter who you switch to. The part that actually varies between providers is the markup on top.
Does this calculator save or send my numbers anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is stored, submitted, or tracked. Close the tab and it's gone.
What's the difference between dual pricing and a surcharge?
Dual pricing posts a cash price and a card price before the sale, and covers all card types including debit. A surcharge keeps one posted price and adds a disclosed fee on credit sales only, and can never touch debit. Both are legal in Washington, NWPB's market. Surcharge rules vary by state, so check Washington's surcharge rules or your own state's before you set one up.
Can I really get my processing fees to near zero?
For most of your card volume, yes, under a compliant dual pricing program, since the fee shifts to a disclosed charge the cardholder pays across cash and card, including debit. This calculator still models a small residual as a conservative buffer, since not every business converts every transaction through the program on day one. That's an estimate, not a guarantee.
What happens after I request a free rate analysis?
Send one recent processing statement. We read it line by line and tell you your real current cost and your real savings under a compliant program, in plain English, usually within 24 hours. No obligation, no pressure.
Send one statement. Plain-English answer in 24 hours.