Pay the real cost, plus one markup you can see.
Every card has a true wholesale cost set by the networks, called interchange. Interchange plus passes that cost through untouched and adds one small, fixed markup on top. No bundles, no tiers, nowhere for fees to hide. Our job as your broker is making that markup as small as possible.
Get a free rate analysisHow this actually works
Interchange is the wholesale price of taking a card. Visa, Mastercard and the banks that issue cards set it. It is the same for every processor in the country. A basic debit card might cost well under 1%. A corporate rewards card costs more, because someone has to pay for those points. No processor controls interchange. Any processor who says they can cut it is playing games with words.
What processors do control is everything stacked on top. Flat-rate plans like 2.9% roll the wholesale cost and the processor's margin into one number. It sounds simple. It quietly overcharges you on every cheap card. Tiered plans are worse. The processor decides which tier each sale lands in. The tiers exist to push your volume toward the costly one. Either way, the real margin is hidden on purpose.
Interchange plus pulls it apart. Your statement shows the true wholesale cost, passed through at cost. Then one fixed markup you can see, quoted in writing. When your customers use cheap cards, you pay less that month. Rate creep has nowhere to hide. The markup is a contract number, not a moving target. The only question left is how small it gets. That is a negotiation, and it is exactly why you hire a broker.
Flat rate vs. interchange plus
This uses a typical card mix as an example. Real interchange changes with the cards your customers carry. Here is the point. The flat rate was hiding about $550 of margin a month. The markup you can see is a small piece of that.
Getting set up
We read your current pricing
Most merchants are on tiered or flat-rate plans where the processor's margin is invisible. We show you what you're really paying above wholesale.
We negotiate the markup
Processors compete for your business through us. The winning bid is interchange plus a small, fixed margin, in writing.
Every statement shows its layers
Your statement shows the wholesale cost and the markup separately, so rate creep has nowhere to hide. We review it with you any time.
Interchange plus is the transparent version of absorbing your own fees, and it's what we recommend when posting two prices doesn't fit your business. The catch is that the markup is whatever you fail to negotiate. Processors quote big markups to merchants who walk in alone. They quote small ones to brokers who bring them deals every week. That's the entire pitch.
- Businesses that prefer to absorb card fees rather than post two prices
- B2B companies and professional services
- High-volume shops where a small markup gap is real money
- Owners who want to see what each sale really costs
The three models, side by side
NWPB offers three ways to handle card fees. The free analysis tells you which one wins with your real numbers.
Dual pricing
Cash price and card price posted side by side. The customer picks, you keep 100%.
Best when most sales happen at a counter or table. You want the fees gone for good.
Surcharging
The card cost is added to credit card sales only. You post a notice, and a cap applies.
Best when most of your sales are on credit cards. Think B2B and professional services.
Interchange plus
You absorb the fees, but pay true wholesale cost plus one small visible markup.
Best when you want one posted price. You still pay the fee, but you pay as little as you can.
Fair questions
What exactly is interchange?
It is the wholesale cost of taking a card. The networks and the banks that issue cards set it. It is the same for every processor. So the only number worth haggling over is the markup on top.
How is this different from flat-rate pricing?
A flat rate like 2.9% rolls wholesale cost and processor margin into one number. The margin is usually a big one. Interchange plus pulls them apart. Now the margin is out in the open, fixed, and open to haggling.
Why do flat rates overcharge?
Most everyday cards cost far less than the flat rate. The processor pockets the gap on every cheap card. You never see it happen.
Should I pick interchange plus or dual pricing?
Different goals. Dual pricing moves the cost to the card-paying customer. Interchange plus keeps the cost on you but shrinks it and makes it transparent. Plenty of our clients run one location on each.
What markup should I expect?
It depends on your volume and your risk profile. That is exactly why brokers exist. Send a statement. We will tell you what the market will really bid for your business.
Will my statement get more complicated?
It gets longer but clearer: wholesale cost shown at cost, markup shown separately. We walk you through the first one, and after that, rate creep has nowhere to hide.
What does the analysis cost?
Nothing. Send us one recent statement. You get a plain English answer within 24 hours. No strings.