What should a small shop decide before it picks a card processor?
Summary
Your average sale, first. Every flat-rate plan adds a fixed amount to each payment, so the cheapest provider for an $8 coffee order is not the cheapest for a $60 haircut. After that, settle how you will pay for hardware, and what a month with no sales and a single chargeback will cost you.
Your average sale picks the cheapest flat rate
Run the published US in-person rates on two sale sizes:
Stripe charges 2.7% plus 5 cents and PayPal 2.29% plus 9 cents, so Stripe wins on small sales and PayPal on larger ones. They cost exactly the same at $9.76. SumUp and Chase both charge 2.6% plus 10 cents. Square Free's 15-cent fee turns its 2.6% into 4.48% on an $8 sale.
Hardware: pay once or pay monthly
| Device | Price |
|---|---|
| PayPal card reader | $29 for the first, $79 for each one after |
| Square Reader (contactless and chip) | $59 |
| Stripe Reader M2 | $59 |
| Helcim Card Reader | $199 plus shipping |
| PayPal Terminal | $199 |
| Stripe Reader S700 | $299 |
| Square Terminal | $299, or $27 a month for 12 months |
Paying for the Square Terminal monthly adds up to $324, $25 more than buying it outright, at a 15% APR. Chase's published rates cover processing only, and its hardware is sold separately.
What a month with no sales costs
Square Free and SumUp's Free plan charge $0 a month; you pay only when you take a payment. SumUp adds that it has no monthly minimums. Square Plus is $49 a month per location, and Square lets you cancel or switch plans at any time. SumUp's POS Plus is $49 a month. Helcim has no monthly fee, no contract, and no cancellation fee.
What one chargeback costs
A chargeback is a customer disputing the payment with their card issuer. What the provider charges you for one differs a lot:
- Stripe: $15 when the dispute arrives, plus another $15 if you counter it manually. The second $15 comes back if you win.
- PayPal: $20 for a chargeback on a payment that did not go through a PayPal account or guest checkout.
- Helcim: $0 if the case goes your way, $15 if you lose.
- Square: no fee for dispute management, and if you win, the disputed funds come back with the processing fees.
Sources
- squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/software/pricing
- squareup.com/us/en/hardware
- squareup.com/help/us/en/article/3882-payment-disputes-walkthrough
- stripe.com/terminal
- stripe.com/pricing
- paypal.com/us/business/pos-system/pricing
- paypalobjects.com/marketing/ua/pdf/US/us-merchant-fees-01-september-20…
- sumup.com/en-us/credit-card-processing-fees
- chase.com/business/payments/merchant-fees
- helcim.com/pricing
Related on this site
- The three numbers behind a card rate
- Is there one card processor that is cheapest for every shop?
- Does a card payment cost the same at the counter, online, by invoice, and over the phone?
- Does a small shop need a card reader, a payment terminal, or a full POS system?
- Does a flat rate, interchange-plus, tiered, or subscription plan cost a merchant the least?
- Effective rate calculator
- Every provider we hold, and which publish a rate
Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from providers' published pricing pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.