Is GoDaddy's Rate Saver really 0%, or only 0% on some of your sales?
Summary
Only credit cards drop to 0%, and only in person, on invoices, and on pay links. Keyed-in credit still costs 0.5%, debit cards keep rates from 1.9% to 3.5%, and GoDaddy's own online store and WooCommerce checkouts are left out. You also need a paid plan to switch it on, either Point of Sale Plus at $28.99 a month or Invoicing & Pay Links Plus at $9.99 a month, both billed annually.
Rates without Rate Saver
GoDaddy's fee help page lists these standard rates:
- In person: 2.5%
- Online Store and Online Appointments: 2.7% + 30¢
- Invoices, pay links, and the WooCommerce plugin: 2.9% + 30¢
- Keyed-in on a terminal, the Commerce app, or Virtual Terminal: 3.5%
- ACH on invoices and pay links: 1%
- Disputes: $15 each
The paid plans trim some of these. Point of Sale Plus brings in-person cards to 2.3%. Invoicing & Pay Links Plus brings invoices and pay links to 2.8% + 30¢ and ACH to 0.8% with a $10 cap, and costs $11.99 a month if you pay month to month. GoDaddy's help page on that plan adds that access is currently limited, so you may not be able to subscribe yet.
On the rate cuts alone, Point of Sale Plus pays for itself at $14,495 a month of in-person card sales ($28.99 / 0.2%), and Invoicing & Pay Links Plus at $9,990 a month of invoice and pay-link card sales ($9.99 / 0.1%). The ACH cap moves faster: a single $5,000 invoice paid by ACH costs $50 on the standard rate and $10 on the plan.
What Rate Saver does to each channel
| Channel | Paid plan, credit and debit | With Rate Saver |
|---|---|---|
| In person | 2.3% (POS Plus) or 2.5% (Invoicing & Pay Links Plus) | Credit 0%, debit 1.9% |
| Invoices | 2.8% + 30¢ | Credit 0%, debit 2.7% |
| Pay links, pay buttons, QR codes | 2.8% + 30¢ | Credit 0%, debit 2.7% |
| Keyed-in | 3.5% | Credit 0.5%, debit 3.5% |
Rate Saver works by adding a surcharge to credit card sales. GoDaddy's help page says card network rules cap that surcharge at 3%, so fees above 3% are only partly offset. The keyed rate is 3.5%, and 3.5% minus 3% is the 0.5% left in the table.
Debit cards are never surcharged. The Online Store and Online Appointments in Websites + Marketing, Managed Hosting for WooCommerce, and Managed Hosting for WordPress are all outside Rate Saver. Customers see the surcharge at checkout and on the receipt, and GoDaddy leaves it to the merchant to check and follow state rules.
One shop, two ways
A shop on Point of Sale Plus with $20,000 a month of in-person card sales, 40% of it on debit:
Getting paid
Standard payouts are free and land the next business day if your close-of-day time is 5 AM, noon, or 5 PM Pacific, or in two business days with an 11:59 PM close. With those three cutoffs, Friday through Sunday sales arrive Monday. Same-day and instant payouts each cost 1.75% of the payout. Instant payouts are open only to prequalified merchants, up to two a day and $10,000 a day.
Hardware runs $79 for the Card Reader, $275 for the Smart Terminal Flex, $399 for the Smart Terminal Duo, and $499 for the Smart Terminal Pro. GoDaddy Payments is available to businesses based in the United States and Canada.
Sources
- godaddy.com/help/what-are-the-charges-and-fees-for-godaddy-payments-40…
- godaddy.com/help/enabling-rate-saver-41781
- godaddy.com/help/what-are-my-payout-options-42464
- godaddy.com/help/understand-the-invoicing-and-pay-links-plus-plan-42276
- godaddy.com/payments/invoicing
- godaddy.com/payments/point-of-sale
- godaddy.com/payments
Related on this site
- Who pays when a card processor advertises zero fees?
- Why does a keyed-in or online card payment cost a merchant more than a tapped one?
- Do online card payments cost more than in-person ones?
- What does it cost to get card sales into your bank faster than the next business day?
- 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.