Card fees come straight out of your margin.
Every card payment and payment app takes a percentage plus a fixed cent amount, so the headline rate is never what you actually pay. Enter an amount to see your effective rate, what each processor leaves you, and what the difference adds up to over a year.
Multiply the sale by the percentage rate, then add the fixed per-transaction amount. A $100 sale at 2.9% + $0.30 costs $3.20, leaving you $96.80. To find your effective rate across a month, divide total fees by total card sales and multiply by 100 — that single number is the only fair way to compare processors, because a low percentage with a high fixed fee is expensive on small tickets.
For a small business taking card payments online, an effective rate between 2.5% and 3.5% is typical. Below 2.5% is good. If yours is above 3.5%, the mix is usually the cause — lots of small transactions where the fixed 30c dominates, or a high share of international or premium-rewards cards.
The lowest-cost option depends on your country, bank, plan and transaction size. Zelle itself does not charge a fee, and some bank transfers cost $0, but ACH and bank-account terms vary. On standard published US rates, Venmo Business Profile payments are 1.9% + $0.10, Stripe online cards are 2.9% + $0.30, Square Free invoice cards are 3.3% + $0.30, and PayPal Checkout is 3.49% + $0.49. Check the provider's current pricing page before deciding.
Offer a direct-payment option alongside cards. Zelle itself does not charge a fee, and some bank-transfer or PayID arrangements cost $0, although bank terms vary. InvoiceSonic shows the payment methods you choose and does not take a percentage of the payment.
Yes — processing fees are deducted from the payment, so you receive the amount minus the fee. That's why the fees add up fast on higher invoice volumes.
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