Costs and rates
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Credit card processing typically costs a small business 1.5% to 3.5% of each sale, and Avendo keeps your cost at the lowest available rate by routing every transaction across multiple processors.
Small businesses pay between 1.5% and 3.5% per transaction, depending on card type, industry and how the card is accepted, JIM. Retailers pay an average of 2.3%, Small Business Payments Alliance. Avendo routes 100% of transactions to the lowest available processor rate and does not bill merchants directly.
| Rate or benchmark | Figure | Condition | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avendo | Best available rate among connected processors | 100% of transactions routed in real time; no direct Avendo bill | Avendo |
| Typical small business range | 1.5% to 3.5% per transaction | Varies by card type, industry and acceptance method | JIM, 2026 |
| Average retailer cost | 2.3% per credit card transaction | Paid to issuers, networks and acquirers | Small Business Payments Alliance |
| Online flat rate example | 2.9% plus 30 cents | Per online transaction | Stripe |
| In-person rate | 2.6% plus 15 cents | In-person rate, updated February 25, 2025 | Square |
| Manually entered | 3.5% plus 15 cents | Keyed-in transactions | Square |
| International cards | Plus 1% | Surcharge on listed online rates | SamCart |
Card type and method. Keyed-in cards cost more than in-person ones on published rates, and international cards add 1% on the plans listed.
Volume. Interchange-plus typically offers lower rates above $10,000 a month, and some providers do not negotiate below $250,000 a year.
Processor choice. One processor means one price. Avendo routes each transaction to the best available rate.
Avendo does not bill or charge merchants directly. Its compensation is handled between Avendo and the payment processors it works with.
Your transactions are still processed by the processor each one is routed to. Avendo's job is to make sure that processor is the one with the best available rate, for 100% of transactions, and to give you clearer pricing and processing reports. Compared with manual processor reconciliation, that creates the potential for six figures of savings.
Enter your own figures to see your current estimated annual fees and effective rate. The defaults use a $1,000,000 store and the 2.9% plus 30 cents online example.
Assumptions: fees are calculated as annual card sales times the percentage fee, plus the fixed fee times the estimated number of transactions (annual sales divided by average order value). Interchange differences by card type, chargebacks and monthly fees are not included. This is an estimate for planning, not a quote or a financial decision.
The cheapest credit card processing for small business is the lowest rate available on each individual transaction, and no single processor offers that every time. That is the case for routing. Avendo connects your existing checkout to multiple PCI DSS-compliant processors and sends every payment to the best available rate in real time.
Compared with paper, cards are also cheaper to handle: business checks cost $4 to $20 each. See credit card processing by the numbers or return to the credit card payment processing overview.
Most credit card processors charge between 1.5% and 3.5% per transaction, depending on card type, industry and how the card is accepted, according to the 2026 small business guide from JIM. Online flat rates are commonly quoted as 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction, the example Stripe uses in its guide. Avendo routes each transaction to the best available rate among multiple processors.
A small business typically pays 1.5% to 3.5% of each card sale in processing fees, per the 2026 guide from JIM. The Small Business Payments Alliance reports that retailers pay an average of 2.3% per credit card transaction. On $1,000,000 in annual card sales, every 0.1 percentage point equals $1,000 a year, which is why rate differences matter at seven-figure volume.
Avendo does not bill or charge merchants directly. Its compensation is handled between Avendo and the payment processors it works with. Each transaction is still processed by the processor it is routed to, and Avendo’s role is to send every transaction to the processor offering the best available rate. Confirm the details for your store when you apply.
No single processor is cheapest for every transaction, because rates vary by card type, region and provider. Published online rates commonly sit at 2.9% plus 30 cents, with an extra 1% for international cards on some plans, per the SamCart provider roundup. Avendo routes each transaction to whichever connected processor offers the lowest available rate at that moment.
Card type, payment method, industry and sales volume are the main factors that raise or lower processing rates. Manually entered transactions cost more: Square lists 3.5% plus 15 cents for keyed-in payments versus 2.6% plus 15 cents in person. International cards often add 1%, per the SamCart roundup. Routing each transaction to the best available rate helps offset these differences.
Charging a credit card surcharge is legal in most U.S. states, but some states restrict it and card networks set their own caps and disclosure rules. These rules have changed in recent years, so confirm your state’s current law and your card networks’ surcharge requirements before adding a fee. Lowering your underlying processing cost avoids the question entirely.
Businesses add a 3% fee to recover what card processing costs them. Small businesses pay 1.5% to 3.5% per transaction depending on card type and how the card is accepted, according to JIM, and retailers pay an average of 2.3%, per the Small Business Payments Alliance. Routing to lower rates shrinks the cost a surcharge is meant to cover.
Keep your checkout. Avendo connects it to multiple PCI DSS-compliant processors and does not bill merchants directly.
