acalculator

What is my credit card processing fee?

Type the sale amount, your processor’s percent fee and fixed fee per payment. The credit card processing fee calculator shows the fee, what you keep, and the price to charge to keep the whole sale.

Your numbers

Processing fee
$3.20

A $100.00 card payment at 2.9% plus $0.30 costs $3.20 in processing fees, leaving $96.80.

You receive
$96.80
Effective rate
3.2%
Charge this to receive the full sale
$103.30
Fee passed on
$3.30

Processing fee: $3.20. A $100.00 card payment at 2.9% plus $0.30 costs $3.20 in processing fees, leaving $96.80.

The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use

How to calculate

Works out the fee on a card sale from a percent rate and a fixed fee per transaction, what you keep, the effective rate, and the price to charge to keep the whole sale.

Example with the default inputs (Sale amount $100.00, Percent fee 2.9%, Fixed fee per transaction $0.30): A $100.00 card payment at 2.9% plus $0.30 costs $3.20 in processing fees, leaving $96.80.

Method: Processing fee = sale × percent fee ÷ 100 + fixed fee. You receive = sale − fee. Effective rate = fee ÷ sale × 100. Price to charge to receive the full sale = (sale + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percent fee ÷ 100).

  • One percent rate and one fixed fee per payment, as typed; no monthly, statement or chargeback fees.
  • The fee on a gross-up price is figured the same way as on any sale. Card network rules and state laws limit surcharges; check them before adding one.
  • Arithmetic is exact on the typed decimals; money shows to the cent and the rate to 2 decimals, halves rounded up.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Sale amount $100.00, Percent fee 2.9%, Fixed fee per transaction $0.30 gives Processing fee $3.20, You receive $96.80, Effective rate 3.2%, Charge this to receive the full sale $103.30, Fee passed on $3.30.Source: Regulation II, 12 CFR 235.3(b) (21 cents plus 5 basis points of the value of the transaction), https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/12/235.3 (the fee structure)
  2. Sale amount $39.00, Percent fee 0.05%, Fixed fee per transaction $0.21 gives Processing fee $0.23, You receive $38.77, Effective rate 0.588462%.Source: Regulation II, Appendix A, Official Board Commentary, comment 3(b)-3, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/12/appendix-A_to_part_235: for a $39 transaction the maximum fee is 22.95 cents; Regulation II, 12 CFR 235.3(b) (21 cents plus 5 basis points of the value of the transaction), https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/12/235.3
  3. Sale amount $50.00, Percent fee 0.05%, Fixed fee per transaction $0.22 gives Processing fee $0.25, You receive $49.76, Effective rate 0.49%.Source: Federal Reserve Board press release, October 25, 2023 (a $50 debit card transaction: 24.5 cents under the current rule), https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20231025a.htm; Regulation II, 12 CFR 235.3(b) (21 cents plus 5 basis points of the value of the transaction), https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/12/235.3: 21 + 2.5 + 1 = 24.5 cents
  4. Sale amount $25.50, Percent fee 2.6%, Fixed fee per transaction $0.15, Number of payments 1,200 gives Processing fee $0.81, You receive $24.69, Total fees $975.60, Total you receive $29,624.40.

How it works

  1. Processing fee = sale × percent fee ÷ 100 + fixed fee. An empty fixed fee box counts as $0.
  2. You receive = sale − processing fee (below $0 when the fee is more than the sale).
  3. Effective rate = processing fee ÷ sale × 100.
  4. Charge this to receive the full sale = (sale + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percent fee ÷ 100). The fee on that price, figured as in step 1, leaves exactly the sale.
  5. Fee passed on = charge to receive the full sale − sale.
  6. With a number of payments typed: total fees = processing fee × number, and total you receive = you receive × number.

Rules:

  • The sale is at least $0.01 and at most $1,000,000,000. The percent fee is 0% to 50%. The fixed fee is $0 to $1,000. The number of payments is a whole number from 1 to 1,000,000,000.
  • A result that is not $0 but is too small to show as a number (under about 2.5 × 10⁻³²⁴, which only a percent typed with hundreds of decimal places can give) gives no answer: "A result is too small to show as a number." Nothing is too large to show within these limits.
  • The arithmetic is exact on the decimals you type. Money shows to the cent and the effective rate to at most 2 decimals (trailing zeros dropped), with halves rounded up (away from zero), from the exact value.

Assumptions

  • One percent fee and one fixed fee per payment, as typed. Monthly, statement, chargeback and equipment fees are not included.
  • The fee on a higher price is figured the same way as on any sale.

Worked examples by hand

$100 at 2.9% plus $0.30. Fee = 100 × 2.9 ÷ 100 + 0.30 = $3.20; you receive $96.80; effective rate 3.20%. To keep $100: charge (100 + 0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.029) = 100.30 ÷ 0.971 = $103.30 (103.2955…), so $3.30 is passed on.

The Regulation II cap on a $39 debit card payment. 21 cents plus 0.05%: fee = 39 × 0.05 ÷ 100 + 0.21 = 0.0195 + 0.21 = $0.2295 (22.95 cents, shown $0.23); you receive $38.7705; effective rate 0.59%.

A $50 payment at the cap with the fraud-prevention cent. Fee = 50 × 0.05 ÷ 100 + 0.22 = $0.245 (24.5 cents, shown $0.25); effective rate 0.49%.

1,200 payments of $25.50 at 2.6% plus $0.15. Fee = 25.50 × 0.026 + 0.15 = $0.813 each; you receive $24.687; total fees = 0.813 × 1,200 = $975.60; total you receive = $29,624.40.

Other questions people ask

How do I calculate credit card processing fees?

Multiply the sale by the percent fee and add the fixed fee per payment. A $100 sale at 2.9% plus 30 cents costs 100 × 0.029 + 0.30 = $3.20, and you keep $96.80.

What is the effective rate?

The whole fee as a percent of the sale: fee ÷ sale × 100. The fixed fee weighs more on small sales: 2.9% plus 30 cents is an effective 3.20% on $100, but 5.90% on $10.

How much should I charge to cover the fee?

Divide the sale plus the fixed fee by 1 minus the percent fee. To keep $100 at 2.9% plus 30 cents, charge (100 + 0.30) ÷ 0.971 = $103.30; the fee on $103.30 is $3.30, which leaves $100. Adding 2.9% plus 30 cents to $100 is not enough, because the fee is also charged on the part you add.

Can I add a surcharge for card payments?

That depends on the card networks’ rules and on state law, which differ from place to place. Check them before you add a fee to customers’ bills. The calculator shows the price that would cover the fee; it does not say whether you may charge it.

How are debit card fees capped?

For card issuers with $10 billion or more in assets, Regulation II caps the debit card interchange fee at 21 cents plus 0.05% of the payment, plus up to 1 cent for fraud prevention. On a $39 payment the cap is 22.95 cents before the fraud cent. Your total processing fee also includes the processor’s and network’s charges.

Where do I find my rates?

On your merchant statement or processing agreement. Many processors charge a flat percent plus a fixed fee per payment; others pass through interchange plus a markup. Type the percent and fixed fee you actually pay; this calculator does not use any card brand’s fee schedule.