For Ecommerce Retailers there's a lot of confusion about merchant processing fees
After reading our ecommerce price comparison sheet you already know that the different website platforms offer different hosted ecommerce pricing models. The same applies to payment gateways. You need to connect your E-commerce website to a payment gateway service provider to be able accept credit card and electronic check payments through your website. When choosing a payment gateway, you need to consider the following:
monthly fees, gateway fees per purchase, transaction fees, card types, and recurring billing.
These factors will vary by processor so to make sure you choose one that meets your needs and budget, we compiled this Q&A:
What is a gateway?
A gateway is a Merchant Provider, the “middle man” between you and the bank that holds your merchant account.
What is a gateway fee?
A gateway fee is the fee you are charged by your gateway provider. Some providers charge you a monthly fee on top of the credit card fee you have to pay per purchase. The most popular providers take a credit card transaction fee of 2.9% to 3% + x cents. You should make sure you look into this charge carefully before choosing your provider. Shopodex AcceptPay doesn’t take a monthly gateway fee and only charges, 2.59% + 25c, while other big providers like Shopify’ Payments and Paypal charge you up to 2.9% + 30c. Additionally, AcceptPay charges an ACH (automatic check handling) fee of 0.19 cent per transaction and $ 19 per month, which is the cheapest option in the current marketplace. The Shopodex offering is based on partnership with Try Transparent using Base Commerce bank.
What are transaction fees?
A bank transaction fee is the fee you are charged on top of your gateway credit card fee. This fee is charged by the bank your gateway provider is using. Make sure you know the bank charges of the Merchant provider you are choosing. Shopodex’ AcceptPay does not charge you any bank transaction fees, while Big Commerce and Web.com will charge you 1.5% if you use their gateway provider.
What else do I need to know before choosing a gateway provider?
Make sure your provider accepts all major credit cards and doesn’t charge you extra for using certain cards. Find out if you have to pay any setup fees. These fees are the costs associated with setting up your payment gateway account.