Flat rate payment processing is when a business owner pays either a flat monthly fee regardless of the number of transactions and processing volume for the month or a fixed percentage rate fee per transaction. Some of the credit card processing companies that offer a fixed percentage rate also add on a fee per transaction on top of the percentage. This fee usually ranges from .20 – .30 cents per transaction. The method of pricing SimplePayments offers is the flat monthly fee pricing model, this is generally referred to as subscription flat rate pricing. In this pricing model, business owners pay a flat monthly fee regardless of number of transactions plus the direct interchange costs set by major credit card brands.
Interchange cost is the credit card processing rates set directly by major card brands – Visa, MasterCard and Discover. These rates are direct costs that are not controlled by the processor. There are a few variables that card brands use to determine what the direct interchange cost for a credit card transaction is. These variables include the card type, the card brand and the card owner.
Click the link below to learn more about Visa’s interchange fees.
https://usa.visa.com/support/small-business/regulations-fees.html#1
Click the link below to learn more about MasterCard’s interchange fees.
https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/about-mastercard/what-we-do/interchange.html