By Eric Kuvykin. Substantially revised October 17, 2026. The original publication date and URL are retained.
Why the average sale changes the comparison
A pricing proposal with a lower percentage can still cost more for a business making many small sales. The fixed amount charged per transaction matters alongside the percentage, the number of transactions and account-level costs. Evaluate those components together using a realistic sales mix.
Consider an illustrative comparison, not a market quote: 100 sales of $10 produce $1,000 in volume. A hypothetical charge of 2 percent plus 20 cents would total $40 before other fees. At the same volume, ten $100 sales would total $22. The percentage did not change; the transaction count did.
Build three baskets from your own records
Create a typical basket, a low-ticket basket and a busy-period basket. For each, record transaction count, total value, refunds and the channels used. Ask the provider to price the same baskets under the proposed agreement. Keep any assumptions about eligibility or transaction categories visible.
Separate software subscriptions, equipment commitments and minimum charges from transaction pricing. If a provider includes a service in one package but bills it separately in another, put that difference in the comparison. Do not add a fee twice because it appears in both a summary and a detailed schedule.
Check the operational consequences
Ask what happens to the fixed charge when a sale is voided, refunded or repeated after a technical failure. The answer should come from the actual agreement and supported workflow. Test how the resulting entries appear in the statement so the bookkeeper can follow them.
A New York shop with small counter purchases and larger online orders should model those channels separately before combining them. This is a pricing exercise rather than a statement about a state-specific processing rate. Review local customer-facing pricing requirements separately if the business is considering a surcharge or another checkout change.
Make the decision reproducible
Keep the original proposal, the basket worksheet and the provider’s written explanations together. Mark which inputs are measured and which are assumptions. A different employee should be able to reproduce the comparison without guessing what the sales representative meant.
After the first complete statement under a new arrangement, compare actual charges with the modeled baskets. Investigate material differences by transaction type and fee category. A useful pricing review explains the result rather than simply declaring that one headline rate is lower.
References and related reading
Primary resource checked for this review: Visa’s current merchant rates, fees and rules resources. Confirm the current requirements and implementation with the responsible provider or appropriate adviser.
Continue with Interchange and Merchant Processing Costs: A Statement Review Guide and How to Read a Merchant Processing Statement Without Losing the Detail.
For state and local business resources alongside this operating checklist, use the New York business operations guide on All State Merchants.
