Compare
Three ways processors price. Only one shows its work.
Every processor pays the same interchange to the card networks. The difference is how the markup on top is presented to you — and how easily you can see it move.
The comparison that matters is on your statement
The three models
How each one charges you.
Tiered
Buckets you don’t control
Transactions are sorted into qualified, mid-qualified and non-qualified tiers — under rules the processor sets. The advertised rate is the cheapest bucket; premium rewards cards usually land in the priciest one. The markup hides in the sorting.
Flat-rate
One rate, everything inside
Simple and predictable: one percentage for every card. The processor’s margin is baked into that number — larger on cheap debit, thinner on premium credit. Genuinely fine for small or occasional volume; costly to inspect at scale.
Interchange-plus
Cost, then a visible fee
The network’s interchange passes through at cost and the processor’s fee is its own line. Nothing is sorted, nothing is bundled — when a number moves, you can see which one and ask why.
The honest answer
“Which is cheapest?” depends on your statement.
On tiered pricing, practices whose patients carry premium cards usually find a meaningful gap. On flat-rate, the gap is often modest — the margin is real but thinner. That’s not a hedge; it’s why we won’t quote a number before reading your statement, and why the comparison we send back shows the arithmetic instead of an adjective.