Restaurant payment processing fees 2026
Interchange-plus vs flat-rate. Card-present vs card-not-present. The math, on the FSR default profile.
On $80,000 monthly card volume at 78% card-present ($42 average ticket, ~1,900 transactions), SpotOn interchange-plus nets $2,188/mo (effective ~2.35% CP + ~2.9% CNP). Clover modelled at 2.5% + 10c CP nets $2,387/mo. Square flat-rate 2.6% + 10c CP / 3.5% + 15c CNP nets $2,450/mo. Toast negotiated 2.49% + 15c CP + 10bps VSF nets $2,535/mo. The gap between cheapest and most expensive is approximately $347/mo on the same processed volume.
Interchange-plus, demystified
Interchange-plus = card-network interchange (set by Visa/Mastercard) + assessments (~0.13%) + processor markup (the negotiable line). Restaurant MCC 5812 card-present interchange varies by card type but averages ~1.65%-1.95% on consumer credit, ~0.05%-0.20% on debit. Processor markup ranges 0.30%-0.55% for $1M-$3M volume merchants.
Visa IRF · 2026-06-20 MC IRF · 2026-06-20
Flat-rate, demystified
Flat-rate = one published number that bundles interchange + assessments + markup. Square 2.6% + 10c card-present, 3.5% + 15c CNP Square fees · 2026-06-20. The processor absorbs interchange variance; you pay a known number.
Flat-rate is cheaper at low volume because the processor cannot price-discriminate against you. Above ~$30K monthly volume, the gap to interchange-plus opens.
Card-present vs card-not-present
CP rate is meaningfully cheaper than CNP because chargeback risk is lower. Default CP share for FSR is 78%. Online ordering and delivery push CP share down to 60%-65%. Each percentage point of CNP volume adds approximately 0.6c per dollar in processing.
True effective rate worked example
On $80,000 monthly volume, 78% CP / 22% CNP, average ticket $42 (~1,900 txns):
SpotOn interchange-plus: ($62,400 × 0.0235) + (1,482 × $0.10) + ($17,600 × 0.029) + (418 × $0.15) = $1,466 + $148 + $510 + $63 = $2,187/mo.
Toast negotiated: ($62,400 × 0.0249) + (1,482 × $0.15) + ($17,600 × 0.035) + (418 × $0.15) + ($80,000 × 0.001 VSF) = $1,554 + $222 + $616 + $63 + $80 = $2,535/mo.
Square flat: ($62,400 × 0.026) + (1,482 × $0.10) + ($17,600 × 0.035) + (418 × $0.15) = $1,622 + $148 + $616 + $63 = $2,449/mo.
The calculator does this math live for any volume you set.