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How to lower your credit card processing fees

By Chris Ste-Marie, Founder of AllProPay · Updated October 24, 2026

You can’t change what the card brands charge. You can change almost everything else. Here are seven honest ways to lower what you pay.

Start with a free statement review

No statement handy? Tell us what you pay and who processes for you, we’ll take it from there.

1. Find your effective rate first

Total fees divided by total volume, times 100. That’s the percentage you actually pay on every dollar, and the honest way to compare any offer. Get this number first.

2. Move to interchange-plus pricing

On flat-rate or tiered pricing you can’t see the markup, so you can’t tell if it’s fair. Interchange-plus passes the card-brand cost straight through and adds a small, visible markup. Transparency alone often lowers your cost, because hidden markups tend to be higher.

3. Kill the junk fees

PCI non-compliance fees, statement fees, monthly minimums, padded regulatory lines: often avoidable or negotiable. Name each one on your statement and ask what it covers. If no one can explain it in a sentence, it’s worth removing.

4. Never lease your equipment

A lease is usually a separate contract from your processing, often four to six years with liquidated damages if you leave early, and it can cost thousands for a terminal that is out of date before the lease ends. If you’re in one, it’s among the biggest avoidable costs on the table. Rent month to month instead: you can stop when you need to, the terminal is replaced when it needs replacing, and the monthly price is typically lower.

Lease vs month-to-month rental: no contract for processing? Check the lease. Left: a terminal lease drawn as a grid of monthly stickers, one per month, locked inside a contract frame with a padlock labeled separate contract, often 4 to 6 years. Cancelling means liquidated damages. At the end of the lease the terminal is faded and marked obsolete, and the total can reach thousands. Right, the focal panel: an AllProPay month-to-month rental. Monthly stickers with no lock, the next one only if you stay, cancel any month, typically a lower monthly price, and a swap arrow from a worn terminal to a newer model because AllProPay keeps it working and replaces it. If something happens to the business, you are not on the hook for thousands. Illustration, not a quote. LEASE VS MONTH-TO-MONTH RENTAL No contract for processing? Check the lease. A terminal lease is usually a separate contract from your processing. AllProPay does not lease terminals; we rent them month to month. A TERMINAL LEASE Locked in for years One sticker for every month you owe. SEPARATE CONTRACT, OFTEN 4 TO 6 YEARS YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5 YEAR 6 BY THE END OBSOLETE CANCEL = LIQUIDATED DAMAGES TOTAL OVER THE LEASE Can reach thousands ALLPROPAY RENTAL Month to month You pay one month at a time. No lease contract to lock you in. UNLOCKED MONTH 1 MONTH 2 MONTH 3 MONTH 4 IF YOU STAY CANCEL ANY MONTH TYPICALLY A LOWER MONTHLY PRICE WE REPLACE IT Worn or outdated Newer model We keep it working and replace it when it needs it. NEWER MODELS If something happens to your business, you are not on the hook for thousands. LEGEND A month you owe on the lease Years 5 and 6, if the lease runs long A month you choose to stay Costs you Illustration, not a quote. No real prices or terms shown; lease lengths and totals vary.

5. Use Dual Pricing or cash discounting where it’s allowed

Customers who choose to pay by card cover the card fee, so your card processing fees can drop to $0.

  • Dual Pricing posts a card price and a cash price.
  • AllPro Rebate is Dual Pricing that pays you back: members earn a cash rebate every month on their card volume. For businesses doing $10,000+ a month in card sales.
  • Rules differ by state and province, so it has to be set up correctly. Check what’s allowed where you are.

6. Make sure your account is set up correctly

Misconfigured accounts cause downgrades, where transactions fall into expensive tiers, and trigger fees like PCI non-compliance. A clean setup keeps your transactions qualifying at the best rate they can.

7. Get a second set of eyes on your statement

The fastest move is to have someone who reads statements all day go over yours with you. We do it free: we’ll name every fee, flag what should be lower, and tell you honestly whether switching is worth it.

Common questions

Can I really lower my processing fees?
Often yes, but not the part set by the card brands. Interchange and assessments are fixed. The processor markup and most monthly fees can be lowered, and contracts and cancellation fees can be avoided. How much depends on your numbers.
What is the fastest way to lower my fees?
Find your effective rate, then have someone go over your statement with you to remove junk fees and put you on the right pricing: transparent interchange-plus, or where allowed, Dual Pricing or AllPro Rebate, where customers who pay by card cover the card fee.

Let us do steps 1 through 7 for you

Send one statement. We’ll find your effective rate, name every fee, and show you where it can come down. Free, no pressure.

Get your free statement review

No statement handy? Tell us what you pay and who processes for you, we’ll take it from there.