Sales Transaction Fee

The sales transaction fee is a flat, per transaction fee the merchant pays each time they run a payment card through their terminal for authorization. Transaction fees are made up of the interchange rate, the assessment fee, and the payment processor markup.

While they’re called transaction fees, they are more accurately usage fees: the merchant pays this cost regardless of whether a transaction is authorized or declined. The fee is for access to the processing network, and is therefore charged every time the network is accessed.

While the average cost generally varies between $.20 to $.25 per event, there are multiple factors involved in the calculation, preventing any “one-size-fits-all" cost. Larger transactions, for example, come with a higher fee to offset the increased risk.