At Stripe's standard US rates, a $15,000 plan paid as $1,500 down and twelve monthly payments costs $438.90 in card fees and $65 by ACH bank transfer. The gap comes from the cap: ACH costs 0.8% of each payment but never more than $5, while card fees grow with every dollar.
How much does a $15,000 plan cost to collect by card?
Take a $15,000 program paid as a $1,500 deposit and twelve monthly payments of $1,125. Stripe's standard US price for an online card payment is 2.9% plus 30 cents.
| Payment | Amount | Card fee | ACH fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit | $1,500.00 | $43.80 | $5.00 |
| Each monthly payment | $1,125.00 | $32.92 | $5.00 |
| All thirteen payments | $15,000.00 | $438.90 | $65.00 |
Fees in the table are rounded to the cent. The total is 2.9% of $15,000 plus thirteen 30-cent fees.
Every card payment carries its own fee, so the plan pays the processor thirteen times. By the last payment, $438.90 has gone to card fees.
Why is ACH so much cheaper on large payments?
Stripe prices ACH Direct Debit at 0.8% of the payment, capped at $5. On anything above $625, the cap does the work: a $1,125 payment costs $5 by bank transfer, the same as a $5,000 payment would.
Card fees have no cap. They grow with the payment, which is why the difference is largest on high-ticket plans and smallest on small ones.
Does the schedule change the answer?
Yes, a little. Spread the same $13,500 balance over 26 payments every two weeks ($519.23 each) and the numbers move:
- By card: $443.10. The percentage is the same, but there are fourteen more 30-cent fees.
- By ACH: $113.00. Each payment is now under $625, so the 0.8% applies in full instead of hitting the cap.
More, smaller payments cost slightly more to collect either way. That doesn't make them wrong. A schedule that matches how a customer gets paid is worth more than a few dollars in fees. It's just worth knowing before you pick one.
What does this look like across your whole business?
Put in what you collect each month, how much of it arrives by card, your card rate and your average payment.
The ACH figure assumes the same payments moved to bank transfer at Stripe's standard rate. Your own rates depend on your processor, your contract and your card mix.
Should you just ask everyone to pay by ACH?
Offering ACH beside card, clearly, is usually enough to move a share of customers without forcing anyone. Some customers want the card for its rewards or its protections, and some don't have their bank details handy at checkout.
Two things to keep in mind:
- ACH takes longer to settle and can be returned days after it looks paid, for example when an account has insufficient funds. Build that into when you treat a payment as final.
- Card surcharges have rules. Check your state before you set one up:
- Where a card fee is allowed, the card networks cap it and require it to be disclosed.
- Some states limit or ban it.
- Louisiana bans surcharges on debit cards from 1 August 2026.
Paycove offers ACH beside card on every plan and, where your state allows it, recovers the card fee inside the plan and posts it to each location's books.
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