Flat-rate pricing, which Stripe calls blended pricing, charges the same rate on every card payment. The rate includes the processor's fee and the network costs, such as interchange, whatever the card type or brand. Stripe's standard US rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card payment, plus 0.5% for manually entered cards, 1.5% for international cards and 1% if currency conversion is needed. It is predictable and simple to reconcile. The trade-off is that a cheap card, such as a regulated debit card, costs the business the same as an expensive rewards card.
What is flat-rate pricing?
It is card pricing where every payment costs the same rate. Stripe calls it blended pricing: "you'll be charged the same rate for all transactions. It is a predictable 'all-in' approach that abstracts away the underlying network costs." The rate is "inclusive of Stripe's processor fees and network costs (such as the interchange and scheme fees charged by Visa and Mastercard), regardless of card type or brand."
What is Stripe's flat rate?
Stripe's standard pricing for US card payments, from its pricing page:
| Payment | Fee |
|---|---|
| Domestic card | 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction |
| Manually entered card | + 0.5% |
| International card | + 1.5% |
| Currency conversion needed | + 1% |
Stripe says standard pricing has no setup fees or monthly fees. Refunds have no fee on card payments, but the processing fee on the original payment is not returned.
What does it cost on a payment plan?
Every installment is a separate card payment, so each one pays the percentage and the 30¢.
Worked example: a $14,800 plan as a $1,500 deposit, 11 payments of $1,108.33 and a last payment of $1,108.37, all on a domestic card at 2.9% + 30¢.
- Deposit: 2.9% of $1,500 is $43.50, plus 30¢, so $43.80.
- Each $1,108.33 payment: 2.9% is $32.14, plus 30¢, so $32.44.
- The last payment of $1,108.37 also comes to $32.44.
- In all, about $433 in card fees on the $14,800 plan.
On an international card the rate is 4.4% + 30¢, which is $49.07 on a $1,108.33 payment.
Why can flat rate cost more on some cards?
Because the rate doesn't move with the card. The network cost of a payment can be very different by card. In Visa's US schedule effective April 18, 2026, a regulated debit card carries interchange of 0.05% + $0.21, about 77 cents on $1,108.33 with the 1-cent fraud adjustment. A Visa Signature Preferred credit card in the card-not-present Product 1 program carries 2.50% + $0.10, about $27.81. On a flat rate, both payments cost the business $32.44.
Under interchange-plus pricing the business would pay each card's network cost plus a markup instead. That suits businesses whose customers often pay by debit. Flat rate suits those who value one predictable number and simpler books.
Can a flat-rate business recover the card fee?
Some do it with a surcharge on credit cards, where your state allows it. Visa caps a credit card surcharge at the lower of the merchant discount rate for that card or 3%, and debit and prepaid cards can't be surcharged. Bank payments are another route. Stripe's ACH Direct Debit is 0.8% capped at $5.00.
- Stripe pricing
- Stripe Support: Understanding Blended & Interchange+ pricing
- Visa: Visa USA Interchange Reimbursement Fees, 18 April 2026 (PDF)
- Visa: U.S. Merchant Surcharge Q and A, version 02152024 (PDF)
Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on Oct 6, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.