There is no single cheapest provider
A café with hundreds of small tap payments, a consultant sending four large invoices and an online store taking international cards create very different processing costs. One percentage printed on a pricing page cannot identify the cheapest system for all three.
Separate monthly sales by channel and card origin. Record the number and average size of transactions, then apply both the percentage and fixed component. Include terminal purchase or rent, subscription plans, refunds, chargebacks, instant settlement and currency conversion where relevant.
- ✓ Monthly value by channel
- ✓ Number of transactions
- ✓ Domestic versus international cards
- ✓ Fixed, hardware and subscription fees
Why invoice size changes the result
Consider a 1.65% plus 30-cent rate against a flat 2.2% rate. On a $20 payment, the first option costs 63 cents and the second costs 44 cents. On a $500 payment, the first costs $8.55 and the second costs $11. The fixed fee reverses the result as payment size rises.
This is why InvoiceChoice asks for average payment amount as well as monthly sales. Run the calculator with the median payment if a few unusually large invoices distort the simple average.
- ✓ Small payments favour low or no fixed fee
- ✓ Large payments magnify percentage differences
- ✓ Mixed businesses should calculate each channel separately
Published rates worth comparing
At the time of review, Square published 1.6% for tap or insert and 2.2% for invoice and online card payments. Zeller published 1.4% in person and 1.7% plus 25 cents for domestic invoice payments. Airwallex Payment Links started at 1.65% plus 30 cents for domestic cards.
GoCardless uses bank payments rather than cards and publishes a capped domestic fee on its Standard plan. It can be useful for recurring or larger invoices, but mandate setup and collection timing make it a different customer experience.
- ✓ Confirm rates on official Australian pages
- ✓ Ask for a custom quote at higher volumes
- ✓ Do not compare bank collection and instant cards as identical products
Prepare for the October 2026 surcharge change
The RBA concluded that card surcharging should end from 1 October 2026, and the ACCC says major card networks are introducing no-surcharge rules from that date. Businesses will still pay processing costs but may need to reflect them in overall prices instead of adding a separate card surcharge.
That change makes provider selection and fee modelling more commercially important. Review the last three months of merchant statements, negotiate where appropriate and update prices and customer materials with advice suited to the business.
Provider fees, offers and product terms can change. Confirm the current Australian terms with the provider. This article is general information, not accounting, legal or financial advice.