Restaurant Card Processing Fees Explained
Understand restaurant card processing fees: interchange, scheme and provider charges, pricing models, surcharge rules and how to compare quotes.
Updated 5 min read
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Key takeaways
- A card fee has layers: interchange paid to the card issuer, scheme fees and the processor's margin.
- In the UK the interchange fee on consumer debit cards is capped at 0.2 percent and consumer credit at 0.3 percent for UK cards used at UK merchants; the rest is up to the market.
- Compare quotes using your own average ticket size and card mix, including fixed fees per transaction, monthly fees and terminal costs.
- Surcharging rules differ by country; in the UK you cannot surcharge for payments made with consumer cards covered by the cap.
In short: every card payment passes through the cardholder's bank, a card scheme and your payment provider, and each takes a share. Your bill is the percentage plus any fixed fee per transaction plus monthly and hardware charges. Compare providers by calculating the total on your own mix of tickets and cards.
About 7 minutes to read. Fee rules are described as of October 2026 and differ by country. All examples use made up numbers.
For many restaurants, card fees are one of the largest costs after food, labour and rent, and one of the least examined. A small difference in rate on a large turnover is real money.
The layers of a card fee
A merchant service charge usually combines:
- Interchange, paid by your payment provider to the bank that issued the customer's card.
- Scheme fees, paid to the card network such as Visa or Mastercard.
- The provider's own charge, which is what you negotiate.
The UK's Payment Systems Regulator explains that the UK interchange fee regulation caps interchange at 0.2 percent of the transaction value for consumer debit cards and 0.3 percent for consumer credit cards, where the merchant, the acquirer and the card issuer are all within the UK, with some exceptions for American Express. See PSR, the Interchange Fee Regulation. Business cards, cards issued abroad and other markets have different costs. Outside the UK, check your own regulator.
Pricing models
| Model | How it works | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Blended | One rate for most cards | Can hide a higher cost on low cost cards |
| Interchange plus | Underlying fees plus a stated margin | More lines, easier to compare |
| Tiered | Cards grouped into bands with different rates | The "non qualifying" band can cost much more |
| Flat per transaction | A fixed fee on each payment | Good for large tickets, costly for small ones |
| Bundled with software | A rate that includes the payment service | Check what you cannot change |
Ask which model you are on, and ask for a worked example of a 10 pound debit card payment, a 40 pound credit card payment and a keyed order.
Fixed and extra fees
Rates are only part of the cost. Look for:
- A fixed fee per transaction.
- A monthly fee per terminal or per account.
- Terminal purchase, rental or lease costs.
- A minimum monthly charge.
- Payout speed and any fee for faster payouts.
- Chargeback and refund fees.
- Fees for online payments, cards not present and international cards.
- Early termination or contract length.
See POS cost for the full cost of a till setup.
Work out your effective rate
Divide the total you paid in fees for a month by the card sales for the same month. That is your effective rate. Compare it with each quote on the same basis.
The average ticket is the key. A cafe with many small tickets feels fixed fees; a fine dining room with large bills feels the percentage.
In person and online
Card fees differ by how the card is used.
- Card present, by chip, tap or phone, is usually the cheapest.
- Keyed or phone orders cost more and carry more fraud risk.
- Online orders carry their own rate and may have extra authentication steps.
- Delivery marketplaces take a commission, which is separate from card fees. See stop paying delivery app commission.
With DineHarbor, card payments are processed by your own payment provider at its rates, and DineHarbor takes no commission on your orders (see the pricing page). Card readers are supported through Stripe Terminal. Read the provider's current terms for the rates that apply to you.
Surcharging and tipping
In the UK, businesses cannot add a surcharge for payments made with consumer cards covered by the interchange cap, and the ban applies to other common methods too, according to the PSR. Other countries allow surcharges within limits, and some card scheme rules restrict them. Check your authority and your provider's terms before you add a line to the bill.
Card tips and service charges raise other questions, such as who receives them and how fees on the tip are handled. See tips and service charges.
Cut the cost without hurting guests
- Ask your provider for a review of your rate once a year, with your own numbers.
- Compare at least two other quotes on the same basis.
- Check the contract length and exit terms before you sign.
- Encourage tap and chip over keyed entry.
- Use your own ordering channel to avoid commission. See online ordering without commission.
- Reconcile card sales and fees each month. See accounting basics.
Fees in your budget
Put fees into your budget as a percentage of card sales, and into the contribution margin in your break even calculation. Check them in weekly numbers.
Checklist for comparing providers
- Pricing model and the full list of fees.
- Effective rate on your own sales.
- Terminal cost, contract length and exit terms.
- Payout timing.
- Support and uptime.
- Fit with your till and online ordering.
- Rules for refunds, chargebacks and surcharges.
Choosing a till and payment setup? Start the 30 day free trial with no card needed.
Questions and answers
How much do card payments cost a restaurant?
It depends on your provider, your card mix and your ticket size. Ask for the percentage, the fixed fee per transaction and any monthly or terminal charges, then calculate the effective rate on your own sales.
What is interchange?
The fee that the merchant's payment provider pays to the cardholder's bank. In the UK it is capped at 0.2 percent for consumer debit and 0.3 percent for consumer credit cards where the merchant, the provider and the card issuer are all in the UK, with some exceptions such as certain American Express transactions.
Can I add a surcharge for card payments?
It depends on the country and the card. In the UK, surcharging is banned for most consumer card payments and for the payment methods covered by the rules. In some other places it is allowed within limits. Check your authority and your provider's rules.
Is blended or interchange plus pricing better?
Blended pricing gives one simple rate but can hide the cost of low cost cards. Interchange plus lists the underlying fees and your margin, which is easier to compare. The better option is the one with the lower total on your own mix.
Do small tickets cost more?
A fixed fee per transaction weighs more on a 4 pound coffee than on a 100 pound table bill, so compare using your average ticket and your smallest common ticket.
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About the author
Editorial team
The DineHarbor team writes this blog for restaurant owners and managers. Every article is checked against the product before it is published, so what we describe is what the software does.
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