The Effective Rate Calculator
What are you actually paying to take payments?
Your effective rate is your total monthly processing fees divided by your total monthly card volume — one division that most merchants have never done. It captures every fee on the statement, not just the headline rate you were quoted. Run it below with your own numbers in under a minute.
Simulator
What is your effective rate?
Three numbers from your last processing statement. Every value below is yours to change — nothing here is market data.
Your statement — adjust every number
Total card sales in a typical month, $1K–$2M on the slider — or type any amount.
Every fee on the statement added together — the "total fees" or "fees charged" line. We don't guess this for you.
Your typical sale amount, $5–$5,000 on the slider — used only for the fees-per-sale figure.
Computed from your numbers
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Your effective rate — total fees ÷ total volume
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Fees over a full year at this month's pace
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Processing cost on one average sale
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Annual difference between your rate and the comparison rate
Enter your monthly volume and total fees above to compare.
This shows what a rate conversation is worth — not what we promise. Actual pricing comes from the Maverick provider agreement after underwriting.
How this is calculated: effective rate = total monthly fees ÷ monthly card volume. Annual fees = monthly fees × 12. Cost per sale = average ticket × effective rate. Annual difference = (your effective rate − comparison rate) × monthly volume × 12.
Estimates for planning only — adjust every number to your business. Not a quote or guarantee.
Rates depend on your industry, volume, and underwriting — bring a recent statement and we will read it with you line by line.
Statement anatomy
What is hiding in a processing statement?
A processing statement bundles four different kinds of cost — interchange, card-network assessments, processor markup, and fixed monthly fees — into one hard-to-read document.
Knowing which category a line item belongs to tells you which costs are set by the card networks and which are set by your processor. We describe the categories here without asserting any figures — the amounts on your statement are the only numbers that matter for your business.
Interchange
Set by the card networks and paid to the card-issuing bank. It varies by card type, how the transaction was taken, and your industry. No processor controls it — every provider passes it through in some form.
Assessments
Fees the card networks charge for the use of their rails. Like interchange, they are set by the networks; the processor collects them and passes them on.
Processor markup
What the processing company adds on top of interchange and assessments. This is the portion that differs between providers and pricing models — and the part a statement review examines most closely.
Monthly & ancillary fees
Statement fees, PCI-program fees, gateway fees, batch fees, and similar fixed charges. Small individually; on lower volume they can move the effective rate more than the headline rate does.
The statement review
What happens in a statement review?
A statement review is a line-by-line read of your most recent processing statement that ends in one number — your effective rate — and one plain-language recommendation, including "stay where you are" when switching is not worth it.
Line-by-line read
An associate walks your actual statement with you — every fee named, every line sorted into interchange, assessments, markup, or fixed fees.
The effective-rate math
The same division this page runs: total fees ÷ total volume. Done on your real numbers, not estimates, so the result is yours to keep either way.
Plain-language explanation
What each cost is, who sets it, and which parts are structural versus negotiable — in ordinary language, not processing jargon.
An honest answer
If a change isn't worth the disruption, we say so and you stay where you are. If it is, the next step is a Maverick application and underwriting — never a promise from us.
Why trust the math
Why bring your statement to Apex Pay?
Apex Pay is a registered partner of Maverick Payments — acceptance runs on hosted, certified rails, raw card data never touches our servers, and every merchant book we operate is reconciled daily.
Registered Maverick partner
Acceptance runs on Maverick Payments' certified infrastructure. Pricing, approval, and settlement terms come from the provider agreement after underwriting — which is exactly why this page makes no promises.
Hosted rails, no raw card data
Checkout and payment flows run on hosted, certified provider surfaces. We never store, process, or transmit raw card data on our servers.
Reconciled daily
Sessions, captures, refunds, disputes, and payouts are matched every day. Want to feel the flow before any paperwork? Try the sandbox.
Straight answers
Questions merchants actually ask
Will you beat my current rate?
We won't promise that before reading your statement. Actual pricing is set by the Maverick provider agreement after underwriting, and sometimes the honest answer is that your current setup is fine. We start with a line-by-line statement review and the effective-rate math, then tell you plainly whether a change is worth pursuing — including when it isn't.
Do I have to switch banks to work with Apex Pay?
No. Card processing and business banking are separate relationships. Your deposits keep landing in the bank account you already use — a processing change affects how card payments are accepted and settled, not where your business banks.
How long does switching payment processors take?
It depends on underwriting. Every merchant application is reviewed and approved by the payment provider, and the timeline is set by that underwriting process — your industry, your volume, and how complete your file is. We prepare the application and documents so the review moves as quickly as your file allows, and we never promise an approval or a date.
Next step
Bring a statement. We'll bring a calculator.
Book a line-by-line statement review, or try the hosted payment flow in the sandbox first — no paperwork either way.