$5m-$50m/yr
Payment Gateway Cost for Mid-Market
When to leave flat-rate, where interchange-plus wins, and what to negotiate at this segment.
$5M+
Where IC+ negotiation opens
30-80bps
Typical savings vs flat-rate
3-5
Vendors on shortlist
8 weeks
Procurement cycle
Headline answer
At $5M-$50M/yr GMV, you should be off flat-rate pricing. A negotiated interchange-plus deal from any of Stripe (custom), Braintree, Helcim, Stax, Chase, or Elavon typically saves 30-80 basis points vs the published flat rate. At the top of this band, Adyen and Worldpay become viable but only if you have multi-currency or multi-method requirements their direct-acquirer relationships actually solve.
Worked illustrative comparison at $20M GMV
(illustrative example, not a real company)
Stripe flat-rate
$20M at 2.9% + 30c
$610,000
Disputes (~$10K)
$10,000
International + FX
$28,000
Annual cost
~$648K
Stripe custom IC+
IC ~1.8% + 0.30% markup
$420,000
Per-tx 15c
$50,000
Disputes + intl + FX
$38,000
Annual cost
~$508K
Stax subscription
$199/mo subscription
$2,400
IC ~1.8% pass-through
$360,000
Per-tx 8-15c
$40,000
Disputes + intl
$38,000
Annual cost
~$440K
What you should be negotiating
- Move from flat-rate to interchange-plus. Above $80K/mo every acquirer will offer this if you ask.
- Drop monthly minimums, PCI fees, statement fees, batch fees.
- Cap dispute fees at contract level (e.g. $10/dispute negotiated down from $15-$20).
- Reduce FX margin on multi-currency. Stripe will move on 1% above $5M intl exposure.
- Multi-year contract trade-off: 24-36 month commitment buys 10-30bps in rate but exposes you to vendor lock-in.
Mid-market shortlist
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verified Last verified June 2026