Topic, verified June 2026

How Vendors Price Payment Gateways

Every gateway, no matter the headline, builds its price on the same four-layer stack: interchange, assessment, network authorisation, and acquirer margin. Where they differ is whether they pass through layers visibly (interchange-plus) or bundle them invisibly (flat-rate).

The four-layer stack

  1. 1
    1. Interchange
    To issuing bank, set by network.
  2. 2
    2. Assessment
    To Visa/MC for running rails.
  3. 3
    3. Authorisation
    Per-message routing fee.
  4. 4
    4. Acquirer margin
    The merchant fee minus the three above.
Direct answer
Flat-rate vendors (Stripe, PayPal Advanced) collect one number and absorb the variance in cost stack. Interchange-plus vendors (Helcim, Adyen) pass the variance through to the merchant. Subscription vendors (Stax, Payment Depot) trade off a fixed monthly fee for pass-through interchange plus a small per-tx add-on. Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) are pass-through and add no merchant fee.

Related

Interchange explained
Layer 1 detail.
Models compared
Break-even math.
Methodology
How we verify everything.
Last verified June 2026. Next review September 2026. Rates change without notice; always confirm directly with the vendor before signing a contract.