About this project
The US Merchant Rate Benchmark is an independent project built to address a simple problem: there is almost no transparent, comparable pricing data in the US merchant acquiring market. Most small business owners have no idea whether the rate they pay to accept card payments is fair, because there is nothing credible to compare it against.
This tool lets business owners anonymously contribute their effective processing rate and instantly see how it compares to similar businesses — by sector and annual card volume. The more merchants contribute, the sharper the benchmarks become.
How we keep it honest
- Independent. We are not affiliated with any payment processor, acquirer, or ISO, and we don't take referral fees for sending you anywhere.
- Anonymous. We never ask for your name or business name. We don't use cookies, tracking, or any third-party scripts.
- Transparent. When we don't have enough real submissions for your segment, we say so and fall back to published market ranges instead of pretending.
The goal is straightforward: give small businesses the same pricing visibility that large merchants and brokers already have, so that asking “am I overpaying?” has an honest answer.