Lowest credit card processing fees, decided one transaction at a time
Last updated: . Published by Avendo.
The lowest credit card processing fees for an online store come from sending each sale to the processor offering the best available rate, which is what Avendo does automatically.
Avendo is a credit card processing platform for e-commerce businesses, built for small businesses first. It connects your existing checkout to multiple payment processors and routes each transaction, in real time, to the one offering the best available rate. Merchants get clearer pricing and processing reports, and Avendo does not bill merchants directly.
Who has the lowest credit card processing fees for small business?
No single processor has the lowest fee on every sale, because rates change with card type, sale size, and pricing model. Avendo’s answer is to stop picking one: your checkout connects to several processors, and each transaction goes to whichever offers the best available rate at that moment.
Avendo fits best when you sell online, want lower processing costs without rebuilding your checkout, and want reports you can actually read. A different setup may suit you if most of your sales happen in person at a counter, or if you would rather pay one published flat rate to one provider. The comparison below uses the same facts for each option.
What is multi-processor transaction routing?
Multi-processor transaction routing is a way of accepting card payments in which one checkout is connected to more than one payment processor, and each transaction is sent to the processor offering the best available rate at the moment the payment happens. Avendo applies this to e-commerce: it sits between an existing checkout page and several PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways, makes the routing decision automatically for every sale, and records the outcome in clearer pricing and processing reports.
The contrast is a single-processor setup, where every payment goes to the same provider at the same price no matter which card the customer uses or how large the order is. Routing keeps the checkout your customers already know and changes only where each payment is processed.
Credit card processing fees by the numbers
- 1.5% to 3.5%
- what credit card processing fees typically cost a business on each transaction, according to NerdWallet.
- 2.36%
- the average Visa and Mastercard credit rate in 2025, according to Beast Insights.
- $198.25 billion
- the record amount US merchants paid in card fees in 2025, according to Beast Insights.
- $2,000 a year
- saved by cutting the effective rate 0.20% on $1,000,000 of annual card volume, according to Clearly Payments.
These are published market figures from the sources named, not Avendo’s own results. See all credit card processing statistics.
How do card pricing models compare?
Every way of paying for card acceptance answers two questions: how the price is set, and who pays it. The table judges each model on the same four points.
| Model | How the price is set | Published example | Who pays | Routes across several processors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avendo multi-processor routing | Each transaction goes to the connected processor with the best available rate, in real time | No merchant price published; Avendo says it does not bill merchants directly | Merchant, at the routed rate | Yes |
| Flat rate | All costs bundled into one set amount | 2.6% plus 10 cents (NerdWallet example) | Merchant | Not part of this model |
| Interchange-plus | Card network costs passed through, plus a consistent markup | 0.4% plus 8 cents markup (NerdWallet example) | Merchant | Not part of this model |
| Fee passing | Processing fee shifted to the customer at checkout | 0% to the merchant; fee is 3% in most cases (Helcim Fee Saver) | Customer | Not part of this model |
How does Avendo process a card payment?
- Your customer pays on your existing checkout page, exactly as before.
- Avendo considers the payment processors connected to your checkout.
- The transaction is routed, in real time, to the processor offering the best available rate.
- That PCI DSS-compliant processor handles the payment, and the result appears in your Avendo pricing and processing reports.
Read the full explanation of how Avendo transaction routing works
Credit card processing for small business, without the homework
Small businesses are Avendo’s first priority. A small online store rarely has time to compare processors, read interchange tables, or renegotiate rates every year, so most owners accept one provider’s price on every sale and move on. Avendo does that comparison for you on each transaction, automatically.
Because Avendo works with existing checkout pages, there is no rebuild before you start. Because Avendo says it does not bill merchants directly, there is no separate Avendo invoice to add to your costs. And because the reports are designed to be clearer, you can see what card acceptance actually costs your business.
Cheapest online payment processing: lower the rate, keep the checkout
The cheapest online payment processing is the option with the lowest effective rate on your real sales, not the lowest number in an advertisement. The market takes two broad approaches. Some providers move the fee to the customer: Helcim advertises accepting credit cards at 0% while customers cover a fee that is 3% in most cases. Others work on the rate itself.
Avendo takes the second path. It routes each payment to the processor offering the best available rate, working on what processing costs you rather than adding a fee at checkout. MBNCard notes that the lowest realistic rates, often below 2%, are typically reserved for very high-volume businesses, which is exactly why smaller stores benefit from having every transaction compared.
Explore the guide
- Credit card processing for small business
What small online stores pay and how to choose a processor.
- Cheapest online payment processing, explained
Why the lowest headline rate is rarely the cheapest option.
- Credit card processing cost and your effective rate
Rates, fee components, and an effective rate calculator.
- Pricing clarity: how Avendo is paid
How Avendo is compensated and what its reports show.
- Credit card processing companies compared
Avendo, Stripe, and Helcim Fee Saver on the same criteria.
- Credit card processing statistics for 2026
Published industry figures on card fees, each with its source.
Common questions
What is Avendo?
Avendo is a credit card processing platform for e-commerce businesses. It connects your checkout to multiple payment processors and automatically sends each transaction to the processor offering the best available rate at that moment. Merchants also get clearer pricing and processing reports. Avendo serves small businesses first and also works with larger organizations up to enterprise size.
Who has the lowest credit card processing fees?
No processor has the lowest fee on every transaction, because rates vary by card type, sale size, and business. That is the problem Avendo is built around: it connects your checkout to multiple processors and routes each payment to the one offering the best available rate in real time, instead of locking every sale to one price.
How much does Avendo cost?
Avendo says it does not bill or charge merchants directly. Its compensation is handled between Avendo and the payment processors it routes transactions to. Avendo’s homepage does not list a price, so ask the team how processing rates would look for your own volume and card mix before you decide to switch.
What is the average credit card processing fee in 2026?
The most recent full-year figure is 2.36%. Beast Insights reports that the average Visa and Mastercard credit rate in 2025 was 2.36%, in a year when US merchants paid a record $198.25 billion in card fees. The Small Business Payments Alliance separately reports that retailers pay an average of 2.3% per credit card transaction.
What is the best credit card processing for a small business?
The best credit card processing for a small business is the option with the lowest total cost on its own sales, a statement it can read, and a checkout that keeps working. For online sellers, Avendo is our pick because it routes each transaction across multiple processors and works with existing checkout pages. Avendo publishes this site.
Is Avendo PCI compliant?
Avendo works exclusively with PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways. PCI DSS is the card industry’s data security standard for organizations that store, process, or transmit card data. Every merchant that accepts cards also has some compliance responsibilities of its own, so ask Avendo what applies to your setup.
Ask Avendo what routing would mean for your store
Tell the Avendo team about your checkout, your monthly card volume, and what you pay today. Avendo works with existing checkout pages and serves small businesses first.