The merchant processing industry is built on confusion. Tiered pricing. Bundled rates. Vague "assessment fees." Statements designed to look complicated enough that you stop asking questions.
And while you're busy running your business, that confusion quietly costs you hundreds — sometimes thousands — of dollars every year.
There's a better way. And it's called Cost Plus pricing.
What Cost Plus Pricing Actually Means
Cost Plus is the only pricing model in merchant processing that shows you everything.
Here's how it works:
Every transaction has two costs. First, there's interchange — the wholesale rate set by Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. No processor controls this. It's the same for everyone.
Then there's the processor markup — what your processor actually earns on top of that wholesale cost.
Cost Plus in a Nutshell
With Cost Plus, both numbers are visible on every statement. No blending. No burying. No mystery.
With traditional tiered or bundled pricing? The markup is folded into the rate, dressed up with industry jargon, and handed to you with a smile.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Let's be direct: most small businesses are overpaying.
Not because they made bad decisions — but because their processor made it nearly impossible to know the real number.
When you can't see where the margin is hidden, you can't fight it. You can't compare. You can't negotiate.
Cost Plus changes that. It puts the numbers on the table and lets you see exactly what your processor earns on every single transaction. That's not just transparency. That's leverage.
Why Rate Killers Built Their Model Around Cost Plus
At Rate Killers, we believe your processor should be your partner — not your biggest hidden expense.
That's why we don't do tiered pricing. We don't bundle our margins into mysterious blended rates. We don't write statements you need a decoder ring to understand.
We run pure Cost Plus pricing because we're confident our rates stand on their own.
Our Pricing Model
Interchange + our markup. Clearly stated. Every month. On every line.
When you call us with a question about your statement, we can walk you through it line by line — because there's nothing to hide.
The Rate Killers Difference
Here's what honest merchant processing actually looks like in practice:
| Processor A | Rate Killers | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Interchange + 0.50% | Interchange + 0.15% |
| Annual cost on $500K volume | $2,500 in markup | $750 in markup |
| Your savings | $1,750/year back in your pocket | |
The difference isn't buried in fine print. It's right there in black and white.
On $500,000 in annual volume, that spread is $1,750 back in your pocket every year. Most businesses never see that money because they never see the comparison. We think you deserve to.
Pricing Reveals Character
Here's something worth sitting with: the way a processor prices their services tells you a lot about how they'll treat you across the entire relationship.
Hidden markups don't just happen in the rate sheet. They show up in:
- Equipment costs — inflated terminal prices or forced leasing
- Contract terms — auto-renewals and long lock-ins
- Early termination clauses — penalties for leaving
- Monthly minimums — fees buried on page three of an agreement
A processor willing to show you everything upfront is signaling something real: we're not counting on your confusion to make money.
That's the culture we've built at Rate Killers. And it's the standard we hold ourselves to every day.
Find Out What You're Actually Paying
If you haven't done a real comparison recently, there's a good chance you're leaving money on the table every single month.
Rate Killers offers a free, no-obligation rate review. Send us your last three processing statements and we'll show you:
- ✓ Your true effective rate
- ✓ Where your current processor is earning hidden margin
- ✓ Exactly what you'd pay on Cost Plus pricing with us
- ✓ Your projected annual savings
No pressure. No games. Just numbers.
Because in this industry, clarity is rare — and you deserve a processor who's proud to show you everything.