The truth of the matter is this: there's no way to know for sure how much you're paying in processing fees until your statement comes. Generally speaking, rates can range anywhere from 1.5% up to 3.5% or more on swiped transactions (typical credit card rate) and then another .10 - .30 plus 5-7% on keyed in / card not present transactions.

The majority of processors typically charge more for credit cards than they do for debit cards, even though the transaction is processed over exactly the same network. Most might say that this is due to "increased risk" with processing credit cards, but the reality of it is that it's because of all the fees that are associated with credit cards.

Some processors will charge a set percentage no matter what type of card is entered, or they might just have different tiers for debit and credit rates. Some might only charge you when you have internet sales, but will give you a decent rate on POS / keyed in sales. Others might charge you the same rate no matter how it's entered, but will offer incentives for online sales, or specific types of transactions (like recurring billing).

The bottom line is that you should ask about all these types of variables before signing with an acquiring bank / processor. One thing you should definitely try to avoid is having a "tiered" rate structure. There's no reason for a business to be charged more for the exact same type of service, especially when they are providing it at their own cost (if you're processing via your bank or through an internet merchant account).

As far as pricing goes, you definitely should try to find out what fees (for all types of processing including equipment leasing, gateway fees, PCI compliance fees, funds transfer fees) are tacked on to your rate before signing up with someone. From there you should try to find out if they offer incentives like online discounts (if you make most of your sales online), or volume-based "bundling" where the more swiped transactions you have, the less your percentage points are.

The bottom line here is that it's impossible to give a true "average" across the board in terms of credit card processing fees because every business is different. Businesses who swipe more will typically pay less in percentage terms, while those who key in / card not present their transactions will typically pay a higher percentage, plus a per transaction fee.

You should also make sure that the potential acquirer / processor is not going to charge you an additional monthly fee for internet processing or account inactivity. Every time you swipe a card or key in a sale, that's money coming into your bank account and it should never cost you an additional fee.

You should also ask if there are any other fees that might come up, such as for paper statements or chargebacks (when the cardholder contests a transaction). No matter what, you should always be able to get a complete list of fees and charges before signing with them so you know exactly how much money you'll be handing over.

As far as the actual amount you'll be charged in processing fees, like we said there's no real way to know until your statement comes. Some processors will list the fees on their site (or send out a fee schedule), but most won't bother with it because they don't want businesses to see how much money they're going to be charged before signing a contract.

In any event, if you know the percentage that's being charged, all you have to do is divide it by 2 and add .10 for each transaction. For example: If your business processes 60 swiped transactions per month at 1.9% and 30 keyed in / card not present transactions at 2.9%, you would end up paying a total of $826.50 per month on processing fees ($890.30 / 60 = 1.352 + .10 x 30).

In this case, it works out to be a little less than 7% of what your business volume will be going through the credit card company. Most businesses won't be able to figure out what their processing costs will be until they get a statement with the month's transactions, but you definitely need to ask questions up front and find out as much as you can about credit card processing fees before signing on with anyone.