Skip to content

Payments economics

What do two PSP quotes cost on the same profile?

A quoted percentage is only one part of the bill. Compare two entered quotes using the same monthly payments, attempts and ticket size, then see which costs remain outside the estimate.

No live provider pricing, uploads or account required. See the hypothetical worked result or check the formula and limits.

Same profile. Two quotes. Visible gaps.

Compare your modeled monthly costs

Enter one currency and one monthly transaction profile, then both quotes. Blank fees mean unknown. Enter 0 only when the fee is confirmed zero or not applicable, even if its event count is zero.

No card, bank or customer details are needed. The calculator uses your browser only; it does not save or send your inputs.

Static worked example · available without JavaScript

A lower percentage can still cost more

These are fictional quotes, not offers from any payment provider. The example uses currency units (CU): N = 10,000 successful payments, T = 20, A = 10,000 attempts and R = D = V = 0. Gross processed volume S = 200,000 CU.

Hypothetical Quote A

1.5% + 0.10 CU per success. All five other modeled fees are explicitly zero.

4,000.00 CU

200,000 × 1.5% + 10,000 × 0.10 = 4,000.

0.40 CU per success · 2.00% of S.

Hypothetical Quote B

1.2% + 0.20 CU per success + 50 CU per month. All four other modeled fees are explicitly zero.

4,450.00 CU

200,000 × 1.2% + 10,000 × 0.20 + 50 = 4,450.

0.445 CU per success · 2.225% of S.

Quote A costs 450 CU less in this model at a 20 CU average ticket. Change only the average ticket to 50 CU and Quote B costs 450 CU less. All other inputs and exclusions stay the same.

Average ticket: 10 CU

Quote A monthly cost
2,500.00 CU
Quote B monthly cost
3,250.00 CU

Average ticket: 20 CU

Quote A monthly cost
4,000.00 CU
Quote B monthly cost
4,450.00 CU

Average ticket: 50 CU

Quote A monthly cost
8,500.00 CU
Quote B monthly cost
8,050.00 CU

The example includes percentage processing, successful-payment and monthly fees only. Interchange, scheme fees, taxes, minimum commitments, reserves, payout fees and other contract charges are not separately priced or confirmed as included.

Formula and limits

S = N × T

C = S × r / 100 + N × f + A × a + R × u + D × d + M + V × x / 100

C is modeled monthly cost. S is gross modeled processed volume, not net revenue after refunds. Amounts use one currency; r and x are percentages. Cost per successful payment is C / N. Effective percentage is 100 × C / S. A zero denominator is shown as “not applicable”.

  • Attempts include successful payments. An attempt fee is additional to the successful-payment fee, so do not enter the same charge twice.
  • The period is simplified: refunds and disputes are counted against this period's successful payments, with R ≤ N and D ≤ N. Each count represents chargeable events; multiple refunds per payment or events relating to earlier months need a different model.
  • All successes use one average ticket and one aggregate percentage. Different card, market, payment-method or ticket mixes, tiered rates, caps and minimums require separate scenarios or an invoice-level model.
  • Processing fees are retained in the base case. Refund rebates are excluded; the tool does not infer a provider's refund policy. The model adds additional refund and dispute fees, not refunded sales value or dispute losses.
  • V is explicitly entered FX-converted volume expressed in the selected currency, at most S. The FX term models a markup only; it does not estimate exchange rates, principal conversion or multiple FX legs.
  • Check whether interchange, scheme fees and other pass-through charges are within the entered aggregate rate. Avoid counting an included fee twice. Unconfirmed charges remain exclusions, even when all seven modeled fee fields are filled.
  • Results show two decimals for amounts and four for ratios, without invoice-level or currency-specific rounding. Reserves, settlement timing, taxes, minimum commitments, payouts, setup fees, rebates and other unmodeled contract terms can change the commercial outcome.