Which Payment Methods Should Your Business Accept?

On this page 9 sections

1. Cards Come First, and the Card Type Sets the Price
2. The Debit Cap Lost Again on Appeal
3. One $40 Sale, Five Different Interchange Costs
4. Digital Wallets Are Priced by the Card Inside Them
5. ACH Payments Cost Less on Big Invoices but Aren't Final Right Away
6. BNPL Pays off Only When It Changes the Sale
7. Payment Links and Cards on File for Sales Away From the Counter
8. Matching Merchant Payment Services to How You Sell
9. Start With Your Own Statement

Key takeaways

• At Visa's current rates, keying in a small-bank debit card costs more interchange than tapping a basic credit card. How staff take the card matters as much as which card it is.
• On October 26, 2026, a federal appeals court upheld the ruling that struck down the 21-cent debit cap. The cap still applies for now, but large-bank debit costs could change.
• Consumer ACH debits can be returned as unauthorized for up to 60 calendar days after settlement. Don't treat them as final money.
• Only add BNPL if it brings in enough new sales to cover its extra fee. Work out that number before you sign.

Most businesses need two things from their merchant payment services on day one: credit and debit card acceptance, and terminals that take contactless taps from cards and phone wallets. What you add after that depends on how you sell. ACH bank payments pay off when you invoice large or recurring amounts. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is worth its higher fee only on big-ticket purchases. Payment links and cards on file matter when the customer isn't at your counter.

Each method's price comes from rules most owners never see. Once you know which rule sets a price, you can see where there's room to save. If the vocabulary is new, our plain-English guide to merchant services explains each part of the setup.

Cards Come First, and the Card Type Sets the Price

The biggest cost in a card sale is interchange, the fee paid to the cardholder's bank. Network assessments and your processor's markup are added on top. Interchange is a network rule, not your processor's price. Visa publishes its U.S. rates in the Visa USA Interchange Reimbursement Fees schedule, and the current edition took effect October 24, 2026.

Credit cards have no federal cap. Rewards and business cards carry higher interchange than basic consumer cards. Keyed and online sales cost more than chip or tap sales because the fraud risk is higher. Our explainer on how interchange fees are set walks through the programs one by one.

Federal law splits debit into two groups. Regulation II is the Federal Reserve's rule under the Durbin Amendment. Since 2011 it has capped interchange on debit cards from large banks at 21 cents plus 0.05% of the sale, plus a 1-cent fraud-prevention adjustment for issuers that qualify, according to Consumer Finance Monitor's summary of the rule. Debit cards from smaller issuers are exempt. Visa prices those from its own schedule, at higher rates.

The Debit Cap Lost Again on Appeal

That cap's future is now in doubt. On October 26, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit unanimously upheld a North Dakota district court's 2025 decision to vacate Regulation II, in Corner Post v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Corner Post is a truck stop and convenience store. The court found that the Fed counted costs the Durbin Amendment doesn't allow and held that the law requires a transaction-specific cost analysis, as Consumer Finance Monitor reports.

The cap hasn't disappeared yet. The district court put its own ruling on hold during the appeal, and Visa's October 24, 2026 schedule still prices regulated debit at 0.05% + $0.21. What comes next is unsettled. In a separate case, Linney's Pizza, a different district court upheld the rule. America's Credit Unions notes that the conflict could end up at the Supreme Court. That group, which represents card-issuing credit unions, argues the Eighth Circuit's reading would force caps far below issuers' costs. The Fed's October 2023 proposal would cut the base fee from 21 cents to 14.4 cents, according to Cooley, and it has never been finalized.

Merchants should watch for lower large-bank debit costs, but nobody can say when they'll arrive. Your pricing model decides whether a change reaches you. On interchange-plus pricing, a new debit rate shows up on your statement automatically. On a flat rate, you keep paying the same percentage unless your provider reprices. Our comparison of interchange-plus vs. flat-rate pricing explains the difference.

One $40 Sale, Five Different Interchange Costs

Here is the same sale run five ways. Assumptions: a $40 in-store sale at a retailer that qualifies for Visa's standard retail (CPS/Retail) programs. The figures are interchange only. Network assessments and processor markup come on top.

Debit rates come from Visa's October 2026 schedule. Credit rates are Visa's traditional (non-rewards) retail rates as summarized by Helcim.

The table corrects a common belief. "Debit is cheap" is only half true, because a keyed small-bank debit card costs more than a tapped credit card. Keying that card instead of tapping it adds $0.34 to the sale. That's more than the $0.23 gap between tapping the same debit card and tapping a basic credit card. You pay that extra cost every time a cashier types in a card number because a chip reader stalled. For more on how sales slip into pricier categories, see why interchange downgrades happen and how to fix them.

So for most counter businesses, the cheapest fix is a change in how staff work. Put reliable smart payment terminals at every lane, and train staff to ask for a tap or dip before reaching for the keypad. Online and phone orders follow a different set of rules, covered in card-present vs. card-not-present fees, fraud and rules.

You can also offset card costs instead of absorbing them. MannyPay offers dual pricing and cash discount programs, plus surcharging where state law and network rules permit it. Each program has its own signage and disclosure requirements, which our credit card surcharge rules guide covers. Confirm what applies in your state with a qualified advisor.

Digital Wallets Are Priced by the Card Inside Them

Phone wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay send your terminal a token, a stand-in for the real card number that is far less useful to a thief. Many owners assume wallets add a fee. In most setups they don't. An in-store wallet tap runs as a card-present sale on the card stored in the wallet, so it's priced like that card tapped in person. Check one wallet transaction on your statement to see how your processor handles it.

The real benefit is speed. A tap clears faster than a chip insert, and online wallet buttons save mobile shoppers from typing a card number and billing address. In person you need an NFC-enabled terminal. Online, you turn wallets on in your gateway or store platform. Restaurants get extra value from handheld terminals that let guests tap at the table. Our guide to which digital wallets to accept compares the options.

ACH Payments Cost Less on Big Invoices but Aren't Final Right Away

ACH moves money between bank accounts under Nacha's rules. Either the customer authorizes you to debit their account, or they send the payment to you. Providers typically charge a flat fee or a small percentage, so the cost doesn't grow with the invoice the way a card fee does.

Here is an illustrative example. A consulting firm sends a $6,000 invoice that the client can pay by card or ACH. Assume an all-in price of 2.9% + $0.30 for an online card payment and a flat $1.00 ACH fee. These are assumptions, not quotes.

• Card: $6,000 × 2.9% = $174.00, plus $0.30, for $174.30.
• ACH: $1.00.

That's a $173.30 difference on one invoice, or $4,159.20 a year at two such invoices a month. This is why agencies and B2B suppliers steer large invoices toward bank payment and keep cards available for clients who insist.

The cost is speed. Standard ACH usually lands later than a card batch; see how long credit card deposits take for the card side. Same Day ACH currently allows payments of up to $1 million each. Nacha has approved a rule raising that to $10 million, effective September 17, 2027, according to ACA International. Ask your provider whether it offers same-day settlement and what it charges.

Owners tend to miss the rule on returns. Most ACH returns, such as for insufficient funds, must come back within two banking days of settlement. But a consumer who tells their bank a debit was unauthorized can get it returned for up to 60 calendar days after the settlement date, as Plaid's guide to ACH return codes and HighRadius's list of return codes and time frames explain.

A consumer debit that posted today isn't yet money you can count on, and neither is one that settled three weeks ago. Get a clear authorization before every debit and keep the record. Think twice before shipping expensive goods the moment a new customer's debit posts. ACH also fits poorly at a busy counter or bar, where customers expect to tap and go.

BNPL Pays off Only When It Changes the Sale

With BNPL, a third-party provider lets the customer split a purchase into installments. In the usual arrangement, the provider pays you upfront minus its fee and takes the risk that the customer doesn't repay. You still handle returns. BNPL fees for merchants are generally higher than standard card processing, so confirm current terms with any provider you consider.

It only makes sense for a narrow set of businesses. At a furniture or jewelry store, a four-figure price often stalls the decision, and installments can close the sale. A coffee shop would pay the higher fee for nothing, because nobody needs installments on a latte.

Run a break-even test before you sign. In this illustrative case, assume BNPL costs four percentage points more than your card rate and you run $50,000 a month through it. Also assume a 40% gross margin after your normal card processing cost. The extra fee comes to $2,000 a month, so BNPL has to bring in $5,000 a month in sales you otherwise wouldn't have made ($2,000 ÷ 40%). Run a trial with a set end date and compare conversion rate and average order value before and after. In the contract, check whether you get fees back on returned orders and what marketing the provider requires.

Payment Links and Cards on File for Sales Away From the Counter

Virtual terminals handle phone orders and deposits from a browser. Emailed invoices with a pay link suit contractors and caterers. Card-on-file billing covers retainers, memberships and house accounts. Before storing and reusing a card, get the customer's written consent and spell out the billing terms. The networks have specific rules for stored cards, so ask your processor what your setup needs.

These are card-not-present sales, so they cost more and carry more fraud risk than taps. Storing cards as tokens through a payment gateway keeps raw card numbers off your systems, which can reduce your PCI DSS obligations. Our guide to choosing the right PCI SAQ shows how. Written authorizations and clear billing descriptors also help you win disputes, as how chargebacks work, step by step explains.

Matching Merchant Payment Services to How You Sell

Use this matrix as a starting point and adjust it to your own sales data.

Retailers should make checkout speed the priority, with tap-enabled terminals connected to the POS. MannyPay's retail payment solutions cover in-store hardware. Restaurants and bars run on tips and pre-authorized tabs, so pay-at-table devices matter most; see payment processing for restaurants and bars. Online stores gain the most from wallet buttons at mobile checkout and 3-D Secure authentication on riskier orders. MannyPay's online payment processing connects to platforms including Shopify and WooCommerce.

Start With Your Own Statement

Before adding anything, pull your last three months of processing statements and count two things: card sales that were keyed instead of tapped or dipped, and invoice volume large enough to move to ACH. Those two numbers usually show which change to make first. If you're on interchange-plus pricing, also note your regulated debit line so you can spot it if the Regulation II fight changes that rate. Then ask each provider how it prices every method and how settlement and returns work. Our list of questions to ask a merchant service provider helps you compare their answers. For a second opinion on your current setup, request a free quote from MannyPay. A specialist responds within one business day.

Sources

1. Visa USA Interchange Reimbursement Fees (effective October 24, 2026)
2. Consumer Finance Monitor, Eighth Circuit Invalidates Federal Reserve's 21-Cent Debit Card Interchange Fee Cap
3. Consumer Finance Monitor, ND District Court Invalidates Longstanding Debit Card Interchange Rule
4. America's Credit Unions, Court Rules Fed Must Re-Write Debit Interchange Fee Cap
5. Cooley, District Court Vacates Regulation II's Debit Card Interchange Fee Standard
6. Federal Reserve Board, Regulation II Proposed Rule (October 25, 2023 board meeting)
7. Helcim, Visa Interchange Rates USA
8. Nacha, Increasing the Same Day ACH Dollar Limit to $10 Million
9. ACA International, Nacha Approves Same-Day ACH Limit Increase to $10 Million
10. Plaid, ACH Return Codes: A Complete Guide for Businesses
11. HighRadius, What Are ACH Return Codes? List and Time Frames

AR

About the author

Adrian Reyes

Adrian Reyes is Senior Payments & Fintech Editor for Beyond the Swipe, covering credit card processing, merchant accounts, payment technology and processing fees.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Card network rules and state laws change; confirm current requirements for your business.