How Payzium compares against the processors merchants leave. No spin, just the math.
We process payments at interchange + 0.30% + 5¢ Tier 1 margin: the same fees the card networks charge us, plus a thin transparent margin. Below is what that looks like next to the flat-rate, bundled, and legacy structures most merchants come from.
- In card processing since 2014
- Next-day funding
- $0 setup
- Posted pricing
Your volume, against the processors you know.
$3,356
About $280 a month back in your business compared with Square, and $10,069 over three years.
How your price is built
At $40,000 a month in card sales
- Network costs (interchange and assessments), passed through at cost
- $361.72
- Payzium margin
- $72.00
- Payzium per-transaction fees
- $24.00
- Monthly account fee
- $5.00
- Your total a month
- $462.72
- Effective rate
- 1.16%
Estimate on Payzium's published rate card and real Visa Canada and Mastercard Canada interchange, $50 average ticket, Interac at the standard contactless rate. Competitor figures from each processor's published Canadian rates (Global Payments modeled at a mid-range of its bank-channel plans). Final pricing depends on your actual card mix and current network rates.
Flat-rate platforms
- Payzium vs
Square
Square's 2.5% in-person flat rate is fine until you scale. Past about $15K/month you're paying for interchange you can't see, and hardware lock-in compounds the switching cost.
- Square in-person credit
- 2.5%
- Saved at $40K volume
- $280/mo
- Payzium vs
Stripe
Stripe's headline 2.9% + 30¢ stacks a chain of modifiers (+0.5%, +0.8%, +2%) that quietly lifts the effective rate well past the number on the page. Best developer platform in payments; the modifier stack is the actual bill.
- Stripe headline online
- 2.9% + 30¢
- Saved at $40K volume
- $257/mo
- Payzium vs
Shopify Payments
Shopify Payments' processing rate is welded to your subscription tier. A cheaper plan buys a worse rate. Third-party 2% fee on Basic if you pick your own processor. Honest math on Basic at $40K/month.
- Shopify Payments CP by plan
- 2.4-2.8%
- Saved at $40K on Basic plan
- $258/mo
- Payzium vs
Lightspeed
Lightspeed's own legal fee table charges $270/mo at $40K volume to any merchant who uses a processor other than Lightspeed Payments. Their POS software is strong; that is the size of the vendor lock.
- Lightspeed transaction fee at $40K
- $270/mo
- The Lightspeed tax if you use another processor
- $3,240/yr
Bank-linked processors
- Payzium vs
Moneris
Moneris Flat Rate at 2.65% + 10¢ is the most expensive way to take credit cards if you're a smaller Canadian merchant. Honest math at $40K/month.
- Moneris Flat Rate
- 2.65% + 10¢
- Saved at $40K volume
- $295/mo
- Payzium vs
Global Payments
Global Payments runs many bank-bundled merchant programs in Canada. The headline rate is rarely the effective rate; FTNQ surcharges and monthly admin fees stack on top.
- Typical effective rate range
- 2.0-2.8%
- Saved at $40K volume
- $260/mo
- Payzium vs
Desjardins
Desjardins does not process card payments itself; the caisse refers merchants to Global Payments. The rate you pay is the Global Payments rate. Honest math on that program at $40K/month.
- Global Payments effective range
- 2.0-2.8%
- Saved at $40K volume
- $260/mo
Interchange-plus peers
- Payzium vs
Helcim
Same interchange-plus model. Lower margin. Written savings guarantee Helcim does not offer.
- Helcim Tier 1 in-person
- 0.40% + 8¢
- Saved at $40K volume
- $61/mo
On a different processor?
Square, Global Payments, and Moneris each have a full comparison above. If you're on Helcim, Clover, BMO Merchant Services, Stripe, Toast, Worldpay, Elavon, or anyone else, the same wholesale-plus math applies.
Open an account online. The rate structure is the same regardless of who you're leaving: interchange at cost, 0.30% + 5¢ margin Tier 1, lower as you scale.
Honest math.
Decide from there. Wholesale-plus pricing at interchange + 0.30% + 5¢ Tier 1 margin. Backed by Pay less or it's free. No setup fee, no PCI fee, no monthly minimum, no junk fees. · Payzium-controlled fees only
Reading a statement line you do not recognize? Look it up in the Statement Fee Decoder.