Head-to-head, honestly
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Interchange-plus peers
don't see yours
On a different processor?
Square, Global Payments, and Moneris are the most common processors merchants switch from. If you're on Helcim, Clover, BMO Merchant Services, Stripe, Toast, Worldpay, Elavon, or anyone else, the same wholesale-plus math applies.
Open a free 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
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.