The Honest Rate Promise
If we ever charge you a junk fee, we refund it at twice the amount.
In writing. Payment within 15 days after approval. No fee to claim, no negotiation. A standalone Payzium commitment, set out in its own signed instrument executed 26 July 2026. The Promise is made for the benefit of each merchant enrolled with Payzium in Canada.
Payzium-controlled fees only, against the pricing schedule in your signed application. Interchange and network fees excluded.What the Promise covers, what it doesn't.
Covered
The Promise applies to Payzium-controlled fees: fees Payzium sets, that are not a pass-through of interchange, network assessments or third-party charges, and that accrue to Payzium as revenue. Your rates and your pass-through categories are written on the pricing schedule in the application you sign before you process. A Payzium-controlled fee charged beyond that signed schedule is covered.
Not covered
Fees originated by upstream networks and card brands are not within Payzium's control and are not subject to the Promise. That means interchange (set by Visa and Mastercard), card network assessments (set by Visa, Mastercard, Interac, American Express), and currency conversion fees on international cards. These pass through to you at cost. We don't mark them up. We don't pretend we control them.
The promise, in writing
We charge for the rate. That is the entire list. If we ever charge for anything else, we will refund it at twice the amount. You send us the record; we do the rest. No fee to claim, no negotiation.
What “the rate” includes.
The pricing schedule in the application you sign lists three things, in writing, before you process a transaction.
Per-transaction margin
0.30% + 5¢ card-present
0.40% + 5¢ card-not-present
On credit at Tier 1. Both drop automatically at $100K, $500K, and $1M monthly volume.
Interac debit
5¢ flat
Per transaction. No percentage.
Merchant account fee
$5 per month
Flat. Never variable, never hidden, never adjusted.
Plus interchange and network passthroughs at cost (set by Visa, Mastercard, Interac, American Express; not Payzium).
Any Payzium-controlled fee beyond that signed schedule is what the Promise covers.
Why we made it a contractual promise.
Most processors say they don't charge junk fees. By the time you notice the ones they do charge, you've paid for a year.
The Honest Rate Promise is the version of that commitment that doesn't depend on you trusting our word. It is a standalone Payzium commitment, set out in its own signed instrument executed 26 July 2026. The Promise is made for the benefit of each merchant enrolled with Payzium in Canada. If we ever break it, you can hold us to it. With a refund at twice the amount.
What we don't charge.
Each item below is a fee Payzium does not charge, on any account, ever. The four featured fees show the industry-typical price you would otherwise pay.
Statement fee
A.K.A. Paper statement
Industry typical: $9.95/mo
A monthly charge for sending you a record of fees you've already paid. We don't charge one, and your fee record is available at no charge on request.
Compliance fee
A.K.A. PCI assessment
Industry typical: $19.95/mo
A monthly fee for 'ensuring' you meet card-network security standards. We don't charge one.
Annual fee
A.K.A. Membership
Industry typical: $149/yr
A once-a-year charge with no service attached. Most processors collect it on the anniversary of your signup, hoping you've forgotten.
Monthly minimum
A.K.A. Processing min
Industry typical: $35/mo
A penalty for processing too little volume. We charge by transaction; if you don't process, you don't pay.
+ 4 more we don't charge for
Batch fee
$0A per-batch charge for closing out the day's transactions. The batch is automatic; the fee is added because it can be.
Gateway access
$0A monthly fee for the software that routes your transactions. We don't charge for the road we ask you to drive on.
Non-qualified surcharge
$0An extra percentage applied when transactions don't fit the processor's 'qualified' tier. Tiered pricing was designed to make this fee inevitable. We use interchange-plus; this doesn't exist on our bill.
Regulatory recovery fee
$0A monthly fee labeled to sound like a tax. It isn't. It's revenue.
How to claim the 2x refund.
Your rates are on the pricing schedule in the application you signed before you started processing. If a charge ever appears beyond that signed schedule, email support@payzium.com with your account ID and any record showing the charge. We obtain the itemized breakdown and verify it against our own records and the processing records for your account.
The Promise sets no filing deadline of its own. We did not put one in: the trigger is a fee we failed to disclose, and a clock on you for not catching it would make our defect your problem.
What the Lookback Period bounds is the reach of the double refund. It runs from the statement period in which the fee comes to light, whether because you tell us or because we find it ourselves, back through the eleven periods before it, twelve in all, or every period since your first settled Payzium transaction if you have processed with us for fewer than twelve. Every one of those periods in which the fee was actually charged comes back at twice the amount, and anything charged in an earlier period you substantiate comes back at par, so you are not out of pocket for any of it.
5
Business days to first response
14
Days to a written decision
No retention call. No friction.
common questions
Questions merchants ask about the Promise
What counts as a junk fee under this promise?
Any Payzium-controlled fee that is not disclosed on the pricing schedule in the application you sign. That schedule lists per-transaction margin (0.30% + 5¢ on credit at Tier 1, lower at higher tiers), 5¢ flat on Interac debit, the $5/month merchant account, and interchange and network passthroughs at cost. A Payzium-controlled fee charged beyond that signed schedule falls under the Promise.
What fees aren't covered?
Interchange rate changes set by Visa or Mastercard. Card network assessment fees. Currency conversion on international cards. Chargeback fees set by the issuing network. These pass through to you at cost. Payzium adds no chargeback handling fee on top. We don't mark up the issuer's fee. They're not Payzium fees and they're not within Payzium's control.
Why "double" instead of just a refund?
Because a single refund doesn't change incentives. Doubling does. The Promise costs us twice as much when we break it as it gained us. That makes the cost of breaking it real, not theoretical.
Do your rates ever change?
We update our rates occasionally. Any change applies only to merchants who sign on or after the change date. The pricing schedule you signed stays in place as long as you process with us. Interchange and network passthroughs reflect the current rates set by Visa, Mastercard, Interac, and American Express; those are outside Payzium's control.
from page to contract
The Promise is a standalone commitment, not a marketing line.
The Honest Rate Promise is governed by its own signed instrument, executed 26 July 2026, which covers Payzium-controlled fees. The Promise is made for the benefit of each merchant enrolled with Payzium in Canada. Payzium's Terms do not vary it. Apply online. Payzium-controlled fees only