Payzium versus Square
Payzium versus Square: what the statement actually shows.
Square wins on ease of setup and a friendly Reader for the smallest merchants. Payzium wins when the transaction volume is regular enough that a published margin costs less than a blended flat rate.
Square: what the fees page publishes.
| Line | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| In-person card (tap, insert, swipe), Free plan | 2.6% + $0.15 | [1] |
| Online and invoice, Free plan | 3.3% + $0.30 | [2] |
| Manually keyed | 3.5% + $0.15 | [3] |
| Custom pricing eligibility | Available above $250,000 per year in card sales | [4] |
- Monthly account fee: $0 [5]
- Setup fee: $0 [5]
- Chargeback fee: $0 (dispute management included) [5]
Square Reader (magstripe). First reader free; additional Square hardware sold outright (Reader $59, Stand $149, Terminal $299, Register $799 at time of verification). [6]
Square contract candor.
- Square publishes no cancellation fee.
- Square publishes no long-term contract for its standard plan.
- Blended rate is simple; the tradeoff is that a merchant paying 2.6% on a card whose interchange is 1.54% is quietly paying Square a margin above 1.0% before Square's per-transaction fee.
Where Square wins.
- The simplest possible sign-up for a new merchant.
- The Reader hardware and Square Point of Sale app are excellent at the very small end.
- The chargeback dispute-management workflow is unusually merchant-friendly.
Where Payzium wins.
- Once a merchant is running $10,000+ per month in card volume, an interchange-plus margin published on the page will nearly always beat 2.6 percent blended.
- Payzium's rate card is public on the pricing page; the same tier applies to every merchant in that band.
- Payzium's dual pricing program lets the merchant post a cash and a card price to cover eligible card acceptance costs.
Worked example.
At $40,000 per month, 100 percent card-present, blended card mix. Square Free plan in-person: 2.6% plus $0.15 per transaction across all card volume. Payzium: interchange plus assessments (pass-through) plus a 0.30 percent margin on credit volume plus $0.05 per transaction plus the $5 monthly account fee. Numbers below.
Payzium all-in effective rate on this fixture
1.70%
This is the same rate shown across the site. See the full monthly breakdown on the calculator.
FAQ.
Isn't Square's rate simpler?
Simpler on the page, yes. On the statement, Square blends every card into one rate. For merchants whose card mix skews to lower-interchange cards, the blended rate is a premium the merchant pays every month.
Do I have to switch off Square all at once?
No. Payzium runs Program A (interchange-plus) or Program B (dual pricing) with the terminal included on Payzium account; the merchant continues to use its counter hardware while boarding runs.
Sources.
- [1] In-person card Free plan 2.6% plus $0.15. Verified 2026-07-07. https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/our-fees
- [2] Online and invoice Free plan 3.3% plus $0.30. Verified 2026-07-07. https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/our-fees
- [3] Manually keyed 3.5% plus $0.15. Verified 2026-07-07. https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/our-fees
- [4] Custom pricing above $250,000 per year. Verified 2026-07-07. https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/our-fees
- [5] No monthly fee, no setup fee, no chargeback fee. Verified 2026-07-07. https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/our-fees
- [6] Hardware prices (Reader, Stand, Terminal, Register). Verified 2026-07-07. https://squareup.com/us/en/shop/hardware
Ready to see the numbers on your business?
Run your monthly volume through the calculator and see the exact all-in figure your Payzium account would carry.