Blog · · 5 min read
Flat Rate Credit Card Processing vs Cash Discount
Flat rate credit card processing or a cash discount program? How each works at EPAY, who each suits, and how to decide using your own statement.
Every owner who takes cards ends up making the same decision, whether they notice it or not: who pays for processing. At EPAY there are two answers. Flat rate credit card processing means you pay one rate on every card and keep your prices simple. Consumer Choice, our cash discount program, means the card-paying customer covers the processing cost and your rate goes to 0%.
Neither one is the right answer for everybody. Here is how each works, who each tends to suit, and how to pick without guessing.
How flat rate credit card processing works
The flat rate is 2.3% + 5¢ on every card transaction. Same rate on every card type. No tiered pricing.
That last part matters more than it sounds. Tiered pricing sorts your transactions into buckets and charges each bucket a different rate, which is how a statement ends up costing more than the rate you were quoted. A flat rate skips all of that. Whatever card the customer hands over, the math is the same.
What you get with flat rate:
- One number to plan around. Your processing cost is a predictable share of card sales.
- One price for the customer. Nothing changes at the register. The menu price is the price.
- Next-day funding on every batch. Batches settle to your bank account the next business day.
The trade-off is plain: you absorb the processing cost. It comes out of your margin, and it grows as your card sales grow.
You can see the full details on the flat rate page.
How the Consumer Choice cash discount program works
Consumer Choice moves the processing cost onto the transaction. Customers who pay by card cover it, which brings your effective processing rate to zero. You keep 100% of the sale.
At the counter, the customer sees two prices — one for cash, one for card — and chooses how to pay. The difference is shown before they decide, not added afterwards.
A few things owners usually ask about:
- Shelf prices. The program is compliant with or without shelf price changes, per your state’s requirements. Some owners reprice, some don’t.
- Signage and receipts. We handle the signage and receipt language so it is set up correctly.
- Rules where you are. Rules on cash discounting and dual pricing vary by state, and card brand rules apply on top. This isn’t legal advice — confirm what applies to your business before you switch.
The trade-off here is the mirror image of flat rate: your processing cost goes away, but your card-paying customers see a higher card price.
Which one fits your business
There is no formula that answers this for you, but a few questions get you most of the way.
How do your customers pay?
If nearly every sale is a card, processing is a large and steady cost, and taking it off your margin is a big change. If a good share of your customers already pay cash, the difference between the two options is smaller, and the choice comes down more to how you want pricing to look.
How do you want prices to look?
Some owners are comfortable showing a cash price and a card price. Others want one number on the menu and nothing to explain at the register. Both are legitimate. Flat rate keeps one price. Consumer Choice shows two.
How big are your tickets?
The flat rate has two parts: a percentage and 5¢ per transaction. On large tickets the percentage does most of the work. On a lot of small tickets, the per-transaction part adds up across the day. It is worth knowing which kind of business you are before you compare.
Do you want hardware placed?
Under the Free Placement Program, qualifying merchants get POS hardware placed at no upfront cost. It isn’t a lease and it isn’t equipment financing. Qualification is based on processing volume: $50K+ monthly processing on either option, or $20K+ monthly processing on the Consumer Choice program. If you are close to either line, that can tip the decision.
What stays the same either way
The pricing choice changes who pays for processing. It doesn’t change the rest of what you get. Every plan comes with:
- 24/7 support
- Free installation and staff training
- Real-time reporting on the EPAY mobile app
- Next-day funding
- PCI compliance assistance
- No long-term contract lock-in
The software plan is separate from the processing choice, too. You pick the plan that fits your business, and you pick flat rate or Consumer Choice on top. Consumer Choice is an alternative to flat rate, not an addition to it. Both are laid out side by side on the pricing page.
Decide with your own statement, not an estimate
The fastest way to settle this is to stop comparing in the abstract. Your current processing statement already holds the answers: how much of your volume is card, what you pay per transaction, and which fees are hiding on the back pages.
Send us a recent statement and we will read the real line items, then show you what flat rate would cost and what Consumer Choice would cost, against your actual volume. If neither beats what you have now, we will say so. The statement review is free, there is no obligation, and the upload takes about 2 minutes.
Common questions
What is EPAY’s flat rate? 2.3% + 5¢ on every card transaction. Same rate on every card type, with no tiered pricing.
What is my processing rate on Consumer Choice? 0%. Customers who pay by card cover the processing cost, so you keep 100% of the sale.
Can I run both at once? No. Consumer Choice is an alternative program, not an addition. You choose one or the other.
Am I locked in once I choose? No. There’s no long-term contract lock-in on the software plans.
Not sure which one fits? Book a demo or send us a statement and we will price both options against your own numbers.