Blended fee rate

The blended fee rate is total payment fees for a period divided by the total gross amount the gateways moved. It is the only fee figure worth acting on, because it already accounts for your gateway mix, your basket size and the fixed fee per transaction, all of which move the real rate away from any headline number.

No store pays one rate. Money arrives through several methods at different prices, some orders are paid with two methods and are charged two fixed fees, and cross-currency payments carry a conversion charge on top. The blend is what reaches the statement.

It is almost always higher than the rate card suggests, for three structural reasons: the percentage is charged on the gross including VAT and shipping, the fixed fee is a percentage in disguise that bites hardest on small baskets, and split payments pay that fixed fee twice.

Measuring it takes one report. The payout statement itemises the fee taken from every payment, so a month of fees over a month of charged volume gives the number, and a payment fee calculator turns any proposed rate card into the same figure before committing to it.