There is no meaningful “best processor” ranking without a merchant profile and comparable terms. A published card fee is only one input. Product eligibility, settlement conditions, reserves and dispute exposure can matter more than a small difference in the advertised transaction rate.

Provider pricing pages and acceptable-use policies answer different questions. A price page describes available commercial terms; a use policy describes what activity may be supported. Reading one without the other can produce a comparison of services the business is not actually eligible to use. Stripe pricing and fees PayPal acceptable use policy

Build the same cost model for every quote

Use the same assumed transaction count, average order value, card mix and refund rate when comparing proposals. Separate fixed charges from percentage charges. Identify whether cross-border payments, currency conversion, disputes, refunds or additional services incur separate costs.

Do not turn an unknown fee into zero. Mark it as unresolved and request the applicable contract language. Similarly, a reserve is not necessarily a permanent fee, but it affects available cash and should be modeled separately from processing expense.

Scrutinize approval claims

“High approval rate” is ambiguous. It may mean approval of merchant applications or authorization of customer transactions. The latter depends on the card mix, fraud controls and customer population. A percentage without a denominator and measurement period is not a useful basis for comparison.

Security obligations should also be included. PCI SSC directs merchants to clarify their compliance and validation requirements with the relevant acquirer or payment brand. The work needed to meet those obligations is part of operating the system responsibly. PCI SSC merchant resources

AXON recommends a transparent comparison worksheet rather than an unsupported league table. Record each term’s source and date, distinguish a public price from a signed offer, and avoid forecasting next year’s fees as if they were already available.