Quick answer
Ecommerce businesses should model card-not-present rates, gateway fees, platform fees, chargebacks and average order value. Online costs can differ materially from terminal rates, so headline merchant rates are not enough.
Ecommerce worked example
An online store may pay gateway, platform or fraud-related fees in addition to percentage card fees. If surcharge recovery changes, the decision may be a mix of product pricing, shipping thresholds, payment-method options and provider negotiation.
Checkout checks
- Card-not-present rates.
- Gateway and platform fees.
- Alternative payment methods and settlement timing.
Margin checks
- Low-margin SKUs.
- Shipping thresholds.
- Chargeback and fraud costs.
Preparation checklist
- Calculate effective payment rate from actual online statements.
- Separate gateway/platform fees from merchant service fees.
- Model average order value and low-margin product categories.
- Ask for written card-not-present pricing after October 2026.
- Update checkout wording and customer help pages.