What does it cost to accept credit cards – especially for small tickets?
What a credit card payment costs at a ticket size of 5, 20 and 100 euros across five published price lists, why for small tickets it is the transaction rather than the card that is expensive – and when refusing credit cards actually pays off.
The short answer
According to the price lists published today, a credit card payment with a consumer card from the EEA costs you between 1.19 and 1.9 per cent of the amount, with some providers adding 8 to 10 cents per payment. For small tickets this fixed amount decides the cost, for large tickets the percentage – which is why there is no single right answer, only the one for your ticket size.
This article deals with the credit card only. How the full bill is made up of merchant discount rate, rental and ancillary items is covered in the article on the eight cost components; why corporate and foreign cards cost more again is covered in the article on corporate cards and non-EEA cards.
What a credit card payment costs by ticket size
I retrieved the public price pages on 25.09.2026 and calculated only what is charged per payment – without rental, set-up or device purchase. Rounded to whole cents:
| Ticket | PAYONE Classic 1.49 % + €0.08 | PAYONE All Time Flex 1.90 % | Stripe Terminal 1.4 % + €0.10 | SumUp 1.39 % | Nexi promotion 1.19 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | €0.15 (3.1 %) | €0.10 | €0.17 (3.4 %) | €0.07 | €0.06 |
| €10 | €0.23 (2.3 %) | €0.19 | €0.24 (2.4 %) | €0.14 | €0.12 |
| €20 | €0.38 (1.9 %) | €0.38 | €0.38 (1.9 %) | €0.28 | €0.24 |
| €50 | €0.83 (1.65 %) | €0.95 | €0.80 (1.6 %) | €0.70 | €0.60 |
| €100 | €1.57 | €1.90 | €1.50 | €1.39 | €1.19 |
What sits alongside changes the picture: PAYONE Classic costs from €12.90 rental per month and €50 set-up; All Time Flex has no monthly fee but a 24-month term and a one-off charge from €19. The Nexi offer at 1.19 per cent is a promotion running until 30.09.2026, plus a terminal fee of €15 per month on a 48-month term. With SumUp and Stripe you buy the device. Anyone choosing a provider by the last column of the table has therefore not decided anything yet.
For small tickets the transaction is expensive, not the card
The reflex of many bakers and kiosk operators is: credit card only from ten euros. The calculation on the same contract argues against it. In PAYONE’s Classic tariff, girocard costs 0.26 per cent plus the same 8 cents:
| Ticket | girocard 0.26 % + €0.08 | Credit card 1.49 % + €0.08 | Extra cost of credit card |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5 | €0.09 (1.9 %) | €0.15 (3.1 %) | €0.06 |
| €20 | €0.13 (0.7 %) | €0.38 (1.9 %) | €0.25 |
| €100 | €0.34 | €1.57 | €1.23 |
| €250 | €0.73 | €3.81 | €3.08 |
On a five-euro ticket even girocard costs almost two per cent, because the per-transaction fee weighs on every transaction equally. The credit card adds only 6 cents. The credit card premium grows with the ticket size – it is a problem for the garage, the furniture store and the hotel, not for the baker.
Worked example: café versus garage
Model calculation with freely chosen assumptions and the PAYONE Classic rates above: both businesses have 150 credit card payments a month.
| Café, ticket €7 | Garage, ticket €250 | |
|---|---|---|
| Credit card turnover per month | €1,050 | €37,500 |
| Extra cost versus girocard (1.23 percentage points) | €12.92 | €461.25 |
| per year | €154.98 | €5,535.00 |
By refusing credit cards the café saves around €13 a month and in return risks guests who only carry a credit card – tourists, for instance, whose home bank has never heard of girocard. The garage, on the other hand, has a real cost issue. But it too is better off negotiating the percentage than turning customers away.
Why “premium” is often billed at a higher rate
Under Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2015/751, the statutory cap of 0.3 per cent on the interchange fee applies to consumer credit cards as a whole, including gold and platinum cards. Providers nevertheless bill them at a higher rate: in its “Zahlungen Plus” tariff (€19 per month) SumUp charges 0.79 per cent for domestic cards but 1.39 per cent for premium, international and Amex cards; Stripe online charges 1.5 per cent plus 25 cents for standard and 2.8 per cent plus 25 cents for premium cards from the EEA. The difference does not arise in the capped portion but in the scheme fee and the margin. Ask how your provider defines “premium” and how much of your turnover falls under it.
Surcharge, discount, refusal: what is permitted
Surcharge. § 270a BGB renders invalid any agreement under which the customer is to pay a fee for using a payment card – for consumers and for cards to which Chapter II of Regulation (EU) 2015/751 applies, i.e. Visa and Mastercard. A “credit card surcharge” at the shop till is therefore off the table.
Discount. Conversely, a reduction for a cheaper payment method is permitted, and § 675f(6) BGB expressly protects it: your payment service provider may not contractually prohibit you from offering “a reduction for the use of a specific payment instrument”.
Refusal. Article 10 of the Regulation prohibits rules that force you to accept all card types of a scheme. You may therefore accept girocard and refuse credit cards, but you must display this clearly and visibly at the shop entrance and at the till. Whether your acceptance agreement additionally regulates minimum amounts or similar is set out in your contract, not in the law – check there before a sign goes up at the till.
What I advise merchants
- Work out the average ticket of your credit card payments, separately from the overall ticket. Three monthly statements are enough.
- Below a €15 ticket, look at the per-transaction fee; above €100, at the credit card percentage.
- Spread fixed costs across your card payments before comparing tariffs – a rental of €15 across 300 payments is 5 cents per payment.
- Read promotional rates together with end date and term: what applies after the promotion counts for more over 48 months than the entry rate.
- Ask for the definition of premium and for the share of your turnover that falls under it.
- Do not charge a surcharge. If you want to steer, do it with a discount for girocard.
- Only refuse credit cards if the numbers support it – and then with the required notice.