Interchange Plus vs Flat Rate in Canada: How to Compare Processing

What each pricing label tells you

A flat-rate offer can make a channel's transaction price easier to estimate. An interchange-plus offer makes the underlying card costs and processor margin more visible. Both still need a complete fee schedule and a clear definition of which transactions the offer covers.

Square publishes channel-based Canadian rates, while Helcim describes interchange-plus pricing. Those structures are useful examples, not evidence that one provider wins for every business.

Use one month and one set of assumptions

Collect gross card sales, credit transaction count, Interac count and online or manually entered activity. Keep premium, international and corporate-card assumptions consistent. Then add the software and equipment each offer requires.

• Use matching statement dates.
• Separate transaction channels.
• Identify percentage, per-item and monthly charges.
• Keep one-time and recurring costs distinct.

A worked example, not a provider's rate

Suppose a business has $40,000 of credit sales across 1,000 transactions. An illustrative 2.5% flat transaction charge is $1,000 before other costs. A hypothetical cost-plus model with $600 underlying card costs, a 0.3% markup, $0.08 per transaction and $30 monthly totals $830.

These numbers are invented only to demonstrate the calculation. If underlying card costs rise to $800, the same second model totals $1,030. The result can reverse when the inputs change; it is not a savings promise or an advertised offer.

Choose using the full operating picture

Check devices, integrations, support and contract terms after comparing the modeled bill. A processor structure that looks efficient in a spreadsheet must also support the way staff sell, refund and reconcile.

Keep a copy of the assumptions with each proposal. That makes differences explainable and gives you a way to compare the first actual statement with the model after launch.