Restaurant interchange: a percent with a minimum, not a per-sale fee
Every one of these rates is charged on the full amount, tip included. Visa's interchange table has its own restaurant rows. In person, a restaurant sale on a basic or traditional rewards Visa credit card is 2.10% with a 4¢ minimum, and on a Visa Signature, Signature Preferred or Infinite card it is 2.60% with a 4¢ minimum [1]. Unlike most Visa credit rows, there is no 10¢ per-sale fee on top. Mastercard lists its restaurant rate at 1.85% + 10¢ on World cards and 2.00% + 10¢ on World High Value and World Elite cards [2].
| Card | Published rate | On $40 |
|---|---|---|
| Visa debit, large bank (regulated) | 0.05% + $0.21, plus $0.01 [1] | $0.24 |
| Visa debit, smaller bank (CPS/Restaurant) | 1.19% + $0.10 [1] | $0.58 |
| Visa basic or traditional rewards credit | 2.10%, min. $0.04 [1] | $0.84 |
| Mastercard World credit | 1.85% + $0.10 [2] | $0.84 |
| Mastercard World Elite credit | 2.00% + $0.10 [2] | $0.90 |
| Visa Signature, Signature Preferred or Infinite credit | 2.60%, min. $0.04 [1] | $1.04 |
Online orders cost more. Visa's card-not-present restaurant rate is 2.20% (8¢ minimum) on basic cards and 2.70% (8¢ minimum) on premium cards [1]. Pushing regulars toward in-person payment, or toward debit, lowers your interchange; pushing them toward app orders raises it.
Tips: you pay the card fee on the whole amount, gratuity included
Card fees are a percent of what you charge the card. When a guest adds a tip on the card, the fee covers the tip too, even though the tip goes to your staff.
A $60 check with a $12 tip
At Square Plus (2.5% + 15¢ in person [3]): $60 alone costs $1.65. With the tip the card is charged $72 and the fee is $1.95.
At Clover's full-service rate (2.3% + 10¢ [4]): $1.48 without the tip, $1.76 with it.
Over 1,000 tipped checks a month, the tip portion alone adds about $300 in fees at Square Plus and $276 at Clover.
Whether you may pass any of that cost to staff is an employment law question, not a processing one. Ask your accountant or an employment lawyer before you change tip payouts.
What restaurant POS companies publish for processing
| System | In-person rate | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Clover full-service Starter, Standard, Advanced | 2.3% + 10¢ [4] | $179, $239 or $354 a month for 36 months [4] |
| Toast traditional pricing | 2.49% [5] | Hardware up front, monthly software [5] |
| Square Premium | 2.4% + 15¢ [3] | $149 per location [3] |
| Square Plus | 2.5% + 15¢ [3] | $49 per location [3] |
| Square Free | 2.6% + 15¢ [3] | $0 [3] |
| Toast pay-as-you-go | 3.09% [5] | $0 basic software, hardware included [5] |
Clover's full-service bundles can also be bought outright: $1,799 plus $89.95 a month (Starter), $2,548 plus $109.90 (Standard) or $4,447 plus $129.85 (Advanced) [4]. Over 36 months the Starter bundle costs $6,444 on subscription and $5,037.20 bought outright. Square charges $30 per kitchen display per month on Plus and $20 on Premium [3]. For the full Square and Toast comparison, see Square vs Toast.
Compare these flat rates with the interchange table above. On a $40 check, a premium Visa card costs $1.04 in interchange alone, while Clover's flat rate costs $1.02 [4]. When most of your guests carry premium cards, a low flat rate is close to cost. When many pay by debit, interchange-plus pricing can save real money, so check your mix before you choose.
New Jersey restaurants: the surcharge must be on the menu
New Jersey's surcharge law has a rule written just for restaurants. A restaurant that adds a credit card surcharge must post a sign in the customer service area and show the surcharge on the menu, before the guest is charged [6]. The surcharge may not exceed your actual cost to process the payment [6]. Online orders need notice on the checkout page, and phone orders need spoken notice [6].
Visa does not allow surcharges on debit or prepaid cards [7]. A surcharge set as a flat percent on every card will overcharge debit guests by definition. More on the law at merchant services in NJ. This is general information, not legal advice, as of Oct 20, 2026.
How many New Jersey restaurants are in the same position
New Jersey had 8,060 full-service restaurants and 7,670 limited-service restaurants with paid employees in 2023, and 18,701 restaurants and other eating places in all [8]. Restaurants are the state's largest group of small-ticket card businesses after retail.
BatchOut is our own processing service and works with restaurants. If we show it to you, it is labeled as ours, next to other options. For funding a restaurant (equipment, buildouts, slow seasons), see restaurant funding.