Card fees by business · Restaurants
Card fees for restaurants
Updated
Restaurants take bigger bills than cafés, more of them on credit cards and Amex, and often split between diners. Here is what that does to your fees and your menu.
On the example numbers
On the example restaurant's numbers, Westpac EFTPOS Now is cheapest of the plans we compare at $9,383 a year, against $17,280 on a 1.6% flat rate. Covering card fees on 1.6% takes 1.54% on the menu: a $32 main becomes $32.49.
The example business, at three sizes
Worked figures for a 60-seat restaurant taking $90,000 a month by card at a $110 average bill, with 95% of sales by card. Card mix: eftpos 24%, Visa/Mastercard debit 28%, Visa/Mastercard credit 36%, Amex 9%, Overseas cards 3%. These are illustrative inputs, not an industry average; change them in the calculator to match your statement.
Fees a year for the example, by plan and monthly card takings
| Plan | $40,000 a month | $90,000 a month | $180,000 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westpac EFTPOS Now | $4,3350.90% | $9,3830.87% | $18,4690.86% |
| CommBank Smart Mini | $4,7520.99% | $10,6920.99% | $21,3840.99% |
| CommBank Smart terminal | $5,1061.06% | $11,0461.02% | $21,7381.01% |
| Worldline Move 5000 | $5,3041.10% | $11,5581.07% | $22,8161.06% |
| Square Reader (Free plan) | $7,6801.60% | $17,2801.60% | $34,5601.60% |
At restaurant volumes the rented terminal wins at every size we show. With 9% of takings on Amex the crossover against the Smart Mini moves out to about $16,644 a month, still well under the smallest example. At $180,000 a month the gap between a 1.6% flat rate and Westpac is $16,091 a year, enough to pay for a negotiation.
Group service charges are still allowed
Booking or service fees charged to all customers that apply independently of the payment method are still allowed. (Australian Payments Network, checked )
A 10% service charge on tables of eight or more, charged however the table pays, can stay on the menu. A card fee line on the bill can't.
Split bills
Splitting a $110 bill four ways makes four payments of $27.50. On a percentage-only plan that costs nothing extra. On a plan with a per-sale fee it quadruples that fee: Stripe Terminal's 10 cents becomes 40 cents on the table.
Stripe's in-person pricing: 1.65% + A$0.10 for domestic cards. 3.5% + A$0.10 for international cards. (Stripe pricing, checked )
More Amex than most
Westpac's flat rate doesn't cover American Express; Amex needs a separate agreement. (Westpac EFTPOS, checked )
With 9% of the example restaurant's takings on Amex, how a plan prices Amex matters. Zeller, Square and SumUp charge it at their flat rate. Where a plan publishes no Amex rate we price it at the RBA's 1.36% average, so the ranking stays fair.
Changing menu prices
If you change a price, don't mislead customers about the reason, and take old surcharge notices off menus, websites and booking systems. (Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, checked )
Menus usually move in 50-cent or dollar steps, which covers the calculator's rise on most dishes with room to spare. Reprinting once is cheaper than reprinting twice, so settle your payment plan first.