Card Machine Fees in Ireland: Costs and Charges Explained

Card fees are rarely a single number. A provider might quote one rate for contactless payments at the counter, a higher one for online checkout, another for cards issued outside Europe, and a separate charge for getting your money the same day. Below is each charge you are likely to meet, followed by worked examples showing what they add up to for a café, a shop and a tradesperson.

The main types of card machine fee

Card payment charges at a glance

Charge	How it works	When it matters most
Percentage fee	A share of every payment, such as 1.5%	Higher-value sales and high monthly turnover
Fixed fee per payment	A flat amount, such as 10c or 25c, on each payment	Low-value, high-volume sales like coffee or parking
Hardware	A one-off purchase or an ongoing rental	Businesses needing several terminals, or renting long term
Monthly or account fees	Subscriptions, software plans or minimum monthly charges	Seasonal or low-volume businesses
International and currency	Higher rates for non-EEA cards; extra charge to convert currency	Tourism, hospitality and ecommerce
Refunds and chargebacks	Fees kept on refunds; charges when a customer disputes a payment	Businesses taking deposits or selling online
Payout charges	Fees for instant or same-day transfers to your bank	Businesses with tight cash flow

Percentage transaction fees

The percentage fee, sometimes called the transaction rate or merchant service charge, is taken from each payment before the money reaches you. On a €50 sale, a 1.5% rate costs 75c. Because it scales with the sale, it is the charge that matters most once your average transaction climbs above €20 or €30.

The rate is rarely the same for every payment. Expect it to vary with:

• How the card is taken: contactless or chip and PIN in person is usually cheapest; online and keyed-in payments usually cost more.
• Where the card was issued: cards from within the European Economic Area (EEA) are generally cheaper to accept than cards from the UK, the US or elsewhere.
• The type of card: some providers charge more for premium, business or corporate cards, and for American Express.

Fixed per-transaction fees

A fixed fee is a flat amount added to each payment regardless of its size, for example 1.4% + 10c. It is common on online payments and appears on some in-person pricing too. On a €200 invoice, 10c barely registers. On a €3.50 coffee, it can cost more than the percentage itself: 1.4% of €3.50 is about 5c, so the fixed fee triples the cost of that sale.

If most of your sales are under €10, look closely at any fixed fee. Our worked examples below show how much difference it makes over a month.

Blended pricing and interchange-plus pricing

Most providers aimed at small businesses use blended pricing: one published rate (or a small set of rates) covering all the costs behind a card payment. It is simple to understand and easy to compare.

Behind that rate sit three layers of cost:

• Interchange, paid to the bank that issued the customer's card. Within the EEA, EU rules cap interchange on most consumer cards at 0.2% of the payment for debit cards and 0.3% for credit cards.
• Scheme fees, charged by card networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
• The provider's margin, which covers processing, hardware support, fraud tools and profit.

Larger businesses are sometimes offered interchange-plus (or interchange++) pricing, where those layers are passed through separately and the provider adds its own fixed margin. It can work out cheaper at high volumes, but the monthly statement is harder to read and the cost of each payment varies. For most small businesses, blended pricing is easier to budget for.

The EU caps do not apply to commercial cards or to most cards issued outside the EEA, which is one reason those payments usually cost more. The rules are set out in the EU Interchange Fee Regulation (EU) 2015/751.

Card machine hardware costs

You will normally either buy a card machine outright or rent it.

Buying a card machine

Many newer providers sell their hardware for a one-off price and then charge only transaction fees. Published standard prices from the providers on our card payment provider comparison, checked on 28 September 2026, ran from €19 + VAT for a basic card reader to €699 + VAT for a full countertop register, with most standalone terminals between about €140 and €290 before VAT.

Budget for accessories as well: charging docks, protective cases, receipt paper and, for some readers, a compatible phone or tablet.

Renting a card machine

Traditional merchant services often rent terminals for a monthly fee, sometimes bundled with the transaction rate. Renting spreads the cost and may include replacement if the machine fails, but it continues for as long as the agreement runs. Over a three-year contract, rental can cost far more than buying. Check the minimum term, what happens when you cancel, and whether you must return the terminal.

Which device you need matters more than its price: our guide to choosing a card machine for a small business compares countertop, portable, mobile and phone-based options.

Monthly, platform and account charges

Some pricing has no monthly charge at all: you pay only when you take a payment. Other plans charge a fixed monthly amount in exchange for lower transaction rates, or require a business account or point-of-sale subscription alongside card acceptance. When we checked, Stripe listed no setup or monthly fee on standard pricing and Square's core point-of-sale subscription was €0, while Revolut's card acceptance sat alongside a Revolut Business account with plans from €10 a month.

Other ongoing charges to look for include:

• Minimum monthly service charges, where you pay a top-up if your fees fall below a set amount.
• Software add-ons for point-of-sale features, online stores, stock control or staff management.
• Terminal rental, if it is billed separately from transaction fees.
• Account or statement fees on some bank-based merchant services.

A monthly plan with lower rates can pay off once you process enough volume. Below that point it simply adds cost, which matters for seasonal businesses with quiet winter months.

Does VAT apply to card payment fees?

Sometimes, and quotes do not always make it obvious. Hardware is sold with VAT added, and many providers quote hardware prices excluding it. Some providers also add VAT to their processing fees, while others quote fees that already include any VAT due. Square, for example, lists its Irish card rates "+ VAT".

Compare quotes on the same basis. If you are VAT-registered, your accountant can confirm what you can reclaim; if you are not, any VAT is a straight addition to the cost.

Online vs in-person card fees

In-person payments where the card or phone is present are usually cheapest, because the customer is authenticated at the terminal and fraud risk is lower. Online payments and payments keyed in by hand carry more risk, so they usually cost more and more often include a fixed fee.

The gap shows up clearly in published standard rates, checked 28 September 2026. Stripe listed EEA cards at 1.4% + €0.10 in person against 1.5% + €0.25 online for standard EEA cards. Square listed 1.75% + VAT for EU/EEA cards in person, but 2.5% + VAT for invoices, its Virtual Terminal and card-on-file payments.

If you take payments over the phone, through invoices or by payment link, find out which rate applies to each. Our guide to online card payments, payment links and virtual terminals explains how each remote method works.

International card and currency conversion fees

Where a card was issued affects the rate more than many businesses expect. A tourist paying with a US credit card, or an online customer paying with a UK card, may cost you two or three times as much to accept as a customer using an Irish debit card.

A second, separate cost applies when the payment needs converting between currencies. Some providers add a percentage for currency conversion on top of the international card rate. Stripe, for example, published an extra 2% where currency conversion is required.

Here is how that looks on a €100 online sale, using Stripe's published standard online rates:

Fee on a €100 online sale by card type

Card used	Published rate	Fee
Standard EEA card	1.5% + €0.25	€1.75
UK card	2.5% + €0.25	€2.75
Other international card	3.15% + €0.25	€3.40
Other international card, currency converted	3.15% + €0.25, plus 2%	€5.40

Source: Stripe Ireland pricing, standard rates checked 28 September 2026. Other providers structure international and conversion fees differently.

If tourists or overseas buyers make up a real share of your sales, ask each provider how it prices non-EEA cards and conversion before you compare headline rates.

Refund and chargeback fees

When you refund a customer, the sale amount goes back to their card, but the processing fee you paid on the original payment may not come back to you. Some providers return it, some keep it, and some return only part. For a business with a high return rate, such as clothing retail, retained fees add up.

A chargeback happens when a customer asks their bank to reverse a card payment, for example because they do not recognise it, say the goods never arrived, or claim the payment was fraudulent. The money is taken back from your balance while the dispute is reviewed. Some providers also charge a fee per dispute, and that fee may not be returned even if you win. Square, for example, listed no chargeback fee on its standard pricing.

Chargebacks are more common for online payments, deposits and anything paid for well in advance of delivery. Keeping clear records, receipts and proof of delivery gives you the best chance of winning a dispute.

PCI compliance fees

Businesses that accept cards are expected to follow the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). With most modern providers, card details are handled by the provider's terminal or hosted checkout and never touch your systems, which keeps your own obligations light.

Some merchant services, however, charge a monthly or annual PCI compliance fee, or a non-compliance fee if you do not complete a yearly self-assessment questionnaire. Square listed no PCI-compliance fee on standard pricing. Ask each provider whether any compliance, security or fraud-screening charge applies to you.

Instant payout charges

Standard payouts, where your card takings are transferred to your bank account on a regular schedule, are usually free. Faster options may cost extra. Stripe, for example, listed Instant Payouts at 1% of the payout, with a minimum of €0.50. Taking €800 of weekend sales out instantly at that rate would cost €8.

Check how long standard payouts take, whether weekends and bank holidays count, and whether the provider holds back part of your balance as a reserve. Faster payouts can be worth paying for occasionally, but as a daily habit they become one of your larger fees.

Worked examples: how fee structures affect different businesses

These three price plans are made up for illustration and are not any provider's rates. Each represents a common shape of card pricing: a single percentage, a lower percentage plus a fixed fee, and a monthly subscription with lower rates.

• Plan 1: 1.7% per payment, no fixed fee, no monthly charge.
• Plan 2: 1.2% + 15c per payment, no monthly charge.
• Plan 3: 0.9% + 5c per payment, plus €30 a month.

Monthly card fees under three illustrative plans

Business	Monthly sales	Plan 1	Plan 2	Plan 3
Coffee kiosk	1,500 payments averaging €6 (€9,000)	€153.00	€333.00	€186.00
Gift shop	400 payments averaging €45 (€18,000)	€306.00	€276.00	€212.00
Electrician	25 payments averaging €400 (€10,000)	€170.00	€123.75	€121.25

Illustrative plans only. The lowest cost for each business is in bold. Hardware and VAT are excluded.

• The coffee kiosk pays least on the simple percentage plan. On Plan 2, the 15c fixed fee on 1,500 small payments costs €225 a month on its own, an effective rate of 3.7% of takings.
• The gift shop does best on the subscription plan, because its turnover is high enough for the lower rate to outweigh the €30 monthly charge.
• The electrician takes few, large payments, so fixed fees hardly matter. Plans 2 and 3 cost almost the same, and Plan 2 avoids a monthly commitment during quiet months.

To run the same sum for your business, you need three numbers: your typical monthly card turnover, your number of card payments, and the share that comes from online, keyed-in or international cards. For context, the Central Bank of Ireland's payment statistics put the average domestic card payment in 2025 at €42.69.

How to compare card fee quotes

Put each quote through the same questions:

1. What will I pay in a typical month? Apply each rate to your real sales mix, including any fixed fees and monthly charges.
2. What do the rates depend on? Check in-person, online, keyed-in, international, premium and business card rates separately.
3. What is the total hardware cost over three years? Compare purchase price with rental over the same period.
4. Is there a minimum term or exit fee? Cheap rates can come with a long contract.
5. What happens with refunds and disputes? Find out whether fees are returned on refunds and whether chargebacks carry a charge.
6. Will faster payouts cost extra? Only matters if you plan to use them.
7. Is VAT included? Compare like with like.

To answer these with real numbers, our card payment provider comparison sets out published fees, hardware prices, monthly charges and payout terms side by side. If you are setting up for the first time, the guide on how to accept card payments in Ireland covers the whole process from choosing a provider to your first payout.

Card machine fees: frequently asked questions

Where to go next

• Compare card payment providers in Ireland

  Published fees, hardware prices and payout terms from the main providers, side by side.

• Card machines for small businesses

  Countertop, portable, mobile and phone-based options, and which suits your kind of business.

• How to accept card payments in Ireland

  A step-by-step guide from choosing a provider to your first payout.

General information, not financial or tax advice. Provider figures are published standard rates checked on 28 September 2026; confirm current terms with the provider before you sign up.