Understanding fees and surcharges
What the Processing Fee is, current rates for bank and card payments, and who pays it.
Online payments carry a processing fee that covers payment processing. It appears on invoices as a single line labeled “Processing Fee”. There are no other payer-facing surcharges.
Current rates
- Bank transfer (ACH): 1.5% of the payment.
- Credit card: 3.5% + 30¢ of the payment.
- Debit card: the fee is always absorbed by the business. It’s never added to the client’s total.
Note: there is a $1.00 minimum on processing fees.
Example: a $500 invoice paid by ACH carries a $7.50 fee; paid by credit card, $17.80, of which a client can be charged at most $15.00 in most states (see Limits on credit card fees). A $3,000 invoice paid by ACH carries a $45.00 fee.
Who pays it
The business chooses per invoice with the Client covers processing fees toggle. When it’s on, the fee is added to the client’s total as the Processing Fee line; when it’s off, the business absorbs it and the client sees no fee. Your billing setting only decides where the toggle starts on a new invoice. Providers can pass fees to horse owners but not to facilities.
Limits on credit card fees
Card networks and some states cap how much of a credit card fee a client can be charged, so Stables holds the Processing Fee to the limit where your business is, and you cover the rest. Bank payments have no limit: when the client covers fees, a bank payment carries the full bank fee everywhere, even where a credit card can carry none.
- Most of the US: up to 3% of the payment.
- Colorado and Oklahoma: up to 2%. Illinois: up to 1%.
- California: up to 3% when your client can also pay another way: by bank transfer, by paying you directly, or by following payment instructions on the invoice (Venmo, Zelle, cash or check, for example). When card is the only way to pay, none.
- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico: none. You cover the whole fee on credit cards.
- Canada: up to 2.4%, and none in Quebec.
Example: on a $1,000 invoice paid by credit card in most states, the client pays a $30.00 Processing Fee and you cover the other $5.30. Make sure your business address has the right state, because that’s the rule we apply.
Paying by bank saves money
ACH fees (1.5%) are significantly lower than credit card fees (3.5% + 30¢). Encourage bank payments for large recurring charges like board.
Note for refunds: the platform fee portion is non-refundable when a payment is refunded. See