Processor Fees & Pricing · Stax

Stax Fees: A Subscription Instead of a Markup, and When It Pays

Stax, formerly Fattmerchant, flips the usual pricing on its head. Instead of a percentage on every sale, you pay a monthly subscription and a few cents per transaction, and interchange passes through with no markup. For the right business that is one of the cheapest structures available. For the wrong one it is not.

Written by Robert Day, Founder and Managing Partner of weAudit.com, previously an executive at Fifth Third Processing Solutions, later Vantiv and Worldpay, now part of Global Payments, the world’s largest card processor. Published October 2026.

The headline finding

Stax’s markup is fixed, not a percentage. That makes it cheaper the more you process, and more expensive than it looks for a small business. The subscription that is a bargain at $100,000 a month can cost more than a percentage markup at $15,000.

Figures in brief

From $99 a month: the subscription for businesses processing up to $150,000 a year, rising with volume.
8 cents per in-person transaction and 15 cents per online or keyed one.
0%: the percentage markup on interchange under subscription pricing.
1%, capped at $10: ACH bank payments, as reported.
Month-to-month: no long-term contract or cancellation fee, as marketed.

What Stax charges, line by line

Charge	Stax’s published price	What it means
Subscription, up to $150K a year	$99 a month	Fixed, whatever you process
Subscription, $150K to $250K a year	$139 a month	Next volume tier
Subscription, above $250K a year	$199 a month and up	Higher tiers quoted
In-person transactions	Interchange + 8¢	No percentage markup
Online and keyed transactions	Interchange + 15¢	No percentage markup
ACH bank payments	1%, max $10	As reported

Source: Stax’s published pricing as reported by independent 2026 guides. Some reviews report 10 cents rather than 8 per in-person transaction, and add-on software can raise the monthly cost; your Stax agreement shows what applies to you.

What Stax’s markup costs at different sizes

Because the markup is a subscription plus cents, its cost as a share of sales falls fast as volume grows. Assume in-person sales at a $50 average.

0.86%

at $20,000 a month: a $139 subscription (that volume is $240,000 a year) plus 400 transactions at 8 cents is $171 of markup on top of interchange.

0.36%

at $100,000 a month: a $199 subscription plus 2,000 transactions at 8 cents is $359. The bigger you are, the better this looks.

Compare the smaller business with a published percentage markup such as Helcim’s entry rate, which works out to about 0.56% on the same $20,000. At that size the subscription costs more. At $100,000 a month the order flips. See Helcim’s fees for the other side of that comparison.

What Stax gets right

It passes interchange through, so cheap debit cards cost you less, and its markup is published and easy to check. There is no percentage skimmed from every sale, which is exactly where most processors hide margin. And it is marketed without a long-term contract.

Where to keep your eyes open

Is your volume high enough? Below roughly $8,000 to $10,000 a month, many guides find the subscription eats most of the saving.
Network fees at cost. Zero markup on interchange only counts if assessments and network fees are also passed through at the published rates.
Add-ons. Extra software tiers and features can raise the real monthly cost well above the headline subscription.
Setup. The right merchant category code and daily settlement still decide what interchange you qualify for.

The lesson from Stax. There is more than one honest way to price processing. What both good models share, Stax’s subscription and an interchange-plus markup, is that you can see exactly what the processor keeps. If you cannot see that on your statement, read who has the best credit card processing rates.

Stax elsewhere on weAudit

Stax also owns Payment Depot, which it prices differently: see Payment Depot pricing and fees and the Payment Depot rating.

Our Stax rating covers how Stax treats merchants beyond price, and interchange-plus pricing explains what a fair markup looks like on the other common transparent model.

Common questions

What are Stax’s fees?

Stax charges a monthly subscription plus a small fixed fee per transaction, and passes interchange through with no percentage markup. Published pricing starts at $99 a month for businesses processing up to $150,000 a year, with 8 cents per in-person transaction and 15 cents per online or keyed one.

How much is the Stax monthly fee?

It depends on your annual card volume. Published tiers start at $99 a month up to $150,000 a year, $139 from $150,000 to $250,000, and $199 and up above $250,000. Some software features cost extra.

Does Stax mark up interchange?

Not on its subscription pricing. Stax passes interchange through with no percentage markup and earns its money from the subscription and the per-transaction cents. An interchange-plus option is also offered.

What does Stax charge for ACH?

ACH bank payments are reported at 1%, capped at $10 per transaction.

Is Stax worth it for a small business?

It depends on volume. The subscription is a fixed cost, so it is expensive as a share of sales for a small business and very cheap for a large one. Below roughly $8,000 to $10,000 a month in card sales, many guides find the subscription eats most of the saving.

Does Stax have a contract or cancellation fee?

Stax markets month-to-month terms with no cancellation fee. Check your own agreement for equipment and software commitments before signing.

Cite this page

weAudit.com, “Stax Fees: A Subscription Instead of a Markup, and When It Pays,” October 2026.

How these figures were built. Stax’s prices are its published pricing as reported by independent 2026 guides; where sources differ, the page says so. Dollar examples are arithmetic on the reported tiers. Next review: April 2027.

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