Checkout.com built its name on large online merchants — a unified payments API, processing in more than 150 currencies, domestic coverage in 45-plus countries by its own count — and it sells the way enterprise processors sell: no rate card, a conversation. For a Canadian merchant that creates a specific problem. The processors this site usually benchmarks publish something: a flat rate, a markup, a hardware price. Checkout.com publishes structures and commitments instead, and any article quoting a “typical Checkout.com rate” for Canada invented it. What can be decoded honestly is the shape of the deal — the two pricing structures, the fees Checkout.com commits not to charge, the minimum-billing and reserve mechanics that review coverage documents, and the benchmarks a Canadian quote should be measured against before it is signed. General information only — not legal or financial advice. Contract terms vary; read your own agreement or have it reviewed.
Two structures, no published number
Checkout.com's own pricing page offers a choice of two structures. Fully flat-rate: one blended rate, priced — in the page's own words — on “your business profile and risk category, nothing else.” Simple interchange++: the card associations', processor and interchange fees passed through transparently, so the merchant sees the cost of transactions “with granular detail.” Its Adobe Commerce marketplace listing describes the same interchange++ mechanics: the fees the card brands charge pass directly through, and Checkout.com charges a single, consistent markup on top. Neither structure comes with a published figure. PaymentPop's 2026 review of the company states it plainly: the pricing page does not publish a universal numeric rate, and processing is a custom flat-rate or interchange++ quote. That is not an accusation — it is the model, shared with the other quote-only processors in this category — but it means the merchant's diligence has to happen inside the quote process, not before it.
What the page does commit to, in writing, is a list of absences: no setup fees, no surprise fees, no account maintenance fees, plus data migration assistance, dedicated account management and service, full visibility into card scheme costs, integration with all major shopping carts, and risk and fraud management tools included. It also offers free payment processing for registered charities in the countries where it operates. Those commitments are worth having — several Canadian incumbents charge exactly the monthly and setup fees on that list — but a commitment about what is not charged is not a price. The number still arrives by quote, and the quote arrives with a schedule.
| Option in this category | What is published | Who sets the merchant's price |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout.com flat-rate | The structure and the no-fee commitments; no numeric rate | Checkout.com, in a quote priced on business profile and risk category |
| Checkout.com interchange++ | The structure: interchange and scheme fees passed through plus a single consistent markup (per its marketplace listing); the markup figure is not published | Checkout.com, in a quote — the markup percentage plus per-item cents is the negotiation |
| Established gateways in the same category: Authorize.net, Braintree | Gateway-led offers bundled with, or attached to, a merchant account — the gateway is rarely the whole price | The gateway plus the underlying processor or platform — two parties to price, not one |
| Published-rate Canadian benchmark: typical interchange-plus | Clearly Payments' 2026 Canadian explainer puts typical interchange-plus markups at 0.15%–0.35% plus $0.05–$0.12 per transaction, over interchange of roughly 0.80%–2.30% and network fees near 0.10%–0.13% | The market — the benchmark any interchange++ markup quote should be compared against |
The mechanics inside the schedule: minimum billing and reserves
Two mechanics matter more than the headline structure, and neither is on the pricing page's front face. The first is minimum billing. Per PaymentPop's review, an agreed pricing schedule applies and a minimum-billing policy counts several transaction and service fees toward the minimum, with specified exclusions. Read that as: in a quiet month, the bill may not fall with your volume. A seasonal Canadian business — a garden centre in February, a tax preparer in July — should model the quote at its worst month, not its average one, and get the minimum and what counts toward it in writing. The second is reserves and closure. Checkout.com's account-closure guidance, as summarised in the same review, requires an authorized signatory to contact support or an account manager and obtain a termination letter, and reserves are held for the period set in the agreement — typically no longer than 180 days — and returned after outstanding liabilities such as refunds and chargebacks are settled. That is guidance subject to the contract, not a promise; the reserve percentage, if any, and the hold period in your agreement are the operative figures, and they belong in the pre-signing questions, not in a surprise at exit.
The Canadian questions: acquiring, currency and Interac
Checkout.com's published footprint — 150-plus currencies, domestic coverage in 45-plus countries — is global marketing until a Canadian merchant confirms what it means for a Canadian account. Three questions decide fit, and none can be answered from the pricing page. Is the account domestically acquired in Canada? Domestic acquiring is what keeps cross-border assessment fees off a Canadian merchant's Canadian card volume; a globally-routed account can quietly reintroduce them. What does settlement look like in CAD? Currency conversion on settlement is a cost line like any other. How is Interac handled? For most Canadian consumer businesses, Interac debit is a large share of in-person and a growing share of online volume, at a per-transaction cost measured in cents — Clearly Payments' Canadian snapshot puts Interac interchange at roughly $0.04–$0.07 against about 1.40% for standard credit cards and 1.90% for premium rewards cards. A gateway whose debit story is unclear, or whose pricing treats debit volume like credit volume, can cost a debit-heavy merchant more than the entire markup negotiation is worth. Ask all three before the rate conversation, because the answers can disqualify the quote outright.
Worked example — pricing the quote at a Canadian card mix. Take $50,000 a month of online volume with the consumer card mix Clearly Payments describes as typical (premium rewards cards at 25–45% of volume). Under interchange++, the pass-through layer is fixed by the mix itself; the only negotiable layer is the markup. At the published typical Canadian band of 0.15%–0.35%, that markup layer runs $75–$175 a month on this volume — which frames the negotiation precisely: every tenth of a point of markup is $50 a month, $600 a year, forever. Under the flat-rate structure the same question becomes: what blended rate is quoted, and what effective rate does it produce at your mix — total fees ÷ total volume on a modelled month? If the flat quote's effective rate beats the interchange++ total at your mix, simplicity wins; if not, the granular structure is worth its paperwork.
Questions to ask before signing
- Which structure am I being quoted — flat-rate or interchange++ — and what is the exact figure? On interchange++, the markup in percent plus cents per transaction. On flat-rate, the blended rate and every transaction it does not cover.
- Is my account domestically acquired in Canada, and how are cross-border transactions on Canadian-issued cards treated? Get the acquiring entity and country in writing.
- How is Interac priced and settled — online and in person? Per-transaction cents or a percentage, and whether debit volume counts toward minimum billing.
- What is the minimum billing amount, what counts toward it, and what does my worst month cost? Model the quiet month, not the average month.
- What are the per-service fees beyond processing? Authorization, dispute/chargeback, payout, refund and fraud-tool charges — the review record notes these categories may apply; the schedule should price each one.
- Is there a reserve? What percentage, what triggers it, and how long is it held after closure? The published guidance ceiling is typically no longer than 180 days after liabilities settle — your contract's figure is the one that counts.
- What are the term, renewal and termination mechanics? Who signs the termination letter, what notice is required, and what fees survive exit.
- What is the effective rate on a modelled month at my volume and card mix? Total fees ÷ total volume — the single figure to compare against the published interchange-plus benchmark band of 0.15%–0.35% markup and against flat-rate alternatives.
What a good answer set looks like: a named structure with a numeric markup or blended rate, domestic Canadian acquiring confirmed in writing, Interac priced in cents, a minimum-billing figure you have modelled against your quietest month, a complete per-service fee list, reserve terms stated before signing rather than discovered at exit, and an effective-rate figure that survives comparison with the benchmark above. Anything less is not a Checkout.com price — it is a Checkout.com conversation.
Frequently asked questions
Does Checkout.com publish its processing rates? No numeric rate is published. Its pricing page offers two structures — a fully flat rate priced on business profile and risk category, or interchange++ with pass-through scheme and interchange fees — and the figures are set in a tailored quote. What does Checkout.com commit not to charge? Its pricing page lists no setup fees, no surprise fees and no account maintenance fees, with migration assistance and fraud tools included. Does Checkout.com work for a small Canadian business? Its centre of gravity is larger online merchants: dedicated account management and a unified API suit volume and complexity, and minimum billing can weigh on small or seasonal volume. Confirm domestic acquiring, CAD settlement and Interac handling before assuming fit. What is minimum billing? A floor under the monthly bill: several transaction and service fees count toward an agreed minimum, so a quiet month may cost more than its volume suggests. Get the amount and the inclusions in writing. How long can reserves be held after closing? Per its closure guidance as reviewed in 2026, reserves are held for the period in the agreement, typically no longer than 180 days, and returned once outstanding liabilities such as refunds and chargebacks settle — your contract governs.
Sources, accessed October 23, 2026: Checkout.com, official pricing page; PaymentPop, “Checkout.com Reviews (2026): Fees, Complaints & Contracts”; Adobe Commerce Marketplace, Checkout.com Unified Payments API listing; Clearly Payments, “Interchange Plus vs Flat-Rate Pricing in Canada (2026 Cost Data)”. General information only — not legal or financial advice.