Elavon processes payments for Costco's Canadian business members at rates Costco negotiates and publishes on its own site. The structure is tiered pricing: your transactions sort into card tiers, each with its own rate. The headline tier — non-premium credit at 1.10% — looks dramatically cheaper than any flat rate. The catch is that most of your customers' cards won't land in that tier. Rates below are from Costco Canada's published member pricing, checked October 2026.
The published tiered rate card
| Card tier | Rate |
|---|---|
| Non-Premium credit | 1.10% |
| Premium I | 1.45% |
| Premium II | 1.85% |
| Super Premium I | 1.99% |
| Super Premium II | 2.07% |
| Premium Plus | 2.07% |
| Business / Corporate | 2.80% |
Card brand and network assessments sit on top of these tiers. And there's a floor: a $10 monthly minimum applies to net processing fees — in slow months you pay the minimum regardless of volume. Transactions are categorized per the card networks' rules, and Costco notes that downgrades can push transactions into higher tiers when data is incomplete.
The membership math: Executive vs non-Executive
Non-Executive members pay a $25 application fee and a $5/month statement fee. Executive members ($120/year) get the application fee, statement fee, and $10 monthly minimum waived — plus the standard 2% Executive rebate (up to $1,000/year) on eligible Costco purchases.
The arithmetic: a non-Executive processing member pays $60/year in statement fees before a single transaction. If you already hold Executive membership for the warehouse, the waived fees make the Executive tier strictly better for processing. If you don't, don't buy the upgrade for processing — $60/year in fees won't justify it. (You must remain a Costco member to keep the processing account.)
Current promotion: $100–$200 signup credit
Costco Canada is running a limited promotion: $100 credit for new Elavon applications, $200 for multi-location or additional accounts — for applications between 2026-09-01 and 2026-10-31, with the account active by 2026-11-30. Credits land roughly 8 weeks after activation. A $100 credit offsets nearly 20 months of non-Executive statement fees — nice, but not a reason to switch on its own.
A $60,000/month worked example
The setup: $60,000/month, $60 average ticket (1,000 transactions). Tier mix: 45% Non-Premium, 20% Premium I, 15% Premium II, 10% Super Premium I, 10% Business/Corporate.
$27,000 × 1.10% = $297.00
$12,000 × 1.45% = $174.00
$9,000 × 1.85% = $166.50
$6,000 × 1.99% = $119.40
$6,000 × 2.80% = $168.00
Tier subtotal: $924.90, plus card brand/network assessments (~$60), plus the $5 statement fee for non-Executive members. Total: roughly $990/month — an effective rate near 1.65%.
Notice how the mix decides everything: the 1.10% headline tier carried less than half the volume. Model your mix, not the headline.
Who it suits — and who should pass
- Suits: Costco members doing steady card volume ($10k+/month) who want published rates without negotiating; businesses already paying for Executive membership.
- Suits: Merchants tired of flat-rate padding on standard cards — the 1.10%–1.45% tiers are genuinely below typical flat rates.
- Pass: Very low or seasonal volume — the $10 monthly minimum taxes months you barely sell (unless Executive waives it).
- Pass: Businesses whose customers skew premium/corporate cards — at 1.99–2.80% tiers plus assessments, the blended rate can approach flat-rate territory.
A note on steps: this is a rate-card review, not a setup procedure — the tier table, membership math, and worked example above are the actionable parts.
FAQ
Do I need a Costco membership to use Elavon processing?
Yes — this pricing is for Costco business members, and you must remain a member to keep the account. Factor the membership into the math if you'd buy it only for processing.
Is 1.10% really my rate?
Only for non-premium credit cards that land in the base tier. Premium, super-premium, and corporate cards sort into higher tiers (1.45%–2.80%), and assessments apply on top. Your blended effective rate is what matters.
What happens in a month I barely sell?
Non-Executive members owe the $10 monthly minimum on net processing fees regardless of volume. Executive members have the minimum waived.