Card Fee Case Study: A Fictional Café
See how percentage, transaction and monthly charges change a fictional café's card-cost comparison.
This fictional café case study shows why a headline percentage is not a complete comparison.
The common activity
The café models £24,000 monthly card turnover across 1,600 payments. Option A charges 1.35% plus £18 terminal rental. Option B charges 0.95% plus 5p per transaction and £35 in recurring fees.
Option A
The percentage charge is £324. Adding £18 produces an illustrated monthly cost of £342, before any charges not stated in the example.
Option B
The percentage charge is £228 and transaction charges are £80. Adding £35 produces £343. The lower advertised percentage does not produce the lower total in this scenario.
Change one assumption
At the same turnover but only 800 larger payments, Option B's transaction component falls to £40 and its illustrated total becomes £303. Transaction count, not merely turnover, changes the conclusion.
What remains unknown
The case does not include card-category pricing, refunds, chargebacks, setup, exit costs, settlement time or service quality. It demonstrates a method, not a provider recommendation or market quotation.
Reusable lesson
Keep the inputs identical, display every fee component and test realistic variation. A decision should survive inspection when the promotional headline is removed.