Buy Rate

Also called wholesale rate, cost rate, agent buy rate

The wholesale price an agent or ISO pays the processor. Everything charged above it is the seller's margin on your account.

What it is

A buy rate is what the party selling you merchant services actually pays for it. In a buy-rate arrangement, the processor quotes an agent or ISO a wholesale number - representative 2026 figures are 5 to 10 basis points plus $0.02 to $0.05 per transaction over interchange and assessments - and the agent sells above it and keeps the difference. Sell at 35 basis points against a 10 basis point buy rate and the agent earns 25 basis points on every dollar you run. Buy-rate compensation differs from revenue-split compensation, and the distinction shapes behavior. On a split, the agent gets a percentage of net revenue after the processor allocates costs. On a buy rate, the agent controls pricing directly and owns the entire spread. Wholesale ISOs operating on buy rates typically take on more risk - underwriting exposure, chargeback liability, first-line support - which is what justifies the better economics. Buy rates are also the reason low quotes exist. An agent can go to 15 basis points and still be profitable against a 10 basis point buy rate. They will not do it for a small account, because the fixed cost of onboarding, support and residual servicing has to be covered by something - which is where monthly fees, PCI fees and statement fees come in. No processor publishes buy rates. The only figures in circulation come from ISO-facing industry guides, and they are representative rather than universal.

Why it matters to your business

Knowing that wholesale sits around 5-10 basis points reframes every rate conversation you will have. It tells you that a 25-40 basis point interchange-plus offer is a normal, sustainable deal for both sides, and that a 90 basis point markup is not a market price - it's a lack of information on your side. On $50,000 a month, the difference between a 35 basis point markup and a 90 basis point markup is $275 a month, $3,300 a year. Same processor, same terminal, same service. Only the disclosure differs.

Where it gets contested

The buy rate is the industry's core information asymmetry, and its concealment is deliberate. Every major partner program - Fiserv/CardConnect, Elavon, Global Payments, North, Payroc, Maverick, Priority - publishes marketing detail about support and technology, and none of them publish splits, buy rates, vesting or buyout multiples. That is a structural choice, not an oversight. Merchants have no right to see a buy rate and generally cannot get one. But knowing the range changes the conversation completely. A rep resisting a 40 basis point interchange-plus offer as 'below our cost' is making a claim that can be checked against published wholesale ranges of 5-10 basis points. It is almost never true. It might be true after their loaded servicing costs, and that is a reasonable thing for them to say out loud - which is exactly what they will not do. What is fair to acknowledge: buy rates are not the whole cost. Agents carry residual clawbacks, chargeback exposure, terminal replacements, PCI program costs and the cost of a person answering the phone. Margin is legitimate. Concealed margin is the problem, and the concealment exists because a disclosed markup is a negotiable markup.

How to check it yourself

You can't audit a buy rate, so audit the markup instead. Ask for interchange-plus pricing with the markup stated in basis points and cents. Then benchmark: under 25 bps is aggressive, 25-40 bps is normal for a fully-serviced SMB account, over 60 bps needs a specific justification like high risk, heavy software, or genuine field service. Ask what the extra basis points buy.

Receipts

Claims above that are checkable, with where to check them. Published so you do not have to take anyone's word for it.

Representative wholesale buy rate is 5-10 bps + $0.02-$0.05 per transaction; buy 10 bps and sell 35 bps yields 25 bps margin
strictlyzero.com ↗
Every major partner program refuses to publish splits, buy rates, vesting or buyout multiples
elavon.com ↗
Wholesale ISOs operating on buy rates absorb underwriting, chargeback and merchant loss liability and support
unisonpayment.com ↗