What American Express publishes
American Express does not list its merchant rates on its Canadian merchant pages. Its “Accept the Card” page describes two ways to accept Amex:
- Through a payment provider. “Eligible Small Businesses can accept through participating providers, which sets the rate for card acceptance.”
- Directly with American Express. The page says businesses that accept directly “can take advantage of competitive pricing opportunities,” and lists a phone number. It gives no rates.
So the published Amex prices in Canada come from the processors, not from Amex. The rest of this page sets out what four of them publish.
OptBlue, in plain words
OptBlue is the American Express program that lets a small business accept Amex through its usual processor. Amex says that with OptBlue, “you can receive a single statement and deposit, the same way you do for all card brands you accept at your business.”
TD’s terms define the OptBlue Program as one that lets TD “enable small business merchants to accept American Express Cards.” A small business merchant there is one under the High CV Merchant threshold:
- more than CAD $1,000,000 in Amex charge volume in a rolling 12 months, or
- more than CAD $100,000 in any three months in a row.
Some industries count as High CV regardless of volume, “as determined by American Express.” TD’s terms say that once a merchant becomes High CV, TD may assign the Amex part of the agreement to American Express, for “a direct acquiring relationship with American Express.”
What each processor publishes for Amex
| What it publishes for Amex | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Helcim | OptBlue discount rates by industry and sale size, plus Amex network fees and Helcim’s own margin | Helcim’s Amex rates page and fee disclosure |
| TD Merchant Solutions | Amex network fees and a per-transaction fee; no Amex discount rate on the pages we read | TD’s fee descriptions |
| Square Canada | The same flat rate as every other credit card brand | Square’s pricing and fees pages |
| Stripe Canada | One rate for domestic cards; no separate Amex rate | Stripe’s pricing page |
Helcim
Helcim’s Amex page says its OptBlue rates are “Set by American Express” and are “the wholesale discount rates charged by American Express on every OptBlue transaction.” Some examples:
| Industry and sale size | Discount rate |
|---|---|
| Retail, $500 or less | 1.60% |
| Retail, over $500 | 2.00% |
| Restaurant, $200 or less | 1.60% |
| Restaurant, over $200 | 2.40% |
| Mail order and internet, $500 or less | 1.60% |
| Healthcare, any size | 1.34% |
On top of these, Helcim lists Amex network fees: 0.1356% on all transactions, 0.339% on manually keyed transactions and 0.678% on international transactions. It also lists an “Acquirer Network Fee” of 0.03% + 3¢, which it says is charged by its acquiring bank, not by Amex. Helcim then adds its own interchange plus margin, such as 0.40% + 8¢ in person at Tier 1.
Helcim’s fee disclosure shows the combined Tier 1 rate for a standard Amex sale: 2.19% + 13¢ in person and 2.62% + 30¢ card-not-present. Above $500, it lists 2.59% + 13¢ in person.
TD Merchant Solutions
TD’s fee list shows three Amex lines:
| Fee | Amount | TD’s description |
|---|---|---|
| Amex Assessment Fee (also shown as Amex Card Brand Fee) | 0.1360% | “Assessed on all Amex/JCB transactions.” |
| Amex Foreign Assessment Fee | 0.6780% | When “the country codes of the merchant and the cardholder differ (excludes JCB)” |
| Amex/JCB OptBlue Transaction Fee | $0.10 | “Assessed on all Amex/JCB transactions.” |
The TD fee pages we read did not list an Amex discount rate. TD’s terms say a merchant accepting Amex through OptBlue also agrees to follow the American Express Program Merchant Guide.
Square Canada
Square’s pricing page says: “You pay the same base rate for every credit card. Visa, Mastercard, American Express and domestic cards all cost the same rate.” Its fees page lists 2.5% for an in-person credit card sale, including American Express. Cards issued outside Canada add 1.5%.
Stripe Canada
Stripe’s Canadian pricing page lists 2.9% + CA$0.30 for domestic cards online and 2.7% + CA$0.05 for “most cards” in person. It lists no separate Amex rate. Stripe’s supported card brands page lists American Express for Stripe accounts in all countries except Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
On the statement
On flat-rate plans such as Square’s and Stripe’s standard pricing, an Amex sale shows one fee. On interchange plus, Amex lines show separately. TD’s fee list gives the statement names “Amex Assessment Fee” and “Amex Card Brand Fee” for its 0.1360% fee. See How to Read Your Merchant Statement and Assessment Fees Explained.
Where to go from here
More on cards from other countries: Cross-Border Card Fees. Provider pages: Helcim, TD Merchant Solutions, Square and Stripe. The card fee calculator works out a month’s fees from published rates. For how Amex works in the US, see Accepting American Express in the US (OptBlue).
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