What makes this industry different
“Retail” covers a lot: a corner store, a bakery, a pharmacy, a clothing shop. Three things shape card fees for shops:
- What you sell. Some kinds of store get their own interchange rates.
- Your average sale. A $4 coffee bar and a $400 furniture store feel fees differently.
- How customers pay. Tap, chip, debit or credit.
A merchant category code (MCC) is a four-digit code that says what kind of business you are. Visa’s rate sheet and Interac’s fee page use these codes to decide some rates. Ask your processor which code your store has.
Interchange is the fee your processor pays to your customer’s bank on each sale. The card networks publish the rates. More: What Is Interchange?
Fees to know about in this industry
Visa: industry programs. Visa Canada’s rate sheet has an “Industry Program” with lower rates for some kinds of store.
| Visa program | Retail MCCs on Visa’s list | Classic, in person | Infinite, in person | Infinite Privilege, in person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery and Food Retail | 5411 Grocery, 5422 Meat provisioners, 5441 Candy, 5451 Dairy, 5462 Bakeries | 0.95% | 1.15% (1.05% from Oct 22, 2026, per TD) | 1.95% (1.85% from Oct 22, 2026, per TD) |
| Everyday Needs | 5192 Books and newspapers, 5331 Variety stores, 5912 Drug stores and pharmacies, 5942 Book stores, 5994 Newsstands | 1.10% | 1.20% (1.10% from Oct 22, 2026, per TD) | 1.95% (1.85% from Oct 22, 2026, per TD) |
| Standard in-person (“Electronic”) | All others | 1.25% | 1.57% | 2.08% |
The first rates in each cell are from Visa Canada’s rate sheet, as read on October 22, 2026. The October 22, 2026 changes are from TD’s Fee Change Summary and TD’s “upcoming (Oct 2026)” rate sheet. Visa’s own sheet still did not show them when we checked on October 22, 2026.
Smaller shops may also qualify for Visa’s Small Merchant rates. See Visa’s Small Merchant Rates in Canada.
Interac: the low-ticket tap tier. Interac’s fee page lists a Tier 1 tap interchange of $0.020 a sale (on sales up to $100). Retail categories on the Tier 1 list include:
- Variety Stores (MCC 5331)
- Convenience Stores (MCC 5499)
- Bakeries (MCC 5462)
- Dairy Product Stores (MCC 5451)
- Candy, Nut, Confectionary Stores (MCC 5441)
- News Dealers and Newsstands (MCC 5994)
- Auto Store, Home Supply Stores (MCC 5531)
Most other shops fall under Tier 3 at $0.035, unless they qualify for Tier 2 (at least 20 million Interac tap sales in the previous year). Tap sales from $100.01 to $250 are $0.055 for all businesses. See Interac Debit: How It Is Priced.
Average ticket and why it matters
Your average ticket is your average sale: card sales divided by the number of card sales. Shops with small average sales feel the cents part of a fee more.
More on this: Per-Transaction Fees.
Equipment and software options
Many retail point of sale systems include card processing. One published example is Square’s retail pricing page (Canada):
| Square for Retail Free | Square for Retail Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $0 | $79 per month, per location |
| Credit, in person | 2.5% | 2.45% |
| Debit, chip and PIN or tap | 0.75% + 7¢ | 0.75% + 7¢ |
| Online | 2.8% + 30¢ | 2.8% + 30¢ |
| Keyed in, card on file or Virtual Terminal | 3.3% + 15¢ | 3.3% + 15¢ |
Square’s footnote says the 2.45% rate “is only applicable to payments processed when signed in to a Square for Retail Plus account on the Square POS.” Square lists features such as GTIN and SKU barcodes on its retail plans, and barcode label printing on Retail Plus. It says there are “no long-term contracts.”
Helcim, which uses interchange plus pricing, publishes a markup of 0.40% + 8¢ in person at its lowest volume tier. See Helcim and Square.
Renting versus buying a terminal: Equipment Leases.
Contract terms to read closely
- Minimum purchase rules. TD’s terms say merchants must not “require that a minimum amount of goods or services be purchased before accepting a Card.” Other agreements set their own rules.
- Surcharges. Card network rules allow credit card surcharges outside Quebec, with limits. See Surcharging Credit Cards in Canada.
- Term and leaving fees. See Early Termination Fees.
- Monthly fees. See Statement and Monthly Fees.
Questions to ask a processor
- Which merchant category code will my store have?
- Do my Visa sales qualify for the Grocery, Everyday Needs or Small Merchant rates?
- Does my store qualify for Interac’s Tier 1 tap rate, and how is it shown on my statement?
- What is the cents part of each fee, and is there a batch fee?
Where to go from here
Average ticket is total card sales divided by the number of sales, both shown on a monthly statement. The merchant category code and the cents part of each fee are on the statement or in the agreement. How to Read Your Merchant Statement shows where they sit. Grocery and convenience stores have their own page: Card Processing for Grocery and Convenience Stores.
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