Card processing quietly skims every digital tip — a flat 2.9% + 30¢ hits small tips hardest. See exactly what fees cost your team each year, and how much you recover when guests cover the fee or you bring a low-fee gateway.
Processor rate
%
+
¢
Default is a typical flat card rate (2.9% + 30¢). Interchange-plus gateways are often lower.
Card fees per year$6,13214.0% of every tip lost to fees
Fee on one average tip$0.47
Tips processed / year$74,880
Fees per month$511
If guests cover the fee (default on ScanToTIP)
Tips paid out in full$74,880
On ScanToTIP the guest can add the small fee with one tap, so the full tip amount is paid out. On the free plan, that's what keeps it free for you.
Why small tips get hit hardest
The 30¢ problem
Flat fees punish small tips
A 30¢ per-transaction fee is 6% of a $5 tip but only 0.6% of a $50 bill. Tips are small and frequent — exactly the worst case for flat-rate pricing.
Let the guest cover it
One tap adds the processing fee to the guest's total, so the full tip is paid out. Most guests happily cover a few cents so their thank-you lands in full.
Bring your own gateway
Already have CardConnect, TSYS or Elavon? Connect it for interchange-plus rates — typically 20–30% cheaper than flat processing on high volumes of small tips.
Visa · Mastercard · Amex