Agentis analysis of Stripe's own published pricing confirms ACH bank transfers cost 0.8% capped at $5.00, while card payments cost 2.9% plus $0.30, with no cap at all. On a $2,000 order, that's $5.00 for ACH versus $58.30 for a card, a $53.30 difference that gets larger, not smaller, as the order value climbs.
The order total, before any processing fee.
ACH Direct Debit Fee (0.8%, capped at $5.00)
$5.00
Card Fee (2.9% + $0.30, uncapped)
$58.30
Savings From Using ACH
$53.30
| Payment Method | Fee | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| ACH Direct Debit | 0.8% | $5.00 maximum |
| Card (standard) | 2.9% + $0.30 | No maximum |
Source: Stripe: Pricing (retrieved August 7, 2026). ACH settlement typically takes several business days versus instant card authorization, which is the tradeoff for the lower, capped fee.
| Order Value | ACH Fee | Card Fee | Savings From ACH |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $0.80 | $3.20 | $2.40 |
| $625 | $5.00 | $18.43 | $13.43 |
| $1,000 | $5.00 | $29.30 | $24.30 |
| $2,000 | $5.00 | $58.30 | $53.30 |
| $5,000 | $5.00 | $145.30 | $140.30 |
Source: Stripe: Pricing (retrieved August 7, 2026). Agentis synthesis: Stripe's two published rates applied to common order values. $625 is the order value where ACH's 0.8% first hits the $5.00 cap; above that, the ACH fee stays flat while the card fee keeps scaling.
How we calculate this
Stripe's own pricing page publishes both rates directly: ACH Direct Debit at 0.8% capped at $5.00, and standard card processing at 2.9% + $0.30 with no cap. The savings figures are Agentis synthesis: each rate applied to common order values so the gap is directly comparable. Read our full methodology →
Expert Insight
Cards win the checkout by default because they're familiar and instant, and for most order sizes the fee gap is small enough to ignore. That logic breaks down once order values climb, because Stripe's ACH fee is capped and the card fee isn't. A $2,000 order costs roughly eleven times more to process on a card than by bank transfer, and the gap only widens as the ticket size grows. High-ticket categories, furniture, jewelry, electronics, are exactly where offering bank transfer as a payment option is worth the friction of asking for it.
Udi Razmovich, CTO & Co-Founder →Yes, typically. ACH transfers usually take a few business days to settle, compared to a card charge that authorizes instantly, which is the main tradeoff for the lower fee. Stripe's published rate applies the same way regardless of how long settlement takes.
Agentis analysis of Stripe's, Shopify's, and PayPal's own published fee terms shows currency conversion costs 1% with Stripe, 1.5% to 2% with Shopify Payments (Shopify's own example uses 1.5%), and 3% to 4% with PayPal, a gap of up to $30 more per $1,000 in international sales between Stripe's rate and PayPal's on a standard goods-and-services transaction.
Agentis analysis of Stripe's and PayPal's own published 2026 pricing pages shows PayPal Checkout costs 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction versus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30. Merchants absorb that difference silently when checkout offers both without weighting the true blended cost by payment-method mix.
Agentis finds margin leaks automatically.
Data last updated August 7, 2026. Browse all Payment Fees pages →