Moneris
- Moneris is a Canadian acquirer owned jointly by RBC and BMO. Every figure here is in Canadian dollars. Convert before you compare to a US rate.
- Flat-rate credit is 2.65% + $0.10 CAD in person and 2.85% + $0.30 CAD online.
- In-store Interac Debit is $0.12 CAD flat. Online it's $1.00 CAD flat. Those two point in opposite directions. In store, Interac beats credit on almost any basket. Online it only wins above about $25.
- Dispute costs are the highest verified for this site. That's $25.00 CAD per chargeback, plus a separate $80.00 CAD authorization chargeback handling fee.
- Moneris publishes no interchange-plus markup, no volume floor and no instant payout rate.
Moneris is Canada's domestic default. Deep bank integration, strong card-present, Canadian-headquartered with local support.
Every Moneris fee here was read from moneris.com/en/pricing and moneris.com on 2 August 2026. All figures are Canadian dollars.
Two of the obvious paths are broken: moneris.com/en/plans-and-pricing and moneris.com/en/plans-pricing both error out. Only /en/pricing works. If you go looking for Moneris hardware and plan prices and come up empty, that's why.
Contract terms and the Simplified Pricing markup really aren't published. See what to ask for.
When to Use Moneris
You should use Moneris if:
- You're a Canadian business and you want a domestic acquirer.
- You do real in-store Interac Debit volume. At $0.12 flat it beats credit on nearly every basket.
- You need bilingual POS and support. Quebec operations require it.
- You bank with RBC or BMO.
- You run multiple Canadian locations and need fleet terminal management.
Skip Moneris if:
- You're mostly online. Stripe has better developer tooling and publishes Canadian rates openly.
- Your online volume is small-ticket and Interac-heavy. $1.00 per online Interac transaction is brutal under $25.
- You have real dispute volume. The $25 plus $80 structure is the most expensive verified for this site.
- You want interchange-plus with a published markup. Moneris doesn't publish one.
Pricing Breakdown
Flat-Rate Processing
| Transaction Type | Rate |
|---|---|
| Card-present credit | 2.65% + $0.10 CAD |
| Card-not-present credit (online) | 2.85% + $0.30 CAD |
| Keyed-in | Billed as card not present: 2.85% + $0.30 CAD |
| Interac Debit, in store | $0.12 CAD flat |
| Interac Debit, online | $1.00 CAD flat |
| Foreign card surcharge | +0.80%, incremental to 1.00% based on assessment fees |
Source: moneris.com/en/pricing, verified 2 August 2026. All figures CAD, all VENDOR.
Monthly, Hardware and Account Fees VENDOR
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monthly subscription on Flat Rate | None stated |
| Moneris Go terminal | $34.95 CAD/month |
| Moneris Online | From $19 CAD/month |
| Minimum merchant discount rate | $5.00 CAD |
| Moneris Go software fee | $5.00 CAD |
| Paper statement | $2.00 CAD |
| Aged close batch | $2.50 CAD |
| Dial communications | $0.08 CAD |
Sources: moneris.com/en/pricing and moneris.com, verified 2 August 2026.
Plan fees of $29.95 and $34.95 a month, plus terminal rentals of $20 to $50, get quoted for Moneris in comparison content. Only one of those appears on Moneris's own pages: $34.95 is the published Moneris Go terminal price. Treat the rest as unconfirmed until they're in your written agreement.
Fraud tooling is stated as bundled at no extra cost: Kount, 3DS and tokenization. That's unusual at this price. Confirm it in your agreement.
Disputes: The Most Expensive Verified for This Site
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Chargeback | $25.00 CAD |
| Authorization Chargeback Handling | $80.00 CAD |
Source: moneris.com/en/pricing, verified 2 August 2026.
No other processor verified for this site publishes anything like it. Ask Moneris exactly when it applies. On the face of it, one mishandled authorization costs $105 CAD in fees on top of the disputed amount.
Where that sits against the rest of the market, all verified 2 August 2026:
| Processor | Published cost of a chargeback |
|---|---|
| Helcim | $0 if you win, $15 if you lose |
| Square | $0, stated outright |
| Braintree | $15 |
| Stripe | $15 to receive, plus $15 to counter |
| PayPal | $15 on wallet disputes ($0 if you win), $20 on card chargebacks, $30 above a 1.5% ratio |
| Moneris | CA$25, plus CA$80 authorization chargeback handling |
In a dispute-prone category in Canada, this table should decide it. Preventing a dispute on Moneris is worth several times what it's worth on most US processors.
What Moneris Does Not Publish
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Simplified Pricing (interchange-plus) markup | NOT PUBLISHED. The page separates interchange, network assessment and a transaction fee, and attaches no numbers to any of them. It states only that rates vary by card type and monthly volume. A 0.20 to 0.40% + $0.05 to $0.10 markup gets quoted for it, and verifies nowhere |
| Interac rate under Simplified Pricing | NOT PUBLISHED |
| Instant payout / same-day funding | NOT PUBLISHED |
| Volume floor | NOT PUBLISHED |
| Terminal purchase price | NOT PUBLISHED. The Moneris Go rental is published at $34.95 CAD/month; an outright purchase price is not |
| Contract length and early termination fee | NOT PUBLISHED. Ask, and get it in writing |
| Chargeback fee under Simplified Pricing | NOT PUBLISHED. The published CA$25 applies to the flat-rate product and may be negotiable on a custom agreement |
The Interac Numbers Point in Opposite Directions
This is the most useful thing on the page. Most Moneris comparisons get it wrong. They treat Interac as uniformly cheap.
In store, Interac Debit is $0.12 flat. Credit is 2.65% + $0.10.
Setting them equal: 0.0265V + 0.10 = 0.12, so V = $0.75.
In store, Interac beats credit on any basket above 75 cents. In practice, on everything.
| In-store basket | Interac Debit | Credit (2.65% + $0.10) | Interac saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $0.12 | $0.37 | $0.25 |
| $25 | $0.12 | $0.76 | $0.64 |
| $50 | $0.12 | $1.43 | $1.31 |
| $100 | $0.12 | $2.75 | $2.63 |
| $200 | $0.12 | $5.40 | $5.28 |
Online, Interac Debit is $1.00 flat. Credit is 2.85% + $0.30.
Setting them equal: 0.0285V + 0.30 = 1.00, so V = $24.56.
Online, Interac only beats credit above about a $25 order. Below that it costs more. On small tickets it costs a lot more.
| Online order | Interac Debit | Credit (2.85% + $0.30) | Interac position |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $1.00 | $0.59 | $0.41 worse. Interac is 10% of the order |
| $20 | $1.00 | $0.87 | $0.13 worse |
| $25 | $1.00 | $1.01 | Break even |
| $50 | $1.00 | $1.73 | $0.73 better |
| $100 | $1.00 | $3.15 | $2.15 better |
What to do with this:
- In store: push Interac. Every basket saves money, and big baskets save a lot. If your terminal prompts default to credit, change them.
- Online with a low average order: Interac is a cost, not a saving. A $12 order paying $1.00 flat is an 8.3% effective rate. That's worse than any card rate on this site.
- Online with a high average order: Interac is excellent. A $200 order costs $1.00 instead of $6.00.
Work out your own crossover on your own average order first.
What Moneris Does Well
1. In-Store Interac
$0.12 flat is excellent. It's the core reason a Canadian retailer picks Moneris. Canadian debit routes through Interac at a flat per-transaction fee, not a percentage network. That's a structural advantage Canadian merchants have and US merchants don't.
2. Canadian Banking Integration
Moneris is a joint venture of RBC and BMO. That buys direct integration with two of the Big Five. Canadian-dollar settlement, no FX conversion, one relationship for banking and processing.
3. Multi-Location Fleet Management
Centralized terminal management, remote firmware updates, one terminal experience across locations. Genuinely strong for chains.
4. Canadian Compliance and Support
PIPEDA compliance, bilingual support, PCI-compliant terminals, Canadian data residency. In Quebec the bilingual requirement isn't optional. Moneris handles it properly.
What Moneris Does Poorly
1. Dispute Costs
Covered above. $25 plus a separate $80 handling fee is the most expensive dispute structure verified for this site, in any currency.
2. Online Interac Pricing
$1.00 online against $0.12 in store is a factor of more than eight. Same payment method. On low-ticket e-commerce it turns Interac from your cheapest option into your most expensive.
3. E-Commerce and Developer Experience
The API docs are less developer-friendly than Stripe's. Pre-built integrations are less polished. Nothing here matches Stripe Elements or Checkout. The online experience feels dated.
4. Pricing Transparency Beyond Flat Rate
The flat-rate card is published and clear. The interchange-plus markup isn't published at all. So an IC+ quote arrives with no public benchmark. Bring Helcim's published schedule as an anchor. Different market, but a markup is a markup.
5. Canada Only
No global acquiring. If you expand beyond Canada, you need a second processor.
Moneris vs Stripe vs Square, for Canadian Businesses
| Factor | Moneris | Stripe Canada | Square Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card-present credit | 2.65% + $0.10 CAD | Terminal 2.7% + CA$0.05 | 2.5% flat, no fixed fee |
| Online | 2.85% + $0.30 CAD | 2.9% + CA$0.30 | 2.8% + CA$0.30 |
| Interac in store | $0.12 flat | Not published separately | 0.75% + 7c |
| Interac online | $1.00 flat | Not published separately | 2.8% + CA$0.30, via Apple Pay or Google Pay |
| Chargeback | CA$25 plus CA$80 handling | $15 to receive, $15 to counter | $0. Square covers the fee on disputes it fights |
| Monthly | $5.00 CAD software fee, $5.00 CAD minimum discount rate | $0 | $0 |
| Instant payout | Not published | 1% for Canada | 1.5% |
| Contract | Not published. Ask | Month to month | Month to month |
| E-commerce and API | Basic | The strongest of the three | Limited |
| French support | Full bilingual | Limited | Limited |
| Best for | High in-store volume, Interac-heavy, multi-location | Online and developer-led | Simple retail and quick start |
Moneris and Stripe figures verified 2 August 2026 from moneris.com/en/pricing and stripe.com/pricing as served in Canada. Square's from squareup.com/ca/en/payments/our-fees, 4 August 2026.
Two rows in that table decide it, and they pull in opposite directions.
Square is cheaper on credit card-present at every ticket size. 2.5% flat with no fixed component beats Moneris's 2.65% + $0.10 and Stripe's 2.7% + CA$0.05 on any amount at all, and the gap widens as the ticket falls. On a $30 sale Square takes 75c, Stripe 86c and Moneris 89.5c.
Moneris wins Interac on anything above a $6.67 ticket, and Interac is the whole reason to consider Moneris. $0.12 flat against Square's 0.75% + 7c crosses at $6.67 and never comes back. On a $50 debit sale that's 12 cents against 44.5. If a real share of your in-store volume runs on Interac, that one row outweighs the credit rate on its own.
So the Canadian answer isn't a processor, it's a ratio: work out what share of your in-store volume is Interac before you choose. Debit-heavy goes Moneris, credit-heavy goes Square, and nothing else in the table moves the needle as much.
Bottom line for a Canadian merchant:
- In-store and Interac-heavy: Moneris. Nothing else here matches $0.12 flat, and it beats the small credit-rate gap.
- Online, low average order: Stripe. Moneris's online credit rate is a touch cheaper. Stripe's tooling is far ahead, and you dodge the $1.00 Interac trap.
- Online, high average order, Interac-heavy: Moneris. A $200 order at $1.00 flat is hard to beat.
- Dispute-prone in any channel: not Moneris. CA$25 plus CA$80 is the deciding number.
Who Moneris Is Best For
Perfect Fit
| Business Type | Why Moneris Wins |
|---|---|
| High-volume Canadian retail | In-store Interac at $0.12 flat, multi-location fleet management |
| Grocery and convenience | Debit-heavy baskets are exactly where the $0.12 rate pays |
| RBC or BMO business customers | Integrated banking and processing |
| Multi-location chains | Centralized terminal management |
| Quebec businesses | Full bilingual POS and support |
Poor Fit
| Business Type | Better Alternative |
|---|---|
| Online-only Canadian business | Stripe |
| Low-ticket e-commerce | Stripe. Online Interac at $1.00 is punitive below $25 |
| Dispute-prone merchants | Anything else. CA$25 plus CA$80 is the worst here |
| Shopify store | Shopify Payments |
| Expanding beyond Canada | Stripe or Adyen |
Common Gotchas
1. Online Interac Is Not In-Store Interac
The two rates differ by more than a factor of eight. Offer Interac Online with a small average order and you're paying more for debit than credit. Check your average against the $24.56 crossover.
2. The $80 Authorization Chargeback Handling Fee
Ask exactly what triggers it. Understand it before you sign, not on a statement.
3. Terminal Leasing
Terminal leases here run for years. They're often non-cancellable. They can total several times the purchase price. Moneris doesn't publish terminal pricing. Ask for the outright purchase price and the total payable under any lease as two separate numbers. Then compare them.
4. Contract Terms Are Not Published
Contract length, early termination fees and auto-renewal aren't on the pricing page. Ask for all three in writing. Calendar your renewal date and notice period the day you sign.
5. Interchange-Plus Has No Published Benchmark
Moneris Simplified Pricing separates interchange, network assessment and a transaction fee. Then it attaches no number to any of them. So a quote arrives with no public benchmark.
Ask for, in writing:
- The per-transaction markup in basis points AND cents, stated separately from interchange and from assessments
- Whether the markup varies by card type or only by monthly volume
- The volume bands, and the rate at each one
- The chargeback fee under Simplified Pricing, since the published CA$25 covers flat rate only
What to push toward: a markup well below the roughly 1.0 to 1.2 points that flat rate implies over typical Canadian interchange. That spread is the whole reason to leave flat rate. If the quote doesn't clear a good part of it, stay where you are.
The disqualifying answer: a refusal to state the markup separately from interchange. That quote isn't interchange-plus in any useful sense, so don't compare it as though it were.
6. Rate Creep
Rates can change on notice. Review statements quarterly. Track your effective rate month over month: total fees divided by total volume.
Test to Run
Moneris cost audit, for a Canadian merchant:
Week 1: split your volume properly
- In-store credit volume and transaction count
- In-store Interac volume and transaction count
- Online credit volume and transaction count
- Online Interac volume and transaction count
- Most merchants never separate the last two. That's where the surprises are
Week 2: find your Interac crossovers
6. In store, Interac wins above $0.75. Confirm your terminal isn't defaulting customers to credit
7. Online, calculate your average order value. Above $24.56 Interac wins, below it credit does
8. If you're below the crossover and offering Interac Online, quantify what it's costing you: (online Interac count x $1.00) - (online Interac volume x 2.85% + count x $0.30)
Week 3: price the disputes 9. Count chargebacks over the last twelve months 10. Multiply by CA$25, then check how many also attracted the CA$80 handling fee 11. Compare that total to what the same disputes would cost on a processor charging $15 or nothing. It's often the largest single line in the comparison
Week 4: check the contract 12. Find your contract end date, notice period, and early termination fee 13. Doing real volume? Ask for interchange-plus, and get the markup as a percentage plus cents so you can audit it
Success criteria: you know your four-way volume split, your Interac Online exposure and your annual dispute cost. Your renewal date is in a calendar.
Where This Breaks
-
Online Interac at $1.00 punishes small baskets. The headline "Interac is cheap" story is only true in store.
-
Dispute costs are the highest here. CA$25 plus CA$80 changes the economics of any dispute-prone business.
-
Interchange-plus is unpublished. You'll be quoted a markup with no public benchmark. Bring an external one.
-
Canada only. Expansion means a second processor and a second integration.
-
Currency confusion. Every number here is CAD. Put them beside US rates without converting and you get a wrong answer. It's the most common mistake in Canadian processor comparisons.
Next Steps
Considering Moneris?
- Get a direct quote rather than a reseller quote
- Split your projected volume four ways: in-store credit, in-store Interac, online credit, online Interac. That split decides whether Moneris is cheap or expensive for you
- Ask what triggers the CA$80 authorization chargeback handling fee
- Ask for the contract term, the early termination fee, and terminal purchase prices in writing
- Compare against Stripe's Canadian rates, which are published and easy to model
Already on Moneris?
- Calculate your effective rate: total fees divided by total volume
- Check your online Interac exposure against the $24.56 crossover
- If you're above about CA$25,000 a month, ask for interchange-plus and insist on an auditable markup
- Review your contract for auto-renewal dates
- Confirm your in-store terminals aren't steering customers to credit
See Also
- Stripe - Canadian rates are published, and better for online-first
- Square - Cheaper on credit card-present (2.5% flat, no fixed fee) and $0 on disputes, but much worse on Interac
- Helcim - Publishes Canadian Interac rates and a full markup schedule, useful as a benchmark
- Processor Comparison - Full comparison table including Canadian options
- Card Payments - Card types and interchange
- Debit Routing - US debit routing, for contrast with Interac