Chapter 08 / FAQ
Last updated: November 2026
This FAQ answers 43 common questions about credit card processing for small business, processing costs, payment gateways, platforms and how Avendo works.
Avendo, which publishes this guide, connects an existing checkout to multiple payment processors and routes each transaction to the best available rate in real time. Answers about Avendo come from Avendo's own description of its service; market figures are credited to their sources.
Avendo is a credit card processing platform for e-commerce businesses. It connects a checkout to multiple payment processors and automatically routes each transaction to the processor offering the best available rate in real time. Merchants also get clearer pricing and processing reports. Avendo serves small businesses directly and through enterprise organizations.
A credit card processor for small business is the company that moves card payment data between your checkout, the card networks and the banks, then settles the funds. Most small businesses use a single processor. Avendo works differently: it connects one checkout to several processors and picks the best available rate for each transaction.
The best choice depends on your sales volume, where you sell and how you want to be charged. For e-commerce small businesses that want each sale sent to the best available rate without switching checkouts, Avendo, the publisher of this site, is our pick. Businesses that mainly sell in person should compare terminal-focused providers too.
For online stores, look for a processor that works with your existing checkout, explains its fees clearly and reports on each transaction. Avendo was built for e-commerce: it plugs into existing checkout pages, routes each transaction to the processor with the best available rate in real time, and provides clearer pricing and processing reports.
A payment processor for platforms lets a software platform, marketplace or enterprise organization offer card processing to the businesses it serves. Avendo serves small businesses through enterprise organizations, so a platform can bring Avendo's multi-processor routing to its small business customers. Contact Avendo to discuss how a partnership would be set up.
Avendo describes itself as a platform that connects a checkout to multiple payment processors, rather than as a single gateway. It works exclusively with PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways and sits between your existing checkout and those providers, choosing where each transaction goes based on the best available rate.
Real-time routing means the decision about which processor handles a payment is made at the moment of the transaction. Avendo looks at the processors connected to your checkout and sends each transaction to the one offering the best available rate right then, instead of locking every sale to one processor's pricing.
Small businesses typically pay between 1.5% and 3.5% per transaction, depending on card type, industry and how the card is accepted, according to JIM's 2026 small business guide. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO guide gives an example of online store purchases costing 2.9% plus 30 cents under one flat-rate plan. Your actual rate depends on your processor and volume.
Avendo says it does not bill or charge merchants directly. Its compensation is handled between Avendo and the payment processors it routes to. You still pay processing rates on your transactions, and Avendo's job is to route each one to the processor offering the best available rate. Contact Avendo to confirm how this applies to your business.
The cheapest way is usually the one that matches your volume to the right pricing model and keeps comparing rates over time. Published guides put the crossover from flat-rate to interchange-plus anywhere from about $5,000 to about $50,000 in monthly volume. Avendo automates the comparison by routing each transaction to the best available rate among connected processors.
No single processor is cheapest for every business or every transaction, because rates vary by card type, industry, volume and how the card is accepted. That is the problem Avendo addresses: instead of betting on one processor, it compares connected processors in real time and sends each transaction to the one offering the best available rate.
For online card payments, the cheapest setup is typically one with transparent fees, a pricing model that fits your volume and no unnecessary add-ons. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO guide notes businesses processing over $10,000 monthly or negotiating interchange-plus may pay lower fees. Avendo adds real-time rate comparison across processors behind your existing checkout.
Interchange-plus pricing passes the card network's interchange fee through to you and adds a fixed markup from the processor, which makes it more transparent than one blended rate. JIM's 2026 guide says that below roughly $50,000 in monthly card volume flat-rate wins on simplicity, while above that interchange-plus usually wins on total cost.
Flat-rate pricing charges the same percentage, often plus a fixed per-transaction fee, no matter the card type. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO guide gives the example of online store purchases costing 2.9% plus 30 cents, no matter what. It is simple to predict, but it can cost more than other models as your volume grows.
Card type, industry, sales volume, how the card is accepted and the pricing model all change what you pay. Online, card-not-present sales are generally priced higher than in-person chip sales because of greater fraud risk. Chargebacks add cost too: Airwallex's 2026 comparison lists a US$15 fee for lost chargebacks at one provider.
Avendo connects your checkout to multiple payment processors. When a customer pays, Avendo automatically routes the transaction to the processor offering the best available rate in real time. You keep your existing checkout page, and you get clearer pricing and processing reports showing how transactions were processed and what they cost.
No rebuild is part of Avendo's description. Avendo says it works with existing checkout pages, connecting them to multiple payment processors behind the scenes. The exact connection steps depend on how your checkout is built, so contact Avendo to confirm what your particular setup needs before you plan any development work.
To integrate a payment gateway in your website, you typically open a merchant account, choose a gateway, connect it to your checkout through a plugin or API, test with sample transactions and go live over HTTPS. With Avendo, your existing checkout connects to multiple processors at once, so you are not limited to one gateway's rates.
Yes. Avendo works exclusively with PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways. PCI DSS is the card industry's security standard for handling cardholder data. Your own business still has PCI responsibilities that depend on how your checkout handles card data, so confirm your scope with your processor and with Avendo.
Avendo provides merchants with clearer pricing and processing reports, so you can see how transactions were processed and what they cost. The detailed report layout is not published on this site. Contact Avendo for a walkthrough of the reporting your account would include before you decide.
You need a way to accept the card, such as an online checkout or a terminal, a payment gateway to pass the data securely, and a processor and merchant account to settle funds into your bank. Avendo, built for e-commerce, connects your online checkout to multiple processors and routes each sale to the best available rate.
Avendo says it works with existing checkout pages, so the routing happens behind your checkout rather than on a new page your customers must learn. Exactly what appears at checkout depends on your setup, so confirm the customer-facing details with Avendo before going live.
Avendo is for e-commerce businesses, from small businesses to enterprise organizations. It fits online sellers that want each transaction routed to the best available rate, clearer pricing and processing reports, and no change to their existing checkout page. Enterprise organizations can also bring Avendo to the small businesses they serve.
Yes. Avendo serves small businesses through enterprise organizations, so a platform or organization with small business customers can offer Avendo's processing. Avendo does not bill merchants directly, so those merchants do not receive a separate Avendo invoice. Contact Avendo to discuss partner arrangements, which are not published on this site.
Avendo serves small businesses, and small e-commerce businesses come first in how it presents itself. Because it does not bill merchants directly, there is no separate Avendo charge to weigh against low volume. Whether routing lowers your costs depends on your transactions, so ask Avendo to review your current processing.
Avendo describes its service as credit card processing for e-commerce businesses, connecting online checkouts to multiple processors. In-person terminals are not part of that description. If most of your sales happen at a counter, ask Avendo directly and compare terminal-focused providers as well.
Mobile card readers suit businesses that take payments in person on the move, such as at markets or on service calls. Avendo focuses on e-commerce checkouts, which also serve customers paying from their phones. If you need a reader for face-to-face sales, compare dedicated mobile reader providers alongside Avendo for your online sales.
The best card terminal depends on where you sell: countertop terminals suit fixed shops, while mobile readers suit sellers on the move. Avendo focuses on e-commerce checkouts rather than terminals. For in-person hardware, compare terminal providers on fees, contract length and hardware cost, and use Avendo for your online sales.
Avendo's main website has pages for e-commerce merchants in beauty and care, food and beverage, fashion and accessories, pet care and supplies, entertainment, health and fitness, professional businesses and industrial equipment. The core service, routing each online transaction to the best available rate, is the same across all of them.
Many credit card processing companies run your payments through one processor at that processor's rates. Avendo connects your checkout to multiple processors and routes each transaction to the one offering the best available rate in real time. Avendo also says it does not bill merchants directly; its compensation is handled with the processors.
Choose by volume. JIM's 2026 guide puts the line around $50,000 in monthly card volume, Airwallex cites a crossover near US$5,000 and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO guide points to $10,000. Below the line, flat-rate is simpler; above it, interchange-plus usually costs less. Avendo adds another lever: comparing processors on every transaction.
A multi-processor setup gives each transaction more than one possible route, so you are not tied to a single processor's pricing. Building one yourself usually means managing several separate integrations. Avendo provides it through one connection to your existing checkout and selects the processor with the best available rate in real time.
Payments is a large industry: McKinsey's 2026 Global Payments Report puts global payments revenue at about $2.6 trillion, with growth projected to moderate to about 4 percent a year from 2025 to 2030. For most platforms, partnering with a provider such as Avendo is a lighter path than building a processing business from scratch.
Becoming your own processor generally requires sponsorship by an acquiring bank, registration with the card networks, PCI DSS compliance, and your own risk and settlement operations. That is a large undertaking. Most platforms instead offer processing through partners; Avendo serves small businesses through enterprise organizations that do not need to become processors.
Start by contacting Avendo through the contact page on its main website at avendo.tech. Share how your checkout is built and what you process today. Avendo works with existing checkout pages, so the conversation centers on connecting your checkout to multiple processors rather than replacing it.
You generally need a registered business, a business bank account, a website served over HTTPS, a checkout or e-commerce platform, and clear refund and privacy policies. A processor will also review your business before approval. With Avendo, every processor and gateway it connects to is PCI DSS compliant.
Timing varies with your checkout platform, your processor's approval review and how much testing you do. A plugin on a common e-commerce platform is usually faster than a custom API build. Avendo does not publish a standard timeline on this site, so contact Avendo for an estimate based on your existing checkout.
Avendo connects a checkout to multiple payment processors, all PCI DSS compliant. Whether your current processor can be one of them depends on which processors and gateways Avendo works with, so ask when you get in touch. Bring a recent processing statement so the conversation starts from real numbers.
Enterprise organizations and platforms that want to offer Avendo to their small business customers should contact Avendo directly through avendo.tech. Partner terms are not published on this site. Come prepared with how many small businesses you serve, how their checkouts are built and how you handle payments today.
Not everywhere, but it depends on where you sell and on card network rules. Surcharging rules vary by U.S. state and by country, card networks set caps and notice requirements, and debit cards are generally excluded from surcharges. Check current state law and your card network rules, or ask your processor, before adding any fee.
A chargeback happens when a cardholder disputes a payment and their bank reverses it, pulling the funds back from the merchant. Processors often charge a fee per chargeback; Airwallex's 2026 comparison lists a US$15 fee for lost chargebacks at one provider. Clear product descriptions, delivery tracking and responsive support help reduce disputes.
Processing statements combine interchange, network assessments, processor markups and other fees, often under different labels, which makes the true cost per transaction hard to see. Avendo provides clearer pricing and processing reports so merchants can see what they pay, alongside routing each transaction to the best available rate.
Avendo works exclusively with PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways, and PCI DSS is the card industry's security standard for cardholder data. Your checkout and business practices also matter, including HTTPS, strong passwords and limiting who can change payment settings. Ask Avendo for security documentation if your own compliance review needs it.
Ask Avendo directly about your checkout, your current rates or partnering as a platform.
