By the BackPR team · Published October 11, 2026
What a card fee is
Your payment processor charges a fee on each card payment, usually a percentage of the amount plus a small fixed fee per payment. Your rate depends on your processor and account; check it in your processor's dashboard or pricing page.
Absorbing the fee
Families pay your listed price and your program pays the fee. It's the simplest experience for families. The cost to you is the fee on every payment, which adds up over a season.
Passing the fee on
Families pay a little more so your program receives the full price. The added amount has to be slightly larger than the fee on the price, because the processor also takes its percentage from the added part. The formula is: amount to charge = (price + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percentage rate).
Rules on surcharges and convenience fees differ by state and card network. Ask your payment processor which rules apply to your organization before you add a fee.
Other ways programs handle it
- Build an average fee into your prices, so there's no separate line at checkout.
- Absorb fees for scholarship families and pass them on for everyone else.
- Ask families who can pay from a bank account to do so, if your processor charges less for it.
How to decide
- Figure out what absorbing costs you over a season with the credit card fee calculator.
- Compare that with what passing on adds to a family's total.
- Think about who your families are. For some families, an extra fee at checkout feels like a barrier.
How it works in BackPR
BackPR adds no fee of its own. For nonprofits, payments run through Stripe at Stripe's standard rates, and you choose whether to absorb that fee or pass it on to families.