Why can’t you tell me exactly what my rate will be?

We highly recommend reading through our “What is Interchange?” and “What is Interchange-Plus Pricing?” pages, as they’ll discuss this topic in more depth. But, we understand the desire for a quick answer.

The answer to “Why can’t you tell me what my rate will be?” is Because Dharma’s fees are directly related to the costs Dharma incurs, and the costs we incur are based on the cards you accept, our fees are inherently variable. Dharma’s margins will always be flat, and constant. But, the costs upon which we place our margins will always fluctuate. That’s due to the fact that each credit/debit card that exists has a different underlying rate! So, we’ll always add the same Dharma margin to that underlying rate. That’s why Interchange-Plus is considered the fairest model out there. You know, every month, exactly what Dharma’s margins are. You may see variability in your monthly statements, but that variability is based solely on the interchange-rates of the cards you accept.