B2B payments: card vs ACH vs wire, compared per $1,000

Key takeaways

B2B cost formulas

Percentage fees scale with the payment; flat fees don't. Some ACH pricing is a percentage with a cap, so check how your provider prices it.

Worked example (illustrative numbers)

A distributor bills a customer $25,000 per invoice, 40 times a year ($1,000,000 annually). All numbers are illustrative.

• Card at 2.9%: $25,000 × 2.9% = $725 per invoice → $29.00 per $1,000 → $29,000 per year
• Card with Level 3 data at 2.2%: $550 per invoice → $22.00 per $1,000 → $22,000 per year
• Level 3 savings = $1,000,000 × (2.9% − 2.2%) = $7,000 per year
• ACH at $1.00 flat: $1.00 per invoice → $0.04 per $1,000 → $40 per year
• Wire at $30 flat: $30 per invoice → $1.20 per $1,000 → $1,200 per year
• Card vs ACH difference in this example: $29,000 − $40 = $28,960 per year

Illustrative numbers only. Your costs depend on your provider, card mix and how you accept payments.

B2B card payments

Many business buyers like paying by card for rewards, purchase controls and extra days before cash leaves their account. For the seller, commercial and corporate cards often carry higher interchange than consumer cards. That's why some B2B sellers limit card to smaller invoices or add a surcharge where card rules and state law allow.

Surcharge rules vary by card network and by state, and some states restrict them. Check current card-network rules and state rules and talk to your advisor before adding one. Our surcharging guide covers the basics.

Source: Visa: Regulations and fees for small businesses

Level 2 and Level 3 data

Card networks offer lower interchange categories for some commercial card transactions when the seller passes extra data. Level 2 data usually includes tax amount, customer code and merchant postal code. Level 3 adds line-item detail such as product codes, quantities, unit prices and freight.

Whether a sale qualifies depends on the card type, the data sent and the network's current rules. Your gateway, invoicing system or POS must support the fields, and your pricing must pass the savings through to you. On flat-rate pricing, you may not see any benefit.

Large-ticket interchange concepts

Some card networks have separate interchange categories for large commercial transactions, which may use a lower percentage plus a fixed fee. Qualification rules, thresholds and rates change, so treat any specific figure you see as something to verify with your provider and current network interchange tables, not a promise.

Source: Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (public PDF)

ACH and wire for B2B

ACH moves money between bank accounts in batches. It's typically low cost, with flat or capped fees, and settles in one to two business days, or the same day where same-day ACH is used. ACH debits can be returned, for example for insufficient funds, within set timeframes. Our ACH payments guide covers debits, credits and returns.

Wire transfers move funds individually and are generally final once sent. Banks charge a flat fee to send and sometimes to receive. Wires are often used for large, time-sensitive or one-time payments, but they are a common target for payment-instruction fraud, so verify bank details by phone using a known number.

Source: Nacha: What is ACH?

What to look for

• Invoicing that accepts both card and ACH with one link
• Support for Level 2 and Level 3 data fields
• Pricing that passes interchange savings through
• ACH pricing: flat, percentage or capped
• Reconciliation that matches payments to invoices
• Controls for verifying changes to bank details

Weighing speed and cash flow, not just fees

A cheaper payment method that arrives weeks later can cost more than it saves. If you finance receivables on a line of credit, every extra day a customer takes to pay has a carrying cost. Card payments often arrive within a few days; checks and slow-approved ACH can take much longer.

Use the collection lag calculator to estimate what slow payments cost you, then compare that with the card fee. Some businesses offer early-payment discounts or accept card only below a set invoice size to balance fee cost with speed.

Common mistakes

• Accepting large invoices by card without knowing the per-$1,000 cost
• Paying for Level 3 capability on flat-rate pricing that doesn't pass savings through
• Adding a surcharge without checking card and state rules
• Changing a vendor's wire instructions based on an email alone
• Ignoring how payment method affects days to get paid

Official sources to check

Rules change. Check current rules at the source and talk to your advisor before you act.

• Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (public PDF)
• Visa: Regulations and fees for small businesses
• Mastercard: Rules and standards
• Nacha: What is ACH?
• Federal Reserve Financial Services: Fedwire Funds Service

Common questions