Payment processing for restaurants in Canada (2026)

How a card payment works, and who takes a cut

On a $72 credit card payment, three charges come off the top, even if your statement shows one number. Interchange goes to the bank that issued the guest's card; Visa describes it as a fee the acquirer pays the issuer on each purchase. Network or assessment fees go to the card network. The processor's markup is what your processor (the acquirer, or a payment facilitator working with one) keeps for moving the money and supporting you.

Card type matters. Under Visa Canada's small merchant rates effective October 24, 2026, in-person interchange is 0.70% on a Classic, Gold or Platinum card, 0.89% on Visa Infinite and 1.70% on Visa Infinite Privilege. On $72 that is about 50 cents against $1.22, before the network or the processor takes anything, and the guest picks the card.

Under the Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada, your monthly statement must show your effective rate and the rate and total charged for interchange, network assessment fees and other charges. Flat-rate plans have adjusted requirements.

Flat rate, interchange-plus and tiered pricing

Which model suits a restaurant depends on volume and card mix. A small café often values a rate it can forecast. A busy dining room with plenty of debit and basic cards has more to gain from interchange-plus, because the markup is visible and negotiable. If most of your guests carry premium rewards cards, test a flat-rate quote against a few months of real statements.

• Flat rate: one percentage, sometimes plus a fixed fee, on every card of a kind. Square's 2.5% on in-person credit and Moneris Go Restaurant's 2.35% + $0.10 are flat rates.
• Interchange-plus: the actual interchange and network fees plus a fixed markup. Moneris sells this as Simplified Pricing, quoted by business type and volume.
• Tiered: payments sorted into buckets such as qualified, mid-qualified and non-qualified, each with its own rate. The processor decides which card lands where, so tiered quotes are the hardest to compare.

Interac debit vs credit cards

Interac debit costs a fraction of credit at the processors that publish both. On the same $72 bill:

The Code lets you offer a discount for paying by debit or cash, and lets you accept a network's credit cards without its debit cards, or the reverse.

• Moneris Go Restaurant: $0.12 on Interac against about $1.79 on credit (2.35% + $0.10), read September 19, 2026.
• Square: about $0.61 on debit (0.75% + 7¢) against $1.80 on credit (2.5%), read October 30, 2026.

Published restaurant card rates in Canada

Most restaurant POS companies do not print their processing rates. Where nothing is printed, the table says so instead of estimating.

<p>Restaurant card processing rates in Canada, 2026: <a href="https://waitery.ca/resources/restaurant-payment-processing-canada/#restaurant-card-rates-canada-2026">Square 2.5% in person, Moneris Go Restaurant 2.35% + $0.10 on credit and $0.12 Interac</a> (source: Waitery, each rate dated to the day it was read).</p>

Related: Moneris pricing in Canada · Square for Restaurants pricing · Toast POS pricing · restaurant POS cost calculator

Lower interchange for small businesses: 2024 and 2026

The federal agreements with Visa and Mastercard took effect on October 19, 2024. The Department of Finance set the limits at annual Visa sales volume below $300,000 for Visa's lower rates and annual Mastercard sales volume below $175,000 for Mastercard's. For those businesses, in-store domestic consumer credit interchange comes to an annual weighted average of 0.95%, and online interchange drops by 10 basis points. Finance estimated about $1 billion in savings over five years, with interchange reduced by up to 27%.

On October 24, 2026 Visa raised its Small Merchant Interchange Program limit from $300,000 to $750,000, according to a Visa Canada notice dated September 4, 2026. Visa counts all Visa volume toward the limit, and Visa and acquirers enrol eligible merchants automatically. A lower interchange rate reaches you in full on interchange-plus; on a flat rate it depends on your processor, so ask where you stand on each network.

The payment card Code of Conduct, in plain words

The current Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada took effect on October 30, 2024, with some technical obligations due by April 30, 2025. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) monitors it. What it gives a restaurant:

• A cover page on your agreement that summarizes its main terms, the cost per transaction and the fees.
• 30 to 60 calendar days' notice of a fee increase, and the right to cancel without penalty within 70 days of it, with exceptions such as increases set out in a pre-determined schedule.
• No automatic renewal for the full initial term: renewals are six months or less, and you can give notice of non-renewal at least 45 days before.
• A response to your complaint within 20 business days.
• The right to offer discounts by payment method or card network, and no new product added to your account without your express consent.

Can a restaurant add a credit card surcharge?

Yes, outside Quebec, within limits. Visa's merchant FAQ says the rules allowing surcharges took effect on October 6, 2022, following a court-approved legal settlement, and FCAC says merchants can surcharge credit cards except in Quebec. Some owners prefer a cash or debit discount, which the Code allows.

• Credit cards only, in practice. Visa prohibits surcharges on its debit and prepaid cards, and FCAC tells merchants to check with their processor before surcharging any debit card.
• A cap of 2.4%, and never more than your actual cost to accept the card.
• At least 30 days' advance written notice to your acquirer, under Visa's rules.
• Disclosure at the entrance, at the point of sale and on every receipt, and the guest can cancel without penalty and pay another way.
• No surcharge on top of a service or convenience fee.

Tips, pay-at-table and QR payments

A percentage fee applies to the whole amount charged, tip included. At 2.5%, a $12 tip on a $60 bill adds 30 cents of processing.

Pay-at-table on a handheld keeps the card with the guest and the payment in person. When a guest pays from their own phone after scanning a QR code, ask your processor how that payment is classified. Card-not-present interchange is higher: in Visa's October 2026 small merchant rates, a Classic, Gold or Platinum card is 0.70% in person and 1.20% card-not-present. Square's list shows the same pattern, 2.5% in person against 2.8% + 30¢ online.

Chargebacks

A chargeback happens when a guest disputes a charge with their card issuer and the amount is taken back while the dispute is reviewed. Processors often add a fee; Moneris listed $25 when we read its pricing page on September 19, 2026. Common restaurant triggers are a business name the guest does not recognize, a disputed tip or a double charge. Make the name on card statements match your sign, keep the itemized receipt and terminal record for each payment, and ask your processor how long you have to respond.

Terminals: rent or buy

Moneris listed its Go Terminal at $34.95 a month to rent on September 19, 2026, with no purchase price published; over 48 months that is $1,677.60. Square sells the Square Terminal for $399 on its Canadian pricing page. Ask what a rental covers and compare totals over the time you expect to keep the device.

Annex A of the Code requires the agreement to say whether separate terms and fees apply to terminal equipment, including rental or lease fees and early termination fees.

Contract and early-termination traps

The headline rate is one line of the contract. Read these twice.

• Early termination fees on processing and, separately, on the terminal.
• Monthly minimums. Moneris listed a $5.00 minimum merchant discount rate fee.
• Introductory rates that step up on a pre-determined schedule, which may not trigger the 70-day exit right.
• Small recurring fees, such as Moneris's $2 paper statement.
• Quotes that show only the credit rate.

Questions to ask a processor

Ask every processor, and get the answers in writing:

• Is this flat rate, interchange-plus or tiered, and what is your markup?
• What do I pay on Interac debit, and on a payment from a guest's own phone?
• Will I get the Visa and Mastercard small-business rates?
• What does the terminal cost to rent and to buy, and is it a separate contract?
• What are the term, the renewal and the early termination fee?
• What is the chargeback fee, and when do deposits arrive?
• Can you reprice my last three monthly statements under your offer?

How Waitery handles payments

Waitery is a QR-first restaurant POS from Mississauga, Ontario, at $14 CAD per location per month with free setup. Payments are built in: tap, chip and swipe on the server handheld and the POS terminal, and Apple Pay, Google Pay or a saved card when a guest orders, splits and pays from their own phone at the table. Tips are prompted at payment, and payments, tips and taxes roll into the end-of-day summary. Card data is tokenized and never touches Waitery's servers.

Processing is separate from the $14 subscription, as it is with most providers, and Waitery quotes its rates per restaurant. Bring a recent statement to your demo and ask us the questions above.

Related: Waitery pricing · restaurant POS · Moneris pricing · POS cost calculator

Sources

Government and card network figures were read October 30, 2026 on the pages below; processor rates are dated in the table. Rates and rules change, so confirm current terms with your processor in writing before you sign.

Related: Finance Canada: credit card fee reductions (October 17, 2024) · FCAC: Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry · FCAC: merchant rights under the Code · FCAC: merchant surcharges and fees · Visa Canada: interchange changes (September 4, 2026) · Visa Canada: Small Merchant Interchange Program · Visa Canada: surcharging FAQ for businesses · Square for Restaurants pricing (Canada) · Moneris pricing