Guide · Merchants comparing costs

Crypto payment fees, compared

Card processing trained merchants to expect one number: 2.9% plus thirty cents, everywhere, forever. Crypto payments price differently: a platform fee that falls with volume, a swap fee when assets convert, and a network fee set by the chain, not by the processor. This guide lines them up so you can compare honestly.

You needYour current card processing statement, for the comparisonA sense of your monthly payment volumeWhich assets your customers would pay in

Step by step

Every step, in order.

Step 01

Start with the platform fee

U.CASH Pay charges 0.50% at the entry tier, stepping down to 0.20% with volume. No monthly fees, no statement fees, no PCI compliance costs.

Step 02

Add the swap only when assets convert

If the customer pays the asset you keep, there is no swap. If they pay BTC and you keep a stablecoin, the conversion adds the swap fee: 0.50% all-in.

Step 03

Watch the network fee

The chain's own fee rides on the transaction. On L2s and Solana this is cents or less; on Ethereum mainnet at peak it can be dollars. The checkout quotes it live.

Step 04

Compare against your card statement

Effective card cost is the processor rate plus chargebacks plus the monthly line items. Effective crypto cost is platform fee plus swap when used plus network fee. Run both on your real volume.

Step 05

Check the rails you would cash out on

Local payout rails carry their own costs, and cards remain an option alongside crypto on U.CASH Pay: through your own processor account, at your negotiated rate.

Step 06

Model the crossover

Most merchants find crypto wins on large tickets and cross-border, cards win on sub-$10 domestic habit purchases. Enabling both lets the customer economics decide.

The part that matters

The fee that surprises merchants is not the platform fee: it is discovering how much of their card cost was never in the rate. Chargebacks, the monthly minimums, the gateway fee, the cross-border surcharge: the crypto equivalent of each is either zero or quoted in the open. The fee that surprises merchants the other way is network cost on mainnet at congestion, which is why checkout defaults to efficient chains where the customer's wallet allows. The honest comparison models both stacks on your own volume mix: the pricing page carries the current tiers to run it.

Go deeper

Pricing pageGlossary: gas feesGuide: swap across chains

FAQ

What is the flat cost of taking a crypto payment?
The platform fee: 0.50% stepping to 0.20% with volume. No monthly fees, no statement fees, no per-invoice charges.
Who pays the network fee?
It rides the transaction and is quoted at checkout. On efficient chains it rounds to cents; the customer sees it before paying.
Is crypto cheaper than cards?
Usually on large tickets and cross-border, usually not on small domestic ones. The platform fee is a fraction of card rates; the network fee is what varies. Model both on your volume.

Other guides

How to accept crypto payments

Accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins and 53 more assets at checkout in minutes: connect…

How to swap across chains

Swap any asset for any other across 35 networks: connect a wallet, pick the pair, review…

How to buy UCASH

Three ways to get UCASH, the U.CASH network token: card or bank through the partner ramp,…

Keep going

Crypto payment fees, compared, done right

Six guides, one platform, every rail non-custodial.