Payments · Subscription / Membership Pricing
Stax Review
Subscription pricing: a monthly fee instead of a percentage markup on card payments
Quick verdict
Stax is best for High-volume, higher-ticket contractors who process enough to cover a monthly subscription and want to avoid a percentage markup on card payments. Monthly fee is dead weight below break-even volume; fixed cost through slow seasons; only the $99 starting price is published, so the rest of the fee schedule must be quoted; underwriting and possible reserves.
Rates & pricing
Subscription pricing. Stax's documentation says plans start at $99/month, with interchange passed through at cost and no percentage markup. Your plan and any per-transaction, ACH or hardware fees are quoted, so get the full fee schedule in writing.
Pricing model: subscription · Monthly fee: From $99
Affiliate disclosure: The link to Stax on this page goes to its own site and is not an affiliate link.
About Stax
Stax Payments, formerly Fattmerchant, is a payment processor based in Orlando, Florida. Its BBB profile lists the former name, and The Business Journals reported the name change in April 2021. Stax sells subscription pricing: a monthly fee in place of a percentage markup on each card payment. In October 2025 it announced the launch of Stax Processing, which it described as completing its move to a full-stack, end-to-end payments processor.
Stax's documentation says its subscription pricing starts at $99 per month and that interchange is passed through without markup, so whether a sale is $50 or $5,000 you pay the processing cost with no percentage added. That is the appeal for a busy shop doing large tickets: the markup does not grow with the invoice. Your exact plan and any per-transaction, ACH or hardware fees come in a quote.
For a trade business, Stax's documentation covers invoices sent by email or text message, scheduled invoices for recurring or one-time billing, stored card and bank (ACH) payment methods for repeat customers, and WiFi card terminals. Stax also supports surcharging on credit cards, capped at 3%, and says Connecticut, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico prohibit it. New accounts go through underwriting; Stax says most applications get a first review within about 36-48 hours.
The trade-off: the monthly fee is a fixed cost whatever you process, so the model only pays off once your card volume is high enough, and slow seasons still carry the full fee. At $5,000 a month in card volume, a $99 fee adds about 2% on top of interchange. Stax's risk documentation also names account reserves and terminations as consequences of chargeback risk, so read the reserve terms and the full fee schedule before you sign.
How it works
You apply and go through underwriting, which Stax says usually starts within about 36-48 hours. Stax then charges a monthly subscription (from $99, per its documentation) and passes interchange through at cost without a percentage markup; ask for any per-transaction and other fees in your quote. You take payments on Stax WiFi terminals, by invoices sent by email or text, on scheduled invoices for recurring billing, and with stored cards or bank accounts (ACH) for repeat customers. Because the markup is not a percentage, the model favors businesses with high card volume and large average tickets.
Pros & cons
What works
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No percentage markup
Stax passes interchange through at cost and charges a subscription instead of a percentage on top, so a $5,000 invoice does not carry a bigger markup than a $50 one.
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Fixed cost that favors volume
The subscription starts at $99/month. The more card volume you run through it, the smaller that fee becomes as a share of each dollar processed.
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Invoicing and recurring billing
Invoices can go out by email or text, and scheduled invoices handle recurring maintenance-plan billing or one-time future charges.
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Cards and bank accounts on file
Stax stores both card and bank (ACH) payment methods for customers, which helps with repeat work and large invoices paid by bank transfer.
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Surcharging support
Stax can add a surcharge of up to 3% on credit cards where it is allowed, and says it guides merchants through setup to stay compliant. Debit cards cannot be surcharged.
What doesn't
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Only pays off at sufficient volume
At $5,000 a month in card volume, a $99 fee adds about 2% on top of interchange. At lower volume, compare the total with a processor that has no monthly fee.
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Fixed fee through slow months
The subscription is charged every month regardless of volume, which is harder on seasonal trades with long slow periods.
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Full fee schedule is quoted
Stax's documentation publishes only the $99 starting price. Per-transaction, ACH, hardware and any other fees come in a quote, so get every fee in writing before you sign.
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Underwriting and reserves
Accounts are underwritten before approval, and Stax's risk documentation names account reserves and terminations as consequences of chargeback risk. Read the reserve terms in your agreement.
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Surcharging is not allowed everywhere
Stax says Connecticut, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico prohibit surcharging, so a shop there cannot use it to offset card costs.
Features & integrations
Key features
Integrations
Frequently asked
How does Stax subscription pricing work?
You pay a monthly subscription, which Stax's documentation says starts at $99, and interchange is passed through at cost with no percentage markup. Your exact plan and any per-transaction, ACH or hardware fees are quoted. The model saves money when your volume is high enough that the fixed fee costs less than a percentage markup would.
Is Stax cheaper than Square or Helcim?
Only at sufficient volume. Square Free charges a flat 2.6% + 15¢ in person with no monthly fee, and Helcim charges interchange plus 0.40% + 8¢ with no monthly fee. Stax replaces the percentage markup with a monthly fee from $99, so run your real monthly volume and average ticket through all three before switching.
What should I check before signing with Stax?
Ask for the complete fee schedule in writing: the monthly plan price for your volume, any per-transaction fees, ACH fees, hardware costs, contract length and any early termination fee. Also read the reserve terms, since Stax's risk documentation names reserves as a way it manages chargeback risk.
Who should use Stax?
High-volume, higher-ticket contractors, such as busy multi-crew operations with many large invoices, who process enough to cover the monthly subscription. Solo operators and lower-volume shops should compare the total with a processor that has no monthly fee.
Is the monthly fee a problem for seasonal trades?
It can be. The subscription is charged every month whatever you process, so a seasonal business pays it through slow months, which eats into the savings. Compare a full year of your real volume, not just a busy month.
Other payment processors
Square
Flat-rate payments, invoicing and POS with a no-monthly-fee plan
Stripe
Flat-rate online payments, cheap ACH and billing tools that other software builds on
Helcim
Interchange-plus card processing with a published margin and no monthly fee
QuickBooks Payments / GoPayment
Card, ACH and wallet payments that auto-match to your QuickBooks invoices
PayPal Point of Sale (formerly Zettle)
No-monthly-fee card acceptance with Tap to Pay, invoicing and PayPal and Venmo payments
Clover
Fiserv's all-in-one POS hardware and software: get the full quote and contract terms in writing