If you run a business in DC, Maryland, or Virginia, payment processing is probably your third or fourth largest expense — after rent, payroll, and maybe inventory. Yet most business owners have no idea what they're actually paying or whether it's a fair price.
Let's change that.
What the Average DMV Business Pays
Based on statements we've analyzed from hundreds of DMV businesses:
Restaurants (DC, Arlington, Bethesda): 2.7–3.4% effective rate. A restaurant doing $60K/month pays $1,620–$2,040/month.
Liquor stores (Maryland, PG County): 2.4–3.0% effective rate. A store doing $80K/month pays $1,920–$2,400/month.
Auto/tire shops (Northern Virginia): 2.5–3.2% effective rate. A shop doing $40K/month pays $1,000–$1,280/month.
Retail/other (across DMV): 2.5–3.5% effective rate varies widely.
Where That Money Actually Goes
Roughly 70–80% goes to interchange (the card-issuing bank). You can't avoid this — it's the same for every processor. The remaining 20–30% is your processor's markup. That's the part you can control.
On a $50K/month business paying 3% effective rate ($1,500/month), about $1,000 is interchange and $500 is your processor's take. If you can cut that processor markup from $500 to $200–$300, that's real money — $2,400–$3,600/year.
The DMV Advantage
One thing DMV businesses have going for them: competition. There are dozens of payment processors serving this area. That means you have leverage. If your current processor won't give you a fair rate, someone else will.
How to Pay Less
Step one is knowing what you currently pay. Pull up your last statement and calculate your effective rate. Or save yourself the math — upload it to PAYHERO's Fair Rate Analyzer and see your real rate plus what you could save in about a minute.
We built PAYHERO for DMV businesses specifically. Transparent pricing, local support, and no contracts. Start here if you're ready to stop overpaying.