You pay processing fees on the tips your stylists earn. Most US salon owners have never done the math.
A US salon doing $40,000 a month in card volume with 20 percent average tipping pays roughly $250 a month in processing on tip volume alone on a flat-rate account, north of $3,000 a year. Program A charges 0.30 percent card-present plus interchange, plus a $5 monthly account fee. No separate tip-handling surcharge. Written on the pricing schedule.
- No surcharge on tip portion of tickets
- Pay less or it's free
- Honest Rate Promise
- No junk fees
A US salon on Payzium at typical volumes.
- $266/mo
$15,000 monthly volume. About $2,004 a year less than Square USA.
- $614/mo
$35,000 monthly volume. About $4,757 a year less than Square USA.
- $1,310/mo
$75,000 monthly volume. About $10,262 a year less than Square USA.
- $3,082/mo
$180,000 monthly volume. About $25,361 a year less than Square USA.
Math is for a blended US salon card mix at $95 average ticket with 20 percent average tipping, 85 percent card-present. Payzium runs the same math on your own numbers before you sign.
Four cost mechanisms every US salon and spa pays for.
- 01
Tip-on-tip processing
When the client tips on the card, the tip rides on the same transaction as the service. The merchant account processes the full ticket, including the tip portion, and pays processing on the whole thing. Under a chair-rental model the tip flows to the stylist after the salon pays the processing fee. Under a commission-split model the tip is split or paid gross to the stylist after the salon has paid the processing fee. Either way, the salon pays processing on income the salon does not keep. Program A charges 0.30 percent card-present plus interchange; there is no separate tip-handling surcharge on the Payzium side.
- 02
Booking-platform payment lock-in
Vagaro, Mindbody, Fresha, Booker, Phorest, GlossGenius, SalonBiz, and Square Appointments all bundle card processing into the booking platform in the US market. Some lock payments contractually. Most lock through workflow friction: pre-pay deposits, tip pooling, package management, and loyalty all run through the integrated payment side. Payzium integrates against the platforms with open payment APIs and tells you plainly on the boarding conversation which platforms lock payments.
- 03
Deposit and no-show billing lands as card-not-present
A deposit at booking, a no-show fee charged days later, and a package purchase over the phone are all card-not-present transactions. They price 30 to 60 basis points above card-present at the same card at the interchange level. Program A charges 0.40 percent on the Payzium side of card-not-present, plus the actual CNP interchange. The delta against a flat-rate CNP charge widens fastest at deposit-heavy salons.
- 04
Chair-rental merchant-of-record complications
In a chair-rental structure, the rental stylist is typically a separate business and technically a separate merchant-of-record. Many chair-rental salons run everything on the salon's merchant account and reconcile internally, which creates a merchant-of-record question most owners have never formally answered. Payzium's boarding conversation covers the structure plainly and recommends the account configuration that fits the specific chair-rental arrangement.
Three US salons. Three switches.
- Atlanta, GAFull-service hair salon, 6 chairs$65,000 per month, commission-split
On Square USA Free plan card-present at 2.6 percent plus $0.15. Paying roughly $1,893 per month on processing.
On Payzium Program A at 0.30 percent plus interchange. Paying roughly $797 per month.
$13,152Lower annually - Scottsdale, AZDay spa, massage and esthetics$110,000 per month, deposit-heavy
On Square USA at roughly 3.0 percent blended (deposit-heavy CNP mix). Paying roughly $3,450 per month on processing.
On Payzium Program A at 0.30 to 0.40 percent plus interchange. Paying roughly $1,319 per month.
$25,572Lower annually - Boise, IDSolo barbershop, 1 chair$18,000 per month
On Square USA Free plan card-present at 2.6 percent plus $0.15. Paying roughly $524 per month on processing.
On Payzium Program A at 0.30 percent plus interchange. Paying roughly $224 per month.
$3,600Lower annually
Illustrative composite. Numbers reflect Payzium's published rates and typical salons card mix at the stated volumes. Not a real customer case.
The same published rate, however you sign up.
- Step 1
Tell us about your salons and spas
Business name, role, monthly volume, your POS.
- Step 2
Boarding conversation
We confirm the pricing program and the qualifying device on the account before you sign.
- Step 3
Sign and go live
Board on the pricing program that fits the salon. If the booking platform has an open payment integration, Program A drops in behind it. If the platform locks payments, the boarding conversation covers whether a full booking-platform migration is the honest answer given the bundled cost.
No phone calls required. Rates are on /us/pricing.