I wish it were that simple. I have a small business and my official rate is 2.02%, but very little actually goes through at that rate. There are 6 or 7 divisions for type of card(I've never been able to find out what a non-qualified retail card is)---visa, mc, scanned, punched by hand, called in when the line is down. Additionally, there are all sorts of nickel and dime charges(think of your current phone bill) plus charges from the bank that accepts the money from the processer, etc. Some accounts work on percentages as low as 1.57%(so I've heard), but add on a 15 or 20 cent per item charge,etc. Both Visa and MC have made a minumum charge amount a violation of contract, so small charges tend to change the mix when you negotiate based on volume and average charge amount. Hope this helps, but I spend a lot of time on the phone with my processor, trying to find out why the rates seem to vary from month to month. I can only image what the statements from a chain store must look like.