Tickets here swing wildly, from a $5 clip or fitting to a $1,500 reconditioned unit, across thousands of SKUs. High card volume on small parts magnifies fixed per-transaction costs, while large credit-card buys magnify percentage rates. Add frequent returns of wrong or incompatible parts, and refund handling becomes a real line item. Comparing providers on the channels you actually use beats chasing a single headline number.
Why auto parts fees sit where they do
Your blended rate depends heavily on how much sells on trade account versus card, since account sales avoid card fees entirely. EFTPOS-debit walk-ins sit at the low end, while consumer and commercial credit cards, plus phone and card-not-present orders, push toward the top. A wide ticket spread matters too: many small card sales make per-transaction fixed fees bite, while occasional high-value parts make the percentage rate dominate. Returns add refund-processing costs that vary by provider.
What to look for in a provider
Look for a provider that handles your hybrid model cleanly: low fixed per-transaction costs to protect thin-margin small parts, fair percentage rates on high-value credit-card sales, and straightforward card-not-present acceptance for phone orders delivered to workshops. Refund handling matters given frequent returns of incompatible parts, so check how refunds are processed and whether original fees are returned. If you surcharge, confirm the platform applies it correctly per card type and keeps it compliant. Integration with your parts catalogue or POS, plus clear settlement for account-customer card top-ups, helps keep reconciliation simple across counter and phone channels.