by Matt Rej
As always, our team here at MCC aims to keep our readers informed about the latest news in the payments space, particularly when it comes to fee changes and interchange rate increases.
Here’s the latest from Lightspeed.
New Lightspeed Rate Increase – Effective November 2026
Lightspeed is increasing its flat-rate processing rates by 1 basis point (0.01%) on November 14, 2026:
- 2.01% + $0.10 for card-present transactions
- 2.81% + $0.30 for card-not-present transactions
ACH rates remain unchanged.
These are based on a custom agreement, as they’re still lower than Lightspeed’s published rates.
But in a world where processors continue to apply aggressive increases year over year, it’s refreshing to see that Lightspeed isn’t taking that same approach. While flat-rate processing it still expensive, and that CNP rate isn’t necessarily cheap, the increase is negligible.
Lightspeed Monthly Fee For Third-Party Processing
Lightspeed now charges merchants a Monthly Transaction Fee for using a non-Lightspeed payment solution. The fee itself is tiered based on your monthly processing volume, ranging from $200 to $1,120 per month.
Merchants can switch to Lightspeed Payments to avoid the fee. But this requires a completely new application for a merchant account (which is not something we recommend).
We rarely recommend switching merchant services providers. It’s almost always cheaper to negotiate costs with your current provider than switching. So just because you received this a notice about switching to Lightspeed Payments or if the Monthly Transaction Fee is increasing your effective rate, you have options. Contact our team here at MCC before making a decision, and we’ll see if we can negotiate that rate directly with Lightspeed while simultaneously getting you a better deal with your current provider.
Old Lightspeed Rate Increases
Effective August 30, 2024, Lightspeed increased its payment processing rates to the following:
- 2.4% + $0.10 per transaction for card present transactions
- 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for card not present (CNP) transactions
According to Lightspeed, the increase is to “maintain the quality of their services” and “keep up with rising costs.”
The notice also referenced the fact that Lightspeed has made continuous improvements over the past that bring even more value to merchants. But it sounds like they’re just looking for ways to justify the rate hike.
About Lightspeed
Lightspeed is a Canadian payment processor and POS provider. Founded in 2005 with a primary focus on brick-and-mortar retail and ecommerce, the company expanded into the restaurant space in 2014.
More than 165,000 locations in 100+ countries rely on Lightspeed for payment processing—and they process over $90.7 billion in transaction volume per year.
Lightspeed operates on a subscription-based model—providing software and hardware in addition to backend processing.
In addition to working with retailers and restaurants, Lightspeed recently started providing software in the golf space. This includes a digital tee sheet, accounting, and more.
Beyond payment processing also provides solutions for inventory management, marketing, kitchen display systems, and other related services.