Cards, as one rail in the mix
Cards are not the enemy. They are what the customer reaches for when they are present and expect to pay, and they belong in the mix. The job is to offer cards where they fit and steer towards bank payment where it saves the fee, through one integration rather than two.
What it is
Card acceptance lets a customer pay with a debit or credit card. Credit Canary orchestrates card acquiring through a regulated partner; we are not a card scheme member or an acquirer, we connect you to one and reconcile it alongside your other rails.
Cards carry interchange and scheme fees priced as a percentage of value, a chargeback mechanism, and PCI obligations for handling card data. Those are the trade-offs you weigh against the familiarity customers have with them.
Where it wins, and where it doesn't
- Customer-present moments, where a card is simply expected
- First payments from customers with no bank-rail set up
- Short-notice payments where the customer has a card to hand
- Card-on-file for recurring billing where a bank mandate is not in place
- High-value one-offs, where percentage fees and chargebacks cost you
- Predictable recurring collection, which bank rails do more cheaply
- Cases where you want finality, because chargebacks can reverse a payment
Cost shape
Cards are priced as a percentage of the payment value through interchange and scheme fees, so the cost rises with the size of the payment. That percentage shape is exactly why Pay by Bank is cheaper on large one-offs.
We quote on volume, not per rail. No price points here by design.
Failure and risk
The main risks are chargebacks, where a customer disputes a payment and it is reversed, and the PCI scope that comes with handling card data. Orchestration keeps card acceptance one rail among several, so you are not forced to route expensive or disputable payments over it.
Best for
The industries where this rail does the most work. Each one has its own payment mix.
Offer cards, steer to the cheaper rail
Credit Canary presents cards where the customer expects them and, on the same screen, offers Pay by Bank where it saves the fee, then settles both to one ledger. You keep card acceptance for the moments it is right for, without running card payments you would rather route elsewhere.
Cards: FAQs
No. We orchestrate card acquiring through a regulated partner and reconcile it alongside your other rails. The acquiring and scheme membership sit with the partner.
Not away, just to the right rail. On a large one-off, a card's percentage fee and chargeback risk cost more than a bank payment. Where the customer is present and expects a card, cards stay.
A customer disputes a card payment with their bank and it is reversed. It is a protection for the cardholder and a cost and risk for you, which is why high-value disputable payments often suit bank rails better.
Card-on-file supports recurring billing where a bank mandate is not set up, and we orchestrate it alongside your other rails.
Keep cards, add the cheaper rails
Tell us the mix of payments you take and make, and we will quote one integration across the rails that fit, priced on your volume.