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Selling food online makes it easier for customers to order from your farm, but payment fees can quietly cut into your margins. Between credit card processing rates, transaction fees, and high-value wholesale orders, it can feel like you’re losing a portion of every sale.
The more you grow, the more those fees add up. What starts as a small cost can turn into hundreds or even thousands of dollars lost each season, especially if you rely heavily on credit cards or don’t have the right payment setup in place.
The good news is there are simple ways to reduce those costs without sacrificing convenience for your customers. In this article, we break down practical ways to lower your online payment fees and keep more revenue in your farm business.
ACH stands for Automated Clearing House and is a secure bank-to-bank payment method, similar to a wire transfer but typically lower cost. ACH payments are commonly used for larger or recurring orders, especially in wholesale, where credit card fees would be too high.
ACH works like any other payment method on your online store. When customers go to check out, they select ACH as their payment method and are prompted to add their bank details, including their name, account number, and routing number. Before placing their order, they’ll see the Authorization Mandate, which gives you, the supplier, permission to debit their account for the total order amount. The money will be sent from their bank account to yours when the order is placed.
Similar to credit card payments, customers can grant you permanent preauthorization to debit their bank account by selecting to save their bank details to their account for future use.
The best part of ACH is that it costs significantly less than credit card fees. With a credit card, you can expect to pay around 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. With ACH, you only pay 1.0% + $0.00 for each transaction. All ACH fees are capped at $50. This is especially important if you’re doing large-volume wholesale transactions.
Let’s go through an ACH payment example:
ABC Grocery Co orders $15,000 of tomatoes from Tom’s Tomato Farm and pays via ACH. The transaction fee would be around 0.33% due to capped pricing, compared to roughly 2.9% with a credit card. That means Tom’s Tomato Farm would save about $385 on a single order by using ACH.
We all know credit card fees add up. If you prefer to push your customers to use a different payment method, consider adding a fee for your credit card payments. This way, customers who prefer to use their credit card have the option available, but you, as the farm, are not paying for it.
With Local Line, the sales software built for farms, you can add an Optional Fee for any payment method you create, whether that’s a credit card, e-transfer, Venmo–you name it. The fee can be added as a dollar amount or as a percentage. Percentages will be calculated on the order after tax has been incorporated.
The optional fee can be found under the payment method settings while creating new payment methods.
At Local Line, we want to help independent family farms stay profitable and grow their businesses. In 2022, we launched LocalPay, Local Line’s payment gateway with lower credit card transaction fees than most other payment platforms.
With LocalPay, you can accept credit card payments, similar to Stripe or Square. Most credit card transaction fees are typically 2.9% + $0.30. With LocalPay, depending on your Local Line plan, you can get increasingly better rates. For example, with our Premium plan, pay only 2.7% + $0.30 per transaction.
Making the switch is easy. Inside Local Line, you can set up different farm payment options, including cash, e-transfer, Venmo, and more. To connect with LocalPay, select Payment Gateway Set Up in the payments tab and then LocalPay. This will prompt you through the steps to setting up. Before you know it, you can accept ACH, order a new farm point-of-sale system, and save money on credit card fees! LocalPay is only available for Local Line users.
Implementing these tactics to your online payments can save you tons in payment fees. Selling online should be profitable – not the other way around. Local Line’s farm e-commerce software is built to help you grow.
In addition to the above ways to save money, Local Line’s pricing is fixed; meaning no matter how much you sell – you pay the same month after month. Addition sales fees (usually around 2-3%) quickly add up. With our transparent pricing, you pay what you see.
Stop losing your money to high fees. No matter your business model or what you sell, Local Line has the features and workflows your farm or food hub needs. Pick the sales software that will grow with you.
Start saving on payment fees and keep more of your revenue with Local Line. Sign up today and simplify how you accept payments.
LocalPay, built into Local Line, is one of the most secure payment options for online local food sales. It supports credit cards and ACH bank transfers with built-in encryption, secure authorization, and fraud protection. ACH payments also allow direct bank-to-bank transfers with clear authorization controls, which are commonly used for large or repeat orders. By using an integrated solution like LocalPay, farms can securely process payments without storing or managing sensitive financial data themselves, reducing overall risk.
Farm ecommerce platforms like Local Line let farmers accept credit cards, ACH or bank transfers, and e-Transfer within a single checkout. This makes it easy to offer flexible payment options while keeping orders, inventory, and customer data in one place.
Local Line uses a fixed monthly subscription model rather than charging a percentage of each sale, which helps farms keep more of their revenue as they grow. You pay a consistent monthly fee for access to the platform, while payment processing fees vary depending on the method used, such as credit card or ACH. This structure is especially beneficial for higher-volume farms, since costs do not scale with sales in the same way as commission-based platforms.
Farmers can reduce credit card processing fees by encouraging lower-cost payment methods like ACH or e-Transfer, especially for large or repeat orders. Another common approach is adding an optional fee for credit card payments so customers who prefer that method absorb the cost. Choosing a payment gateway with competitive rates can also make a noticeable difference over time, particularly as order volume increases.
ACH bank transfers are typically the cheapest payment method for farm sales, especially for wholesale or high-value transactions, since fees are lower and often capped. In Canada, Interac e-Transfer is also a cost-effective option for direct-to-consumer sales, as it avoids percentage-based credit card fees. The best approach is to offer a mix of options and guide customers toward the lowest-cost methods where possible.
Some farms choose to pass payment processing fees to customers by adding a small surcharge for credit card transactions, while keeping lower-cost options like e-Transfer or ACH free. This approach helps protect margins without removing convenience for customers who prefer paying by card. It is important to be transparent about any added fees and ensure they align with local regulations and customer expectations.
Yes, many farm ecommerce platforms support Interac e-Transfer, either natively or through manual workflows. Customers can select e-Transfer at checkout and send payment directly from their bank account, often without fees. This is a popular option in Canada because it is simple, familiar, and cost-effective for both farms and customers.
Customer preferences vary, but most expect to see credit card payments as a baseline for convenience and speed. At the same time, many local food customers are comfortable using e-Transfer for direct purchases, especially when buying from farms they trust. Wholesale buyers often prefer ACH or bank transfers due to higher order values. Offering a range of options helps meet different expectations and improves checkout completion rates.
Online payment fees can significantly impact farm profitability, particularly when margins are already tight. Credit card fees can add up quickly on high-value or high-volume orders, reducing overall revenue. By offering lower-cost payment methods and structuring pricing carefully, farms can protect margins while still providing a smooth and flexible buying experience for customers.
A payment gateway is the technology that securely processes online payments by connecting your website to banks and payment networks. It handles authorization, encryption, and transaction processing behind the scenes. For farms, using an integrated payment gateway within an ecommerce platform simplifies operations and ensures payments are handled safely without additional manual steps.
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