How to Take Online Payments Without Paying Separate Gateway Fees

Let’s Define What You’re Really Paying For Now

Most online payment statements include a stack of fees that are not always obvious at a glance. Before you can eliminate the right fee, it helps to understand what each one covers.

Gateway vs Merchant Account vs Processing

• Payment gateway: The technology that securely transmits card data from your website to the card networks. Authorize.net and NMI are common standalone gateway examples. Most charge a monthly subscription fee on top of any per-transaction fees.
• Merchant account: The bank account that holds funds before they are deposited to your business account. Required to accept card payments.
• Payment processing: The actual movement of funds between the customer’s card issuer and your merchant account. This is where percentage and per-transaction fees are charged.

Common Line Items on a Typical Statement

Here is what a small or mid-sized business commonly sees on a monthly merchant statement:

• Per-transaction processing fee (e.g., 2.9% + $0.30 per sale)
• Monthly gateway fee: typically $10 to $30 per month
• Monthly statement fee: $5 to $15
• PCI compliance fee: $5 to $20 per month or annually
• Chargeback fees per dispute: $15 to $25 each
• Batch fees, IRS reporting fees, and other “junk” fees that vary by provider

The gateway fee alone can range from $120 to $360 per year for a single business. Many merchants assume this is a fixed cost of accepting online payments. It is not. With the right setup, that line item disappears entirely.

Here’s Why “Old School” Gateway Setups Cost You More Every Month

Traditional payment configurations split the gateway and the merchant account into separate vendor relationships. A typical legacy setup might pair Authorize.net or NMI as the gateway with a separate merchant account from a bank or processor. Each vendor adds its own fees, support team, login, and statement.

Why Multiple Vendors Cost More

• Two sets of fees: A monthly gateway charge from one vendor plus processing fees from another. Both add to your effective cost per transaction.
• Two reconciliation processes: Matching gateway transactions to deposits in your merchant account requires comparing reports from two systems, which takes finance team time every month.
• Two support teams: When something breaks, the gateway provider points at the processor, the processor points at the gateway, and you sit in the middle.
• Slower technology updates: Older gateways are slower to add support for Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, and modern alternative payment methods, which means your checkout falls behind buyer expectations.

The 12-Month Cost of Sticking With a Legacy Gateway

Run the math on a typical small business setup paying $20 per month for an Authorize.net or NMI gateway plus $10 per month in statement and PCI fees:

• $20 gateway fee x 12 months = $240/year
• $10 statement and PCI fees x 12 months = $120/year
• Plus chargeback fees, batch fees, and other line items

That is approximately $360 to $500 per year in fixed costs that are not directly tied to your sales volume. For a business processing $100,000 per year, that is a meaningful percentage of margin going to vendor fees that an all-in-one provider would not charge.

How Can You Avoid Paying a Separate Gateway Fee?

The most direct way to eliminate a separate gateway fee is to use a provider that bundles the gateway and processing into a single account with a single rate. There are two main paths.

Path 1 – All-in-One Payment Service Providers

All-in-one processors combine the merchant account, gateway, and processing into one signup. Stripe, PayPal, Square, and Shopify Payments are the most familiar names in this category.

• Pros: No separate gateway fee, simple per-transaction pricing, easy plugin integration with major platforms.
• Cons: Headline rates are often higher than what a flat-rate or interchange-plus provider charges (typically 2.9% + $0.30 or higher). Limited control over interchange optimization at higher volumes. Some platforms (especially Shopify Payments) lock you into a specific commerce ecosystem.

Path 2 – A Modern Bundled Gateway Like Coastal Pay

The third option is a modern processor that includes its own gateway with no separate subscription, while keeping pricing flatter and more transparent than the all-in-one giants. Coastal Pay sits in this category. The gateway is included at $0 monthly when you process through Coastal Pay, with a flat rate of 2.5% + $0.15 per transaction – lower than Stripe, PayPal, or Square’s standard rates – and full support for alternative payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, Klarna, Afterpay, and Coinbase, plus ACH for high-ticket and B2B transactions.

Quick Comparison

Get Approved in 2 Minutes | Call 888-266-1715

What You Need to Know About Coastal Pay’s Flat-Rate, No-Gateway-Fee Model

Coastal Pay was built specifically to remove the friction and hidden costs of legacy payment stacks. Here is how the pricing actually works.

$0 Monthly Gateway Fee

When you process payments through Coastal Pay, the Coastal Pay Gateway is included at no monthly cost. There is no separate gateway subscription, no setup fee, and no early termination fee on standard merchant accounts. The “gateway fee” line item that appears on most legacy statements simply does not exist on a Coastal Pay statement.

Flat 2.5% + $0.15 Per Successful Transaction

Coastal Pay charges a flat rate of 2.5% + $0.15 per successful domestic online card transaction. This is lower than Stripe (2.9% + $0.30), Square (2.9% to 3.3% + $0.30), and PayPal (2.99% + $0.49) on standard e-commerce transactions. There are no qualified vs non-qualified tiers and no surprise mid-qual surcharges.

Card and ACH in the Same Gateway

Many legacy gateway setups require a separate ACH provider or a higher-tier subscription to process bank transfers. Coastal Pay includes ACH alongside card processing in the same gateway with no additional subscription. This is meaningful for B2B businesses, high-ticket consumer sales, and recurring billing where ACH dramatically reduces fees compared to card transactions.

Alternative Payment Methods Included

The Coastal Pay Gateway supports the full mix of modern payment methods at no extra subscription:

• Apple Pay and Google Pay for mobile-first checkout
• PayPal and Venmo for trust and broader buyer reach
• Klarna and Afterpay for Buy Now Pay Later on higher-ticket purchases
• Coinbase for crypto payments
• ACH bank transfers for B2B and high-ticket orders
• Tap to Pay, payment links, and email invoicing for flexible checkout flows

One Predictable Line Item

Instead of a stack of small monthly subscriptions, your Coastal Pay statement shows a flat percentage of revenue plus per-transaction charges, no gateway subscription line, and predictable monthly costs that scale with your volume rather than fixed overhead.

Get Approved in 2 Minutes – Skip the Gateway Fee

Here’s How Coastal Pay Fits Into Your Tech Stack in Real Life

Switching gateways is only worth it if the new provider works with the tools you already use. Coastal Pay connects to 2,000+ software vendors, including the most common e-commerce, billing, and POS platforms.

Real Integration Scenarios

WooCommerce or WordPress Store

Replace your current gateway plugin with the Coastal Pay integration. Customers continue checking out on the same WooCommerce theme; the only thing that changes is the payment backend. No store rebuild, no theme changes, no customer-facing disruption. Apple Pay and Google Pay buttons can be enabled at the same time to lift mobile conversion.

SaaS Platform With Recurring Billing

Connect Coastal Pay to your subscription billing tool (Chargebee, Recurly, custom build, etc.) via API. Use tokenization in the Coastal Pay Gateway to charge cards on schedule for monthly or annual subscribers. ACH payment options reduce processing fees for higher-tier annual plans.

Retail Brand With Online and In-Person Sales

Connect Coastal Pay’s gateway to both your online store and your POS terminals so reporting, deposits, and reconciliation flow through one dashboard. Centralized reporting eliminates the need to stitch together data from a separate online gateway and an in-person processor.

B2B Business Sending Invoices

Use Coastal Pay’s email invoicing and payment links to collect payments without setting up a full e-commerce checkout. Buyers click the link and pay via card or ACH directly through Coastal Pay’s hosted page. No separate invoicing platform fee, no separate gateway subscription.

Developer-Friendly API

For custom websites, mobile apps, or specialized workflows, developers can connect directly to Coastal Pay through the API and gateway docs. This makes it possible to build hosted checkout pages, embedded payment fields, or fully custom payment experiences while still using Coastal Pay as the underlying processor and gateway.

The key advantage: you keep your existing shopping cart, POS, or billing software and simply swap the payment backend. No store rebuild required.

How Do You Switch Without Breaking Your Current Checkout?

Switching from a legacy gateway to Coastal Pay is straightforward if you follow a structured process. Here is a five-step migration plan that minimizes downtime.

1. Step 1 – Request Pricing and Map Your Current Setup

   Contact Coastal Pay or use the Get Started form. Have your most recent merchant statement ready so a specialist can compare your effective rate to Coastal Pay’s flat pricing and quantify the savings, including the gateway fee elimination.

2. Step 2 – Get Approved in 2 Minutes

   Most U.S. merchants are approved through Coastal Pay’s instant boarding in approximately 2 minutes. Have your business name, EIN or SSN, bank account details, and government ID ready to complete the application quickly.

3. Step 3 – Configure the Gateway and Connect Your Platform

   Connect Coastal Pay’s gateway to your e-commerce platform via the relevant integration from the 2,000+ supported tools. For custom builds, use the API documentation. Set up alternative payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and ACH at the same time.

4. Step 4 – Run Test Transactions

   Process a small number of test transactions in sandbox mode and then a few low-value live transactions to confirm everything is working correctly. Verify that receipts, refunds, and reporting flow into the right systems.

5. Step 5 – Cut Over and Cancel Your Old Gateway

   Schedule the cutover during a low-traffic window to minimize any potential customer impact. Once Coastal Pay has been processing successfully for a few days, cancel your legacy gateway subscription and document the savings on your next statement.

Coastal Pay’s support team is available at 888-266-1715 to help with setup, integration questions, and the cutover process. Most migrations are complete within 24 to 48 hours.

FAQ: How Do I Avoid Paying Separate Gateway Fees With Coastal Pay?

How do I avoid paying separate gateway fees?

The simplest way is to switch to a payment provider that combines the gateway and processing in a single account. Coastal Pay charges no monthly gateway fee when you process through Coastal Pay. You pay only the flat rate of 2.5% + $0.15 per successful transaction, with no separate gateway subscription line item on your statement.

Do I still pay anything for the gateway with Coastal Pay?

No separate gateway subscription. You pay the flat 2.5% + $0.15 per successful transaction plus any standard chargeback fees that may apply. The Coastal Pay Gateway is included at no extra cost when you process through Coastal Pay.

Can I use Coastal Pay Gateway with another processor?

Coastal Pay’s biggest savings come when both the gateway and merchant processing are with Coastal Pay, since this is what eliminates the separate gateway fee entirely. Using a Coastal Pay-style gateway with a different processor is technically possible in some configurations but defeats the purpose of consolidating your payment stack into one bill.

Will I lose features if I stop paying my current gateway?

Most merchants gain features when switching to Coastal Pay. The gateway includes alternative payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, Klarna, Afterpay, Coinbase, and ACH, plus centralized reporting, recurring billing, payment links, and email invoicing. These often require add-ons or higher-tier plans on legacy gateway providers.

How fast can I switch to Coastal Pay?

Most U.S. merchants are approved through Coastal Pay’s instant boarding in approximately 2 minutes. Once approved, the gateway can be connected to your existing shopping cart or POS through 2,000+ integrations, and you can typically be taking payments the same day.

Next Steps If You’re Ready to Stop Paying Gateway Fees

Separate gateway fees are a holdover from an older payment stack design. Modern processors include the gateway at no extra cost and bundle alternative payment methods, ACH, and reporting into a single, predictable line item. The longer you stay on a legacy setup, the more you pay every month for technology that has been standard for years.

Coastal Pay offers:

• $0 monthly gateway fee when you process through Coastal Pay
• Flat 2.5% + $0.15 per successful transaction – lower than Stripe, Square, and PayPal standard rates
• Card and ACH in the same gateway with no additional subscription
• Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, Klarna, Afterpay, Coinbase, and more
• 2,000+ software integrations including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento
• Instant approval in approximately 2 minutes

Get Started With Coastal Pay

Talk to a Payments Specialist: 888-266-1715

No long-term contract. No setup fee. U.S.-based support. Coastal Pay Inc. is a registered ISO/MSP with Wells Fargo, Concord, CA and Axiom Bank, N.A., Maitland, FL.