Compare
EBS vs Stripe
If you sell online and you can build, Stripe is the strongest developer platform in payments — full stop. This page is for the business Stripe was not built around: the one that wants payments handled, priced in the open, and answered by a person.
Authorized Partner of Paysafe
+0.50%
EBS Processing Fee
Over interchange, on every card — published
$35/mo
Merchant Services
One flat monthly fee, stated plainly
$35
Equipment Placement
One-time. Modern equipment, no lease
Free
Statement Review
Your rate vs ours, in writing
01Where Stripe Is Genuinely Good
Credit Where It Is Due
Stripe earned its reputation. Before any comparison, here is what it genuinely does better than anyone.
Strength 1
Best-in-Class Developer Platform
APIs, documentation, and tooling that engineering teams genuinely prefer. If you are building software, this is the standard everyone else is measured against.
Strength 2
Global Reach
Currencies, local payment methods, and infrastructure across markets that most processors — including us — cannot match. Selling worldwide is Stripe’s home turf.
Strength 3
Built for Online-First
Checkout, invoicing, and subscription billing are native, mature products, refined over millions of online businesses — not bolt-ons.
02The Pricing, Side by Side
Same Cards. Two Ways to Price Them.
Stripe’s base rate is clean. The comparison that matters is the total — base rate plus the percentage add-ons a growing business ends up switching on — against one published processing fee and one flat monthly fee.
| Stripe | EBS | |
|---|---|---|
| Online rate | 2.9% + 30¢ | Interchange + 0.50% |
| In-person (Terminal) | 2.7% + 5¢ | Interchange + 0.50% |
| Virtual terminal / keyed | 3.4% + 30¢ | Interchange + 0.50% |
| Monthly fee | $0 for the base product | $35/mo flat |
| Add-ons | Invoicing +0.4% per paid invoice · Billing +0.7% per charge | One published processing fee covers everything |
| Hardware entry point | Readers from $59 · smart terminal $349 | $35 one-time placement, or buy outright |
| Chargeback fee | $30 | Confirmed in writing in your free review |
Stripe figures are Stripe’s published rates, checked October 2026. One honest note: Stripe has no standalone point-of-sale app — its Terminal hardware runs through an app you build or a third-party POS you buy, which carries its own cost. EBS figures are published on our Pricing page.
03The Structural Difference
Not the Product. The Structure.
If you have developers, Stripe’s structure may fit you perfectly. If you do not, here is what its structure means for a business that sells first and codes never.
Difference 1
A Percentage Stack vs One Processing Fee
Each Stripe product takes its own cut — invoicing, billing, and more, each a percentage of the same dollars. EBS publishes one processing fee over interchange and one $35 monthly fee. Fewer moving parts, and every one of them is on our Pricing page.
Difference 2
What Happens to Debit
An online debit sale on Stripe is billed at 2.9% + 30¢. The regulated cost of that same debit card is 0.05% + about $0.22 — and on interchange-plus pricing, that is what passes through to you, plus our published 0.50%.
Difference 3
Who You Call
Stripe support is built for developers and scale: documentation, dashboards, tickets. EBS is a named person at (202) 505-4332, Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 9 PM ET — no ticket queue between you and the team that runs your account.
04A Worked Example
Run the Arithmetic Yourself
An online retailer doing $30,000 a month at an $85 average ticket — 353 orders — priced both ways, with every assumption labeled:
Illustrative Example — Not a Client Result
| Monthly online volume | $30,000 |
| Orders (avg ticket $85) | 353 |
| Stripe — 2.9% of volume | $870.00 |
| Stripe — 353 orders × 30¢ | $105.90 |
| Stripe total | $975.90/mo |
| EBS — interchange blend at 2.05% + $0.10/order | $650.30 |
| EBS — published processing fee (0.50%) + $35/mo | $185.00 |
| EBS total | $835.30/mo |
| Difference | ≈ $141/mo · ≈ $1,687/yr |
Illustrative estimate. Assumptions, in the open: the EBS column uses a blended online interchange assumption of 2.05% + $0.10 per order, plus the published 0.50% processing fee and $35 monthly fee; the Stripe column is Stripe’s published 2.9% + 30¢ with no add-on products switched on. Your real figures come from your statement — the review is free and the math is in writing.
Free Statement Review
Price Your Store, in Writing
Send us a statement. We decode your true effective rate — add-ons included — and price the same volume at interchange + 0.50%. Free, in writing, and yours to keep either way.