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
01 — Where 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.
02 — The 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.
03 — The 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.
04 — A 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.