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EBS vs Square
Square is a good product, and for a lot of small businesses it is the right first step. This page is not an argument against Square — it is the math, side by side, so you can see what each model costs on the same volume and decide with your eyes open.
Authorized Partner of Paysafe
+0.50%
Our Markup
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 Square Is Genuinely Good
Credit Where It Is Due
We start here on purpose. If Square is working for you, you should know exactly what it does well before you weigh what it costs.
Strength 1
Set Up in Minutes
Buy a reader, download the app, and take payments the same day. No underwriting, no waiting — genuinely the fastest start in the industry.
Strength 2
A Real Free Plan
No monthly fee to start, and the software behind it — retail, restaurants, appointments, invoicing — is mature, polished, and deep.
Strength 3
No Chargeback Fee
Square charges no fee when a payment is disputed, and money moves fast, with instant transfers available at 1.95%.
02The Pricing, Side by Side
Same Cards. Two Ways to Price Them.
One business, one month, two pricing models. The example uses published interchange blends — labeled illustrative, because your real numbers come from your statement, not from a webpage.
| Square | EBS | |
|---|---|---|
| In-person rate | 2.6% + 15¢ | Interchange + 0.50% |
| Online rate | 3.3% + 30¢ | Interchange + 0.50% |
| Keyed / virtual terminal | 3.5% + 15¢ | Interchange + 0.50% |
| Monthly software | Free $0 · Plus from $35/mo · Premium from $89/mo | $35/mo flat |
| Hardware entry point | Reader $59 · Terminal $299 | $35 one-time placement, or buy outright |
| Chargeback fee | None | Confirmed in writing in your free review |
Square figures are Square's published rates, checked October 2026 — the Free plan is shown; Plus lowers in-person to 2.5% and Premium to 2.4%. EBS figures are published on our Pricing page. Interchange varies by card, which is why the worked example below prices a real month of volume both ways.
03The Structural Difference
Not the Product. The Structure.
The honest difference is not the product — it is how the pricing is built, what happens to your cheapest transactions, and who answers when something goes wrong.
Difference 1
Flat Rate vs Interchange-Plus
Square charges one rate on every card — simple to predict, impossible to audit. EBS charges the actual cost of each card plus 0.50%, and your statement shows the split. Simplicity has value; so does being able to check the math.
Difference 2
What Happens to Debit
Regulated debit costs 0.05% + about $0.22 at cost. On a flat rate, that same swipe is billed at 2.6% + 15¢. Debit-heavy businesses — grocers, quick-service, salons — hand over that gap on every transaction, every day.
Difference 3
Who You Call
Square support is a large company's support system. EBS is a named team at (202) 505-4332, Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 9 PM ET — the same people who priced your account and set up your equipment.
04A Worked Example
Run the Arithmetic Yourself
A restaurant doing $45,000 a month in card sales at a $48 average ticket — 938 transactions — priced both ways:
Illustrative Example — Not a Client Result
| Monthly card volume | $45,000 |
| Transactions (avg ticket $48) | 938 |
| Square — 2.6% + 15¢ on every sale | $1,311/mo |
| EBS estimate — interchange blend + 0.50% + $35/mo | $1,128/mo |
| Difference | $183/mo · ≈ $2,195/yr |
Illustrative estimate built from published interchange blends — not a client result. On this mix the EBS estimate works out to a 2.51% effective rate. Your real comparison comes from your own statement, decoded free and put in writing.
Free Statement Review
See Your Own Numbers
Send us a statement. We decode your true effective rate and price the same volume at interchange + 0.50% — in writing, free, and yours to keep whichever way it lands.