How do I know if my Toast rate went up?

Look for a rate notice in your Toast dashboard or email, then compare the effective rate on statements before and after the date. A rise with no change in card mix is the signal.

Can I refuse a Toast rate increase?

You can terminate in writing before the effective date without the early termination fee, per section 6.2(b). Many owners use that right as leverage to negotiate rather than to leave.

Card processing fees

Did Toast raise its processing fees?

Updated September 23, 2026 · Checked against primary sources

The short answer

Yes, for some accounts. Payments Dive reported increases of 0.05% to 0.23% for a limited number of small and mid-sized accounts in September 2024. Owners posted a Toast notice of +0.1% for transactions from March 1, 2026, which did not reach every account, and Reforming Retail reported a proposed +20 basis points in August 2026. Your statement and notices show whether yours changed.

Key takeaways

The widely repeated "+0.30% in 2024" has no source we could find. Reporting shows 0.05% to 0.23%.
Toast can change processing rates with 30 days' written notice (Merchant Agreement section 6.2).
If you terminate in writing before the new rate takes effect, the early termination fee does not apply, apart from any software-financing balance.
Continuing to use Toast after the effective date counts as accepting the new rate.

Timeline of reported Toast rate changes

Each row is labelled with how strong its source is.

Date	Change	Scope	Source
Sept 2024	+0.05% to +0.23%	"A limited number" of SMB accounts	Payments Dive
Mar 1, 2026	+0.1% on Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Amex, swipe and keyed	Some accounts, not all	Owner-posted notice, r/ToastPOS
Aug 2026	+20 bps proposed	Unconfirmed	Reforming Retail

Your leverage when a notice arrives

Section 6.2 of Toast's merchant agreement lets Toast change card processing rates at any time with 30 days' written notice, and section 6.2(b) lets the merchant terminate in writing before the effective date without the section 8.4 early termination fee (Toast Merchant Agreement). That window is the strongest moment to ask for the increase to be waived.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my Toast rate went up?: Look for a rate notice in your Toast dashboard or email, then compare the effective rate on statements before and after the date. A rise with no change in card mix is the signal.
Can I refuse a Toast rate increase?: You can terminate in writing before the effective date without the early termination fee, per section 6.2(b). Many owners use that right as leverage to negotiate rather than to leave.

Run your own numbers

CalculatorRestaurant Processing Fee CalculatorYour effective rate is total processing fees divided by card volume. Compare it with what your contracted rate should cost; a persistent gap is the first sign of rate creep, a misapplied rate or fees you did not agree to.

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Find out what your restaurant is owed

Send exports, not logins: processor statements, payout reports, delivery-app CSVs and payroll summaries. We return a written list of what looks recoverable, what each item is worth, and which deadlines are still open. If something is worth pursuing, we quote the recovery before you commit to anything.

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Go deeper

Terms on this page

Early termination fee: A charge in a processing or POS agreement for ending the contract before its term. Check the amount and whether hardware financing or subscription balances also come due.
Effective rate: Total processing fees divided by total card volume for the same period, expressed as a percentage. It is the single number that shows what you actually pay, regardless of how the statement splits the fees.

Sources

Cite this page

Pavado, “Did Toast raise its processing fees?”, https://www.pavadotech.com/restaurants/questions/did-toast-raise-processing-fees, updated 2026-09-23.