How to set the fees on your own payment platform, and when it pays for itself

By SendPay Business · 29 September 2026 · 3 min read

When you own the payment platform, the fee is yours to set. That is the whole point, and it is also the first hard question: charge too much and people pay elsewhere, charge too little and the platform never pays for itself. Here is a simple way to decide, with the sums done in the open.

Start from what your users pay todayPick a fee model that fits what you runDo the sum before you pick a number

Start from what your users pay today

Your users already pay someone to take or move their money. PayPal Business charges 2.9% plus 30p on every payment, more from abroad. Wise Business charges £50 to open, then 2.69% at the cash machine and a cut of every conversion. Those are their published UK rates, read on 13 September 2026; they change, so check theirs.

Whatever they pay now is your ceiling. Price under it and the switch is an easy yes.

Pick a fee model that fits what you run

The fee model follows the platform, not the other way round.

Money transfer: a percentage of what is sent, a flat fee per transfer, or both.
Services marketplace: a commission on every order, taken before the seller is paid.
Memberships and subscriptions: a share of every monthly payment.
Bookings: a small percentage or a flat fee per booking, often paid by the customer.
Online store: no fee at all; your margin on what you sell is the income.

Do the sum before you pick a number

Fee income is three numbers multiplied together: how many payments a month, the average payment, and your fee. 200 customers each sending £300 a month at 1% is £600 a month, £7,200 a year. At 2% it is £1,200 a month.

Take off card processing, refunds and your own running costs before you call it profit. Those depend on your platform and your partners, so put your own figures in rather than trusting anyone's average.

Work out when the build pays for itself

On SendPay Business a platform is a one-off build. Designing is free and the one-off build fee is only taken when you publish, with the total shown in the builder before you commit. Divide that by your monthly fee income and you have the number of months it takes to pay back. In the example above, a build fee of £2,500 at £600 a month is about five months.

If the answer is years, change the plan, not the maths: find more customers before launch, or pick a platform type where each payment is larger.

Keep the first price simple

One clear fee beats a clever table. You can change it later from your console, and early users remember a platform that was easy to understand. If you are unsure, start just under what your users pay today and raise it once they rely on you.

Build it

Create your own financial platform.

Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.

Build my platform →

Questions people ask

Can I charge nothing at all?

Yes. The fee is yours to set, including none, for example if the platform exists to sell your own products.

Can I charge a monthly fee instead of a percentage?

You set the fee model in your console.

Does SendPay take a cut of my fees?

Every fee you set is yours. Your build price is shown in the builder before you commit, and the terms set out any other charges.

Is there a quick way to run these numbers?

Yes. The free earnings calculator does the sum for each platform type and shows how many months cover the build.

Open the calculator →