3dday: Stripe is the top choice—$1 fee to send B2B payments, $5 to request; Melio and Astra may be free but require membership.

instant: Melio and Astra provide instant transfers for a 1% fee.

Key Features

• Account Verification & Payments

  • Instant and manual account linking for ACH, RTP, and FedNow transfers
  • Automated bill pay and vendor onboarding
  • Real-time account verification analytics and fraud detection
  • Expanded support for business accounts and cash management accounts
  • Automated sandbox simulations for pre-launch testing
  • Multiple ledgers (virtual accounts) for tracking fund flows
  • Immediate refunds if sufficient balance is available
  • Branded payment links and recurring payment support
  • QuickBooks and other accounting integrations[1][2][3][4]

• Fraud & Risk Management

  • Deeper fraud and credit risk signals
  • Smarter fraud tools and device verification (Silent Network Authentication)
  • Enhanced error reporting and troubleshooting for API calls[1][2][4]

• Credit Underwriting

  • Consumer Report for secure sharing of bank data
  • Insights like primary account flag, historical balances, future income prediction, and categorized spending
  • Streamlined user experience with pre-filled data and faster report generation[2][4]

• Developer Experience

  • Improved dashboard for configuring Auth methods and Identity Match rules
  • Real-time support via AI chat (Claude)
  • Enhanced API documentation and changelogs[1][2][4]

Pricing Structure

Plaid uses several pricing models, depending on the product:

• ACH Transfers: Not free for production use; pricing varies by volume and use case.
• Sandbox/Testing: Free for development and testing environments.
• Production: Requires a commercial agreement; contact Plaid for specific rates[5].

For the most accurate and current pricing, consult Plaid's official documentation or sales team, as terms may change[5].

Summary Table

Plaid remains a leading choice for fintechs and platforms needing advanced bank connectivity, robust fraud tools, and flexible payment APIs, but it is not a free solution for production ACH transfers[1][2][3][4][5].

[1] https://plaid.com/blog/product-updates-june-2025/ [2] https://plaid.com/blog/product-updates-may-2025/ [3] https://plaid.com/blog/product-updates-march-2025/ [4] https://plaid.com/blog/product-updates-april-2025/ [5] https://support.plaid.com/hc/en-us/articles/16194632655895-How-much-does-Plaid-cost-and-what-are-the-pricing-models [6] https://plaid.com/events/effects/ [7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPcW6Htrl5o [8] https://www.pymnts.com/data/2025/plaid-ceo-says-its-next-five-years-will-look-a-lot-different-than-the-last-five/ [9] https://www.fintegrationfs.com/post/plaid-pricing-and-plaid-pricing-calculator-for-fintech-apps [10] https://docs.itstripe.com/payment-methods/ach-debit-plaid-link-integration/

Key Updates & Additional Melio Information

Melio Detailed Features:

• Completely free ACH payments with no transaction fees¹²
• 2-day ACH delivery (faster than standard 3-day processing)¹
• Same-day ACH available for 1% fee (max $30 per transaction)²
• International payments supported with $20 flat fee for USD transfers³
• Credit card payments available at 2.9% fee, even to vendors who don't accept cards⁴
• Mobile app with bill scanning and payment approval features⁵
• Automatic bill capture from Gmail and invoice scanning¹
• QuickBooks Online and Xero integration for seamless accounting⁴
• Payment links for getting paid by customers⁶
• W-9 collection and 1099 sync for tax preparation¹⁶
• Pay over time feature allowing split payments over 12 months¹

Melio Limitations:

• B2B payments only - not designed for consumer transactions⁴
• 30-day expiration on single-use virtual cards⁷
• Limited in-person processing capabilities compared to traditional processors⁸
• Credit card fees still apply at 2.9% when paying with cards⁴

Chargeback Fee Breakdown

Chargeback costs vary significantly by processor:

• Square offers the best value with $0 chargeback fees and even refunds processing fees if you win disputes⁹¹⁰
• Stripe charges $15 per chargeback but does not refund this fee even if you win⁹¹¹
• Helcim charges $15 per chargeback but refunds the fee if you win the dispute¹²¹³
• GoCardless has variable chargeback fees depending on country - fees apply in US, Germany, and Austria only¹⁴
• Stax typically charges $20-$50 per chargeback based on merchant agreement¹⁵¹⁶
• PaymentCloud charges $25-$50 per chargeback, with higher fees for high-risk merchants¹⁷¹⁸
• Melio has minimal chargeback risk due to B2B focus and ACH-heavy processing¹⁴

Industry Context

Chargeback fees are becoming increasingly expensive across the industry, with costs expected to grow 24% from 2025 to 2028¹⁹. The average chargeback value in the US is $110, and each dispute costs financial institutions $9.08-$10.32 to process¹⁹. For merchants, total chargeback costs include not just the fee but also the lost merchandise, administrative time, and potential monitoring program penalties²⁰²¹.

Square's zero chargeback fee policy makes it particularly attractive for businesses concerned about dispute costs, while Helcim's refund policy provides a middle ground. Melio's B2B focus naturally reduces chargeback exposure since business-to-business payments have lower dispute rates than consumer transactions.

Astra Payments

Astra Payments enables instant money transfers primarily by leveraging the Visa Direct network and partnerships with financial institutions like Cross River Bank. Here's how it works and what it costs:

• Push-to-Card Technology: Astra uses push-to-card payments, which means funds are sent directly from a bank account or card to a recipient's debit card. This is done using the Visa Direct real-time payment rails, enabling funds to appear instantly and be spendable right away¹⁵⁶.
• API Integration: Developers and businesses can embed Astra's payment API into their products, allowing instant transfers between bank accounts and cards without needing to build complex payment infrastructures themselves¹⁷.
• No Cut-Off Times: Transfers are processed instantly, regardless of weekends or holidays, with no waiting for ACH settlement windows⁴.
• No Prefunding Required: Astra handles settlement and reconciliation automatically, so businesses don't need to pre-fund accounts or manage operational complexity¹⁵.
• Security and Compliance: The platform includes built-in compliance, fraud detection, and PCI-compliant SDKs for secure transactions¹⁵.

Cost Structure

• Industry-Standard Fee: For instant "push" payments to external debit cards, Astra typically charges an industry-standard fee of 1.5% per transaction².
• Cost-Plus Pricing: Astra offers cost-plus pricing designed to scale with customer growth, making it less costly than traditional wire transfers and competitive with other instant payment providers⁵³.
• Custom Fees: Businesses can optionally apply programmatic fees to each transaction to generate additional revenue².
• No Additional Infrastructure Fees: There's no need for additional compliance, capital commitments, or operational overhead for instant payments⁶.

Summary Table

In essence: Astra achieves instant payments by utilizing debit card rails (Visa Direct), with a typical cost of 1.5% per transaction and a scalable, cost-plus pricing model. The platform is designed for easy integration, security, and operational simplicity, making it attractive for fintechs, marketplaces, and businesses needing rapid, reliable fund movement¹²⁵⁶.

Footnotes

1. https://meliopayments.com ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

2. https://meliopayments.com/blog/same-day-ach-wire-and-credit-all-the-ways-to-pay-fast/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. https://help.melio.com/hc/en-us/articles/4447157077394-Are-there-any-limitations-when-making-a-payment-to-an-international-vendor ↩ ↩²

4. https://meliopayments.com/business-expenses/business-expense-payments/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

5. https://help.melio.com/hc/en-us/articles/8203004028828-What-is-Melio ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

6. https://meliopayments.com/blog/7-melio-features-to-help-you-pay-and-get-paid-faster/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

7. https://help.melio.com/hc/en-us/articles/4446781898898-Are-there-any-limitations-to-using-a-single-use-virtual-card ↩ ↩²

8. https://www.unitedcapitalsource.com/blog/what-is-melio-payments/ ↩

9. https://www.chargeback.io/blog/stripe-chargeback-fee ↩ ↩²

10. https://help.getbento.com/en/articles/417537 ↩

11. https://chargebacks911.com/stripe-chargeback-fees/ ↩

12. https://learn.helcim.com/docs/what-is-a-chargeback ↩

13. https://legal.helcim.com/us/fee-disclosures/ ↩

14. https://support.gocardless.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038646634-Transaction-Fees ↩

15. https://staxpayments.com/blog/credit-card-chargebacks-explained-what-merchants-need-to-know/ ↩

16. https://staxpayments.com/blog/merchant-credit-card-fee/ ↩

17. https://paymentcloudinc.com/blog/chargeback-fee/ ↩

18. https://paymentcloudinc.com/blog/high-risk-merchant-account-fees/ ↩

19. https://b2b.mastercard.com/news-and-insights/blog/what-s-the-true-cost-of-a-chargeback-in-2025/ ↩ ↩²

20. https://justt.ai/blog/merchant-chargeback-fee/ ↩

21. https://chargebacks911.com/chargeback-costs/ ↩