Who pays the processing fee? Club fees, parent fees and "convenience fees" explained

Somebody always pays it. The only questions are how much it is, and whether the club or the parent sees it. Here's what a card payment actually costs, what registration platforms add on top, and the words they use for it.

What a card payment costs

When a parent pays $90 by card, the card networks and the payment processor keep a slice. Through Stripe, the processor most small-club platforms use underneath, that slice is 2.9% + 30¢ in the US: $2.91 on a $90 registration. That part is unavoidable; it's the cost of taking cards instead of checks, and it's the same whoever the software vendor is.

What the platform adds

Most youth sports platforms don't pass that 2.9% + 30¢ through as-is. They charge their own rate and keep the difference. Typical published rates:

Platform	Rate charged	On a $90 registration	Of which the platform keeps
Stripe directly	2.9% + 30¢	$2.91	—
Jersey Watch	3.5% + $1.00	$4.15	~$1.24
SportsEngine	3.25% + $1.50	$4.43	~$1.52
TeamSnap (est.)	3.25% + $1.50	$4.43	~$1.52
Sports Connect	$3.00 per checkout	$3.00 + card cost	$3.00
Spond	$1 + 3.29%	$3.96	~$1.05
mysports.io	2.9% + 30¢ (Stripe's rate, in your account)	$2.91	$0

A dollar or two a registration doesn't sound like much. Over 400 registrations a year it's $400–1,200 a year, and that's before the subscription.

"Absorb" or "pass through"

The platform then lets the club choose: absorb the fee (it comes off what the club receives) or pass it through (it's added to what the parent pays, usually labelled a "convenience fee", "service fee" or "processing fee" at checkout). Some platforms don't give the club the choice: Sports Connect's $3 and Spond's fee are always paid by the family.

Passing it through is where the trouble starts. SportsEngine is the subject of a class action alleging its processing fee appeared only as a line item at checkout, after the family had decided to register, hitting low-income families hardest. Reviewers of several platforms complain about the same surprise. A fee that's only visible after the decision feels like a trick, because it is one.

What a board should actually decide

1. Know the real rate. Ask the vendor for the all-in percentage and per-transaction amount, in writing. "Competitive processing" is not a number.
2. Decide who pays, out loud. If the club absorbs it, budget for it. If families pay it, say so on the first page of registration, not the last.
3. Count the difference. Platform rate minus Stripe's rate, times your registrations. That's the platform's real price, hidden in the processing.

How mysports.io handles it

We don't. Card payments go through the club's own Stripe account, at Stripe's published rate, and we add nothing. The club pays $99.99 a year for the software and that's the whole price. Parents see the registration fee and pay the registration fee. If the club wants to pay by cash or check instead, it records that too, with no fee at all.