The number one reason owners stay on an overpriced processor: fear of the switch. They think it means a new bank account, a new POS, a week of downtime, and a customer at the till asking "is the machine broken?" while a card sits in their hand.
I've walked dozens of merchants through this. None of those things actually happen. Here's what does.
The 2-minute version
Send your last statement. Get a quote back. Sign the application. Underwriting takes 1-2 days. Your new terminal shows up programmed and ready. You plug it in, run a test, and start processing. Old terminal goes back in the box. Total elapsed time: 2 to 3 days, most of which is the processor working in the background, not you.
What actually changes — and what doesn't
This is the part owners worry about. So let's be specific.
✓ What stays the same
- ✓ Your business bank account (same routing, same deposits)
- ✓ Your accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero, etc.)
- ✓ Your tax line items and HST setup
- ✓ Your business hours, your staff, your prices
- ✓ Customer cards on file (for most card-on-file setups)
- ✓ Your business name on customer statements
! What changes
- → Your processor (the company processing the cards)
- → Your terminal (in most cases — new device)
- → Where you log in to view transactions
- → Your monthly statement format
- → Your effective rate (this is the whole point)
- → Who answers when you call support
Notice what's not on either list: customer experience. They tap a card. Receipt prints. Money lands. That's identical no matter who processes it.
The 5-step playbook
Send your last full statement
Pull the most recent monthly statement from your current processor. PDF, scan, photo — doesn't matter. Send it to the new processor.
This statement is the only thing they need to quote you. It shows your card mix, your current effective rate, every line-item fee you're being charged, and where the markup is hiding. A real processor can quote you off one statement. If they need three before they'll talk numbers, that's a flag.
Get a side-by-side quote and pick your pricing model
The new processor comes back with a breakdown — your current cost on that statement, vs your projected cost under each pricing model they offer. With Dough, that's three:
- Surcharging — $0 in credit card processing fees on your end (customer pays the fee on credit transactions)
- Interchange Plus — actual interchange + a fixed 0.20% markup, fully transparent
- Flat rate — one simple rate (2.75% + $0.15), best for lower-volume businesses
Pick the model that fits. A good rep will tell you which one your numbers point to. Dual pricing or cash discount are available for the right verticals too.
Complete the application and underwriting
This is a regulated industry, so there's an application. It's lighter than opening a business bank account. Standard documents:
- Voided cheque (so they know where to deposit your money)
- Business registration document
- Photo ID of the owner / signing officer
- Last 3 months of merchant statements
Underwriting takes 1-2 business days for most low-risk businesses (auto repair, retail, trades, professional services, salons, restaurants). Higher-volume or specialty merchants may take a day or two longer.
Don't cancel your old processor yet
Wait until the new terminal is live and you've successfully processed and settled to your bank. That gives you a clean overlap. Once you're confirmed live on the new one, then call to close the old account.
Plug in the new terminal — pre-programmed, no IT call
Your terminal ships pre-configured to your business. For a wireless device like a Clover Flex, it's literally: unbox it, plug in the charger, connect to your WiFi, log in with the credentials sent to your email. About 10 minutes.
For a countertop POS (Clover Station Duo, Ingenico Desk/5000), the install is closer to 30 minutes — but still no IT person needed. The new processor will walk you through it on a call or video if you want.
If you take online or card-not-present payments through a gateway (Authorize.Net or Converge), the gateway gets re-pointed at the new processor in the back-end. Your customers see no difference.
Run a test, confirm settlement, then decommission the old terminal
Run a $1 test transaction on a personal card. Refund it. Watch it settle to your bank the next business day. That's your confirmation everything is wired correctly.
Process normally for 2-3 days on both terminals if you want extra peace of mind. Once you're confident, unplug the old processor's terminal. They'll send you a return label — or in some cases, the terminal is yours to keep (most pre-2024 terminals).
Call the old processor and tell them you're cancelling. Get the cancellation confirmation in writing (email is fine). This step is important — without a written cancellation, some processors will keep billing monthly fees against an inactive account.
The four things owners worry about (that don't actually happen)
"My customers' cards on file will get lost"
For most processors, card-on-file tokens transfer when you migrate. Stripe to Stripe-on-a-different-account is the trickiest (Stripe doesn't love letting customers leave). Moving from Moneris, Square, or most bank-owned processors to a new processor with a gateway like Authorize.Net or Converge is usually clean — the new gateway can re-tokenize your customer file from your existing data.
Worth flagging on your discovery call if you've got a lot of recurring billing.
"There'll be a day where I can't take payments"
No. You run the old terminal until the new one is live and tested. There's no hand-off moment where you're offline. The two are live in parallel for a day or two — your call when to flip.
"I'll be locked out of my old transaction history"
Your old processor still owes you access to historical statements and transaction reports — usually for 7 years, per Canadian record-keeping rules. Download your last 12 months of statements before you cancel, just in case the portal access gets revoked faster than they promise. Belt and suspenders.
"The new processor will sneak fees in I didn't agree to"
This one's fair — it does happen with some processors. The protection: read the rate sheet before signing. Specifically look for:
- The exact markup (e.g., interchange + 0.20%, or 2.75% flat) — written down, not "approximately"
- PCI fee (every processor charges one — find out the amount upfront)
- Monthly minimum (some processors charge if you don't hit a volume floor)
- Statement / portal / batch fees (legitimate processors keep these to a minimum, sketchy ones load them up)
- Early termination fees — only apply if you're on a multi-year contract (Dough offers both no-contract and 4-year contract options — your choice)
If you can't get clear answers in writing to all five of those before signing, that's the flag. Walk away.
When NOT to switch
Switching isn't always the move. Three scenarios where I'd tell you to stay where you are:
- You process under $5K/month and you're on Square. The savings probably won't outweigh the friction. Square's value at low volume is fine.
- You're mid-busy-season. Wait until things slow down. Switching during peak introduces risk you don't need. November in retail, summer in restaurants — pick the lull.
- You signed a 3-year contract 6 months ago. Run the math on the early termination fee vs the savings. Sometimes it still wins. Sometimes you wait it out.
Outside those three, if your effective rate is over 2.7% and you're doing $15K+ in monthly card volume, you're almost certainly leaving money on the table by not switching. Here's how to calculate your effective rate →
Switching to Dough specifically
The above is the general playbook for switching anywhere. For Dough, a couple of things are different:
- The quote is built off your real statement, not a generic rate card. We'll show you the exact monthly difference on your numbers.
- You pick the pricing model — surcharge, IC+, or flat — based on what fits. Not the model that pays us the most.
- If you qualify, you also get into the Boost program — free website, free social content, free custom AI tool, free Google review cards, based on your monthly volume tier. The processing fees you'd pay anyway become business growth.
- The whole switch is human. You talk to a real person (often me). No support ticket queues, no chatbots, no 1-800 hold music.
If you're switching from a specific competitor, we've got direct comparisons: Dough vs Square, Dough vs Moneris, Dough vs Stripe, Dough vs Helcim, Dough vs Chase, Dough vs TD.
The TL;DR
- The whole switch takes 2-3 days, most of which is the new processor working behind the scenes. You spend maybe 30 minutes total.
- Your bank account doesn't change. Deposits still land in the same place. Accounting software stays put.
- There's no downtime. Old terminal runs until new terminal is live and tested. You decide when to flip.
- The application is one statement, voided cheque, business reg, photo ID. Underwriting takes 1-2 business days for most low-risk businesses.
- Don't cancel the old processor until you're confirmed live on the new one. Then cancel in writing.
- If your effective rate is over 2.7% and you're doing $15K+/month, you're almost certainly overpaying. Sending the statement is free.
Zachary at Dough
Founder of Dough Payments. Based in Hamilton, Ontario. I've personally walked dozens of Canadian small business owners through the switch — auto shops, salons, agencies, trades, you name it. Most of them tell me afterwards it was easier than opening a new bank account. Send me your statement and let's see what your numbers look like.