Dough vs TD Merchant Solutions: An Honest Canadian Comparison

TL;DR

The 30-second answer

TD Merchant Solutions does the job — but it's bank-priced and bank-paced. If you're a Canadian small business looking for transparent pricing, a real human to talk to, and bonus value back through Boost, Dough is built for you.

Stick with TD if…

You want your banking and merchant services on a single TD invoice for accounting convenience
You're already deep in the TD ecosystem and don't want any vendors outside it
You're inside a multi-year contract with steep early termination fees
You don't care about pricing flexibility or bonus perks

Dough

Switch to Dough if…

You bank with TD but want better merchant rates underneath
You want a choice between surcharging, IC+, or flat rate pricing
You want a free website and monthly content as part of the deal
You're tired of bank-style statements and bank-style hold times

Side-by-side

The honest comparison

TD pricing is negotiable but rarely transparent. The default offer to small business is tiered with bundled fees. Here's how the two stack up.

	Dough	TD Merchant Solutions
In-person credit card rate	$0 (surcharge) / IC+ 0.20% / 2.75% flat	Tiered & bundled — varies by negotiation
Debit transactions	$0.04 per transaction	Bundled into tiered rates
Pricing model choice	Surcharge, IC+, Flat, or Dual Pricing	Bundled tiered pricing as default
Statement readability	Plain language, line-by-line	Bank-style — multiple fee categories per transaction
Hidden / surprise fees	None — every line itemized	PCI, monthly minimum, batch, statement, network access fees layered in
Contract length	Month-to-month or 4-year (your choice)	Typically multi-year with early termination fees
Bank account flexibility	Funds deposit anywhere — TD, RBC, Scotia, anywhere	Designed to keep you on a TD business account
Free website + social with processing	Yes — Boost program	No
Free custom AI tool	Yes — Boost program	No
Support	Real Canadian humans, founder-led	Bank-tier phone support, long hold times
Terminals	Clover Flex / Mini / Station Duo / Newland / Ingenico	Mostly Verifone / PAX units, locked to TD/Global Payments
Processing infrastructure	Independent Canadian operator	Runs on Global Payments behind the TD brand

Honest take

Where each one actually wins

TD has a brand and a customer base for a reason. Here's the real comparison.

Where TD wins

Bundling convenience. If your business banking, lending, and payroll all run through TD, having merchant services there too can simplify accounting.
Brand confidence. Some merchants prefer working with one of Canada's Big Five banks rather than an independent processor.
National scale. They're not going anywhere — predictable institutional partner.
For very high-volume merchants ($500K+/month), TD will negotiate down meaningfully.

Where Dough wins

Lower overhead means lower rates. TD's bank-scale infrastructure and shareholder margin get baked into every transaction. Dough doesn't carry that weight.
Three pricing models — surcharge ($0 in credit card fees), IC+, flat — plus dual pricing for the right verticals. TD bundles you into one tiered structure.
Plain-English statements. Every fee itemized. No bank-style coding.
The Boost program — free website, free monthly social content, custom AI, Google review cards. TD gives nothing back.
Modern Clover hardware vs TD's older Verifone and PAX fleet.
You talk to a real Canadian who runs the business. No tier-3 escalation queues.
You keep your TD bank account. Switching processors doesn't mean switching banks.

Decision matrix

How to choose in 60 seconds

Run yourself through this list. No fluff.

Choose TD if…

You bank with TD and want everything on one invoice for accounting convenience.
You're processing over $500K/month and have the leverage to negotiate down to near-interchange.
You're locked in a contract that's too expensive to break right now.
You don't care about Boost perks or pricing flexibility.

Choose Dough if…

You bank with TD but want lower processing rates underneath.
You want to surcharge and pay $0 in credit card processing fees.
You want a free website and monthly social media content with your processing.
You're tired of statements you can't decode.
You want a real human on the phone the first time you call.

Real switch story

What happens when you actually move

A typical $50K/month merchant on TD who switched to Dough — what changed and what didn't.

We banked with TD for years and they pushed us into their merchant services as part of the relationship. The convenience was real but the rate was brutal. Switched to Dough, kept the TD business account, dropped our fees by more than half, and got a website built for free on top.

— Canadian retail merchant (anonymized), $50K/mo volume

The numbers

Previous processorTD Merchant Solutions

Monthly card volume~$50,000

Old TD fees~$1,450/mo

Dough fees~$700/mo

Boost perk earnedFree 5-page site

Monthly savings~$750/mo

FAQ

Switching from TD — the questions we hear most

Is Dough cheaper than TD Merchant Solutions?

For most Canadian small businesses, yes. TD Merchant Solutions uses tiered pricing with bundled fees — the format banks have used for decades. The actual cost is hidden across multiple line items. Dough offers transparent pricing models: surcharge ($0 in credit card processing fees), Interchange Plus (interchange + 0.20%), or flat rate at 2.75% + $0.15. Typical Dough merchants save 30–60% versus a TD statement.

Why is TD merchant processing more expensive than Dough?

TD is one of Canada's five biggest banks. TD Merchant Solutions runs on bank-scale infrastructure with thousands of employees and shareholder margin expectations baked into every transaction. Dough is a lean Canadian operation — no bank overhead, no investor pressure. Lower cost structure means lower rates plus the Boost program reinvesting margin back into your business.

Do I have to bank with TD to use TD Merchant Solutions?

Technically no, but TD heavily incentivizes bundling — if your business banking is at TD, they'll push merchant services as part of the relationship. The convenience is real, but the cost of bundling is rarely calculated. With Dough you keep banking at TD (or anywhere) and just switch who's processing the cards. Funds still deposit to your existing TD business account.

Am I locked into a long-term contract with TD?

Most TD Merchant Solutions agreements are multi-year terms with early termination fees. Read your agreement carefully — getting out can be expensive. Dough offers flexible contract options: month-to-month with no early termination fees, or a 4-year term if you want a free or subsidized terminal. You choose the structure that fits how you want to pay for your hardware.

Does TD give back the way Dough's Boost program does?

No. TD is a transactional processor — you pay your fees, they take their margin, that's the relationship. Dough's Boost program reinvests our margin back into your business: free websites, free monthly social media content, custom AI tools, and Google review cards. Tier scales with monthly volume. No bank-owned Canadian processor offers anything close to this.

Can I keep my TD terminal if I switch to Dough?

No. TD terminals are programmed to work only with the TD/Global Payments processing network (TD's merchant services run on Global Payments infrastructure). When you switch to Dough you'll move to a Clover Flex, Clover Mini, Clover Station Duo, or a Newland N910 — all of which run more powerful POS apps.

How long does it take to switch from TD to Dough?

2 to 3 days from start to installed. Send your last TD statement, we'll quote you, you sign the application, we ship and program your new terminal, and you're live. Your bank account doesn't change — your funds still deposit to your TD business account (or anywhere else). The only thing changing is who's actually processing the cards.

Your bank shouldn't be your processor. It's costing you.

Send us your TD statement