Typical credit card fees might be 25 cents/transaction plus 3%. What transaction size would give you the 17% cut that the writer complains about Patreon taking?
.25 + .03x = .17x
.25 = .14x
x = .25/.14 = 1.79
So, for these numbers (exact rates vary but are in this ballpark), a transaction size of $1.79 will result in a cut of 17%.
There is a non-zero cost per transaction, with any credit card company, with paper checks (built into the cost of the check), with any payment scheme other than "give me the cash in person". The smaller the transaction size, the larger the cost will be as a percentage. The numbers described here seem pretty typical.
.25 + .03x = .17x .25 = .14x x = .25/.14 = 1.79
So, for these numbers (exact rates vary but are in this ballpark), a transaction size of $1.79 will result in a cut of 17%.
There is a non-zero cost per transaction, with any credit card company, with paper checks (built into the cost of the check), with any payment scheme other than "give me the cash in person". The smaller the transaction size, the larger the cost will be as a percentage. The numbers described here seem pretty typical.