Merchant Fee Review

The headline rate on a quote is not the same as the cost of accepting cards. I calculate your effective rate: the total you pay for card processing divided by your card turnover. That gives a more honest comparison.

• Total card turnover and transaction count
• Debit, credit, business and international card mix
• Percentage rates and per-transaction charges
• Fixed charges that still apply when sales are quiet

I work through the statement line by line and check the charges that are easiest to miss. That includes terminal rental, fixed or monthly charges, PCI compliance fees, minimum monthly service charges, authorisation fees and declined-transaction fees. I also check whether card-not-present payments are priced differently.

• Terminal rental and separate invoices
• Statement, dashboard or secure-processing fees
• PCI compliance and non-compliance fees
• Authorisation, declined and refund charges
• CNP rates for phone, online and payment-link transactions

Blended pricing rolls different costs into one rate. It can be simple, but it makes the provider mark-up harder to see. Interchange-plus separates interchange, scheme fees and the provider mark-up, which can be more transparent but varies between transactions. Neither is automatically cheapest; your card mix and turnover decide that.

I also check the contract length, renewal date, termination terms and any automatic renewal wording. A lower percentage is not a better deal if it comes with expensive fixed fees or a long agreement.

You get a plain-English explanation of what you are paying, where the cost sits, whether you appear to be overpaying and whether I can improve the arrangement. If your current deal is strong, I will tell you to stay put.