Charge Card Systems Blog

Merchant Account Fees Explained

It may seem like there are endless rates and fees involved in processing credit cards. In reality many fees only apply to specific types of accounts and others only apply when an account is used improperly.

The following is a list of rates and fees commonly associated with all types of merchant accounts.

When working providers to tailor merchant account quotes to fit your needs, remember that it's unrealistic to expect that you will be able to have a provider lower EVERY fee to the bare minimum. Instead of trying to get every fee lowered concentrate instead on adjusting fees that matter most to your business.

For instance, if your business is seasonal you will want to have the monthly merchant account statement fee and monthly minimum fee lowered so that you don't have to pay them off-season. In order to have these fees lowered you may have to allow the provider to leave the discount rates and transaction fees where they are.

Please note that this list is comprehensive and not all providers will charge every fee listed.

• Account Maintenance Fee - The account Maintenance fee is charged by the provider to perform changes to the merchant account after it has been set up. Changing address information, banking information, and business name would all be considered account maintenance tasks and may incur an account maintenance fee.
• ACH Reject Fee - An ACH reject fee is charged when a processor tries to electronically withdraw fees for processing services and there is an insufficient balance in the merchant's account. The merchant bank (your bank) rejects the processors ACH draft request and the processor charges an ACH reject fee for their troubles. An ACH reject fee is very similar to a returned check fee that is charged by a bank when a check is written against an account with insufficient funds.
• Annual Fee - An annual fee is a yearly flat fee charged to maintain a merchant account.
• Application Fee - An application fee is charged to process the merchant account application paperwork.
• Authorization Fee - An authorization fee is charged when credit card processing equipment obtains an authorization for a transaction.
• AVS Fee (Address Verification Service) - The AVS fee is charged when a credit card transaction is processed and the customer's billing address and zip code are entered into the credit card equipment. The billing information provided is compared to the information on file at the issuing bank and a "Y" (or similar positive code) is returned if the addresses match and an "N" (or similar negative code) is returned if the addresses don't match. The fee that is charged to perform this service is called an AVS fee.
• Batch Header Fee - A batch header fee is charged when a batch of credit card authorizations is sent to the processor for settlement. Every time a merchant clears their batch they will be charged a batch header fee.
• Cancellation Fee - A cancellation fee is charged when a merchant terminates their merchant account with the processor or merchant service provider. The cancellation fee may or may not be governed by time constraints, meaning that it may be waived after an account remains open for a certain amount of time.
• Change Fee - A change fee is very similar to an account maintenance fee and is charged when changes need to be made to an existing merchant account. For instance, a request made by a merchant to have banking information changed on an existing merchant account may incur a change fee.
• Chargeback Fee - A chargeback fee is charged when a customer issues a chargeback against a merchant. Chargeback fees are usually charged regardless of whether or not a merchant wins the chargeback dispute.
• Debit Network Fee - A debit network fee is usually charged on a monthly basis to allow a merchant access to the various debit card networks.
• Discount Rate - The discount rate is the percentage of a transaction that is charged as a processing fee. Discount rates often account for the majority of fees on a merchant statement and they are also the most unpredictable and complicated of all fees.
• Early Termination Fee - An early termination fee is charged when a merchant terminates their merchant account prior to the expiration date declared in their merchant processing agreement (MPA). For instance, a merchant will incur an early cancellation fee if they sign a three-year merchant account contract and cancel the merchant account two years later. Some merchant accounts have a prorated early termination fee schedule where the termination fee is decreased the longer an account remains open.
• Gateway Fee - A gateway fee is a monthly fee that is charged to gain access to an online payment processing gateway.
• Monthly Minimum - A merchant account monthly minimum is the lowest amount of fees that a processor will charge in a monthly period. If a merchant does not meet the monthly minimum amount in any given month they will incur an additional charge that is equal to the difference between the actual fees on their merchant account and the monthly minimum amount.
• Over Limit Fee - An over limit fee is expressed as a percentage of sales that will be charged if a merchant processes in excess of the monthly processing volume that they declared in their merchant processing agreement (MPA). For instance, if a merchant declares $5,000 a month in processing volume and processes $7,000, $2,000 of their total sales are subject to an over limit fee. Over limit fees can be as much as %5.
• PIN Debit Fee - A PIN debit fee is charged when a customer pays for products or services using their debit card by entering their personal identification number (PIN) into an encrypted PIN pad.
• Reprogramming Fee - A reprogramming fee is charged when a provider reprograms existing credit card processing equipment to function with a merchant account that they issue. Reprogramming fees may be charged for all processing equipment including terminals, gateways, and software.
• Reserve Account Maintenance Fee - A reserve account maintenance fee is charged when a processor must keep a rolling reserve for a merchant. Reserve Account maintenance fees are typically flat monthly fees.
• Retrieval Fee - A retrieval fee is charged when a processor notifies a merchant of a chargeback against their account, and requests that they return supporting documentation to validate the charge in question. When the merchant returns the documentation requested by the processor their account is assessed a retrieval fee.
• Return Fee - The return fee is charged when a customer's purchase is reversed and funds are restored to their account. Returns do not incur a percentage discount charge, but instead are charged a flat return fee.
• Set-up Fee - A set up fee is usually charged by a merchant service provider after the merchant account application process has been completed and the account has been approved. The provider will then charge a fee to complete the set up of the merchant account.
• Signature Debit Fee - A signature debit fee is charged when a customer uses their debit card like a credit card to pay for products or services. Instead of entering their PIN number into a keypad the customer's card is swiped through a terminal. In order for a debit card to be charged via swiping there must be a VISA or MasterCard logo on the face of the card. Debit cards that have a VISA or MasterCard logo are called check cards.
• Statement Fee - A statement fee is a flat monthly fee that is charged to facilitate the mailing of monthly merchant bankcard statements. The statement fee may be incorporated into a number of different fees such as a monthly maintenance fee, support fee, or monthly account fee. Some providers will waive the statement fee if a merchant agrees to view their monthly merchant statements online instead of receiving a paper statement.
• Transaction Fee - A transaction fee is charged every time a merchant's processing equipment contacts the processor to get or give information. The transaction fee can often piggyback other fees such as a return fee or a batch header fee.
• Voice Authorization Fee - A voice authorization fee is charged when a merchant contacts the processor via telephone to verbally authorize a credit card transaction.
• Watts Surcharge - A WATTs surcharge is charged when a credit card processing terminal is unable to contact the processor using the default telephone number and it must roll over to a toll-free number instead. Most terminals are programmed to call a local number that is routed to the processor. There is no charge for local phone service so no charge is assessed. However, if the local line is busy or otherwise inaccessible the terminal will dial the toll-free number and a WATTs surcharge will be assessed to the merchant's account.
• Wireless Service Fee - A wireless service fee is charged on a wireless merchant account by a carrier to provide wireless service making it possible for a merchant to process credit cards remotely. The wireless fee is usually a flat monthly fee that allows a merchant unlimited access to the wireless network.
• Wireless Transaction Fee - A wireless transaction fee is charged in addition to the merchant account transaction fee on wireless merchant accounts. The wireless transaction fee is usually charged by the wireless network provider and not by the merchant service provider.

To find out if you are paying the lowest possible fees on your merchant account, click here for a free rate analysis.