Your processing statement tells you exactly what you pay — if you know where to look.
Step 1: Find your effective rate
Divide total fees by total card sales for the month.
Example: $780 in fees ÷ $25,000 in sales = 3.12% effective rate.
That single number is the fairest way to compare providers.
Step 2: Understand the three types of fees
- Interchange: set by the card brands and paid to the card-issuing bank. Everyone pays this.
- Assessments: small card-brand fees, also unavoidable.
- Processor markup: everything else — this is what you can negotiate.
Step 3: Watch for these fees
- PCI non-compliance fees — often avoidable by completing your annual questionnaire.
- Monthly minimums that charge you when sales are low.
- Statement, batch and "regulatory" fees that add up.
- Early termination fees in long contracts.
- Rate increases buried in statement messages.
Step 4: Compare apples to apples
Ask any provider for pricing in writing, using your actual statement, including every fee.
Send us a recent statement — we'll decode every line and show you, in writing, what you'd pay with VOXEPAY. Get a free statement review.