| $0 - $100 |
| Almost all merchat account providers have
some sort of application or setup fee. They may call it something different
or hide it into one of the other fees, but almost all of them will have
some sort of upfront fee to get started. |
| $0-$100 |
| See Application Fee |
| Varies depending on swipe rate and industry (1.75%-2.50%) |
| This is the rate you will be charged for each credit card transaction. For instance
if you have a discount rate of 2.0% and someone buys $100 dollars worth of items then $2 dollars will be taken from
this purchase and you will receive $98 dollars. For more indepth analysis of how the rates
and fees work see our credit card processing tutorial. |
| $.10-$.50 |
| This is a fee you will be charged on each transaction you process. It is a flat fee and is in
addition to the discount rate which is also charged on each transaction. For more indepth analysis of how the rates
and fees work see our credit card processing tutorial. |
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A monthly fee, service fee, or statement fee is what the merchant account provider will charge for the
maintenance of the merchant account and sending you the statements which are very similar to a credit card statement.
This fee can be called seperate things, just make sure you are not paying both a statment fee and a monthly fee, or
if you are they are both very little because most merchant account providers will just roll these into one.
|
| $10-$25 |
| Each month the merchant account provider will look at what credit card processing and transaction fees you have
been charged. If your monthly minimum is $20 dollars and your were only charged $8, then you will be charged $12
dollars to reach your monthly minimum. If you were charged $25 dollars in credit card processing and transaction
fees, then you have surpassed your monthly minimum an nothing else is charged to you. Most merchant account providers
will set a monthly minimum and it is a common place to add in other fees to make sure they get their money. |
| $0-$250 |
|
An annual fee is another add-on which some merchant account providers use. Usually if they put an annual fee on
your contract they are giving you a deal in another area of the rates and fees and are doing so to make up the difference.
Many times they will not disclose this fee, so be sure to ask if the other pricing looks too good to be true. If
you are being charged an annual fee and are still paying high rates and fees in other areas as well, then it might
be time to look for a new merchant account provider.
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|
| A chargeback fee is charged by the merchant account provider when one of your merchants
disputes a charge on a credit card statement. Along with the fees you have to pay chargebacks make you look bad and
can cause your merchant account to be dropped and if you receive enough of them can make it hard for you to find
another merchant account. Most of these can be avoided by good customer service and good products, but some are inevitable. |
|
| This fee is charged by the merchant account provider if you cancel your account. Most
providers don't have a cancellation fee, but some hide it or don't tell you about it until you try and cancel your
account. If they don't say there isn't a cancellation fee, ask about it, most likely there isn't, but you want to
be sure. |
|
| This usually goes hand in hand with the cancellation fee. Most merchant account providers don't have a
contract term, but ask about it before you sign up for the merchant account. |
| $0-$200+ |
| This fee is normally only for merchants who switch merchant account providers. This
is for programming your credit card terminals to work with the new merchant account provider. This fee isn't always
charged, but some providers charge quite a bit for it. Ask about what the provider plans on charging for reprogramming
before you switch. |
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This is a fee charged by the merchant account provider for setting you up to accept American Express cards. American
express charges seperate fees for the use of their cards.
|
| $0 - $0.15 |
| At the end of each day the merchant sends all the transactions stored in the credit card terminal to be processed.
This fee is associated with this transaction. Most merchant account providers don't charge this fee anymore, but make sure if
you are not being charged for it. |
| varies depending on situation |
|
Depending on the situation of the merchant, some merchant account providers will require a specified reserve amount
to cover chargebacks and non-payment of fees. This type of reserve is uncommon for normal US merchants trying to get
an account. If you are high-risk or non-U.S. merchant you may find the merchant account provider will require a
reserve amount.
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| When you sign up for a merchant account you are setup for a certain approval level based on your estimates. If you
exceed this estimate you may be subject to an overlimit fee. If you know you are going to be doing more sales one month and have the
possibility of exceeding your limit, contact your merchant account provider ahead of time and they should help set you up so you don't
get charged an overlimit fee. |