EPX FE MERCH SETL on your bank statement: what it means
That line on your bank statement is usually a withdrawal: card fees your processor takes out through EPX, the company that moves card money between your processor and your bank. “MERCH SETL” is short for merchant settlement. A line marked EPX ST is usually the deposit of your card sales. Check the FE amount against the fees itemized on your monthly merchant statement.
- Find the date and amount on the bank line.
- Match an FE debit to the fee total on your merchant statement. An ST deposit matches that day's batch.
- Read the fees on the monthly merchant statement. Total the fees and divide by the card sales that month: that one number is what you pay. Not sure where the fees are? Here is how to read your merchant statement.
Related guides: dual pricing, dual pricing vs cash discount vs surcharge, and what a surcharge is.
Two names turn up on merchant paperwork and confuse people, because they are different kinds of thing. EPX is a card processing platform. Edge is the name of a cash discount program sold on it. Seeing either one tells you how your payments are set up. Neither tells you what you are paying, and that is the part worth reading.
EPX is the platform
Card payments pass through several companies before the money reaches you. The platform authorizes the sale, settles the funds and sends the deposit, so its name can appear on your merchant statement, in your online portal, or as the descriptor next to a deposit in your bank account.
The company you actually deal with may be a different one. Sales organizations place merchants on a platform and service the account; the platform moves the money. Neither fact tells you whether your pricing is good.
Edge is a program, not a processor
Edge is a cash discount program. Under any cash discount setup the posted price is the card price, and customers who pay cash pay less than it. Programs like this are marketed on how much of the card cost they move off the business, and what that comes to for you depends on your card mix and on the setup being done correctly: the signage, the receipt line and the register all have to agree.
It is one of three approaches that get mixed up with each other. Our plain-English comparison of dual pricing, cash discount and surcharging sets out what each one does to the price a customer sees, and which cards each one can apply to.
Read the statement, not the rate
A quoted rate describes one part of a bill that has several parts. The statement is where the whole bill lives: interchange, which goes to the card-issuing bank; assessments, which go to the card brands; the markup, which is the negotiable part; and the monthly items such as statement, PCI, gateway, batch and chargeback fees. Total every fee for the month and divide by what you ran that month. That single number is what survives a change of processor, program or salesperson, and it is the only figure worth comparing.
Our guide to reading a merchant statement walks through a real one, line by line, if you would rather do it yourself.
If you want a second read
We are a local merchant services broker in Federal Way, working with businesses across the Puget Sound. Send one recent statement and we will tell you what each line is, which parts are fixed by the card brands and which parts are negotiable. No obligation, and the analysis is yours either way: start with a free statement review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EPX my processor or the company that sold me my account?
Usually the platform underneath. EPX, Electronic Payment Exchange, describes itself as "a secure, fully integrated, international payments platform acting as processor, acquirer, and backend service partner", and lists itself as a registered ISO of BMO Harris Bank N.A., Citizens Bank N.A., The Bancorp Bank and FFB Bank. The business that signed you up and answers your calls is often a separate sales organization: PayProTec, for example, states on its own site that it is "a registered DBA of EPX". Your pricing came from whoever sold you the account, not from the platform.
What does a line like "EPX FE MERCHANT SETTLEMENT" on my bank statement mean?
It is a settlement entry from EPX, the company that moves card money between your processor and your bank. Lines marked FE are usually a debit for fees. Lines marked ST are usually the deposit of your sales. To be sure, match the date and amount to your merchant statement: the fees there should add up to the FE debits.
What is the Edge program?
A cash discount program sold by PayProTec on the EPX platform. Cash discounting posts one price, the card price, and customers paying cash pay less than the posted price. It is not a processor and not a rate: it is a way of presenting the cost of card acceptance at the register. Note that every card pays the posted price, debit cards included, so the card mix at your counter decides what a program like this is worth to you.
Does EPX or Edge set my rates?
No. Your pricing comes from the agreement you signed with whoever sold you the account, within what the platform allows. Two businesses on the same platform, on the same program, can pay very different amounts. It is why a statement, rather than a rate quote, is the only way to see what you actually pay.
Can I change my pricing without changing everything?
Often, yes. Depending on your agreement, pricing can be reworked, a program like dual pricing or a surcharge can be set up properly, or the account can move. Which is worth doing depends on your card mix and your current terms. Send one recent statement for a free statement review and we will read it line by line and tell you straight what your options are.
Is "EPX FE MERCH SETL" a fee I can dispute?
Check it first. An FE line is often the fee withdrawal itself. If the amount does not match the fees on your merchant statement, ask your processor for the detail. If you never authorized the debit, call your bank. Want a second read? Send us the statement and we will say what each line is.
Send one statement. Plain-English answer in 24 hours.