How to read your merchant statement like we do

Find two numbers: total fees charged for the month, and total card volume processed. Divide fees by volume. That percent is your effective rate. It's the only number that can't lie to you. It includes every fee, no matter what it's called. Our guide to lower card processing fees explains what to do with the result.

Example: $1,180 in total fees on $38,000 in card sales is a 3.1% effective rate. Whatever the salesperson once quoted, 3.1% is what you actually pay. Interchange-plus pricing can make the negotiable markup easier to see, and our breakdown of where the 3% actually goes explains the three layers behind that number.

Here is that same month itemised, because “total fees” is the line most statements never actually print. A shop runs $38,000 in card sales and is billed $1,180.00. Broken out, it looks like this.

Now do it twice. The card processing charges alone are $1,076.90 on $38,000, which is 2.83%. Add the four monthly extras and the same month is 3.1%. The gap between those two numbers is the whole trick: the rate anyone quotes you describes the first line, and the rate you pay describes the bill. That is why the effective rate is the only figure worth arguing about.

The amounts here are illustrative and rounded, and a real statement will name these lines differently, which is the point. Work out your own two numbers and compare.