The hidden-fee glossary

Processing statements are full of terms designed to slide past you. None of these fees are automatically a rip-off — some are perfectly standard — but you deserve to know what each one is. Here's the dictionary. Find a line on your statement, look it up here, and decide for yourself.

Fees on the percentage

Interchange

The wholesale cost paid to your customer's bank — the biggest piece of the bill and the same for every provider. Not a markup; a pass-through. See interchange, explained.

Assessment fee

A small fee the card networks (Visa, Mastercard) charge on top of interchange. Also a pass-through. Normal, and not negotiable.

Markup / discount rate

What your provider adds on top of interchange and assessments for handling the transaction. This is the part that actually varies between providers — and the part worth scrutinising.

Non-qualified / mid-qualified surcharge

On tiered plans, an extra charge when a transaction lands in a pricier "bucket" — often premium reward cards or keyed-in sales. Frequent non-qualified lines are a sign a tiered plan is quietly working against you.

Flat monthly fees

Statement / account fee

A flat monthly charge just to keep the account open. Common — but worth knowing it's there and what you get for it.

Monthly minimum

A floor on what the provider collects. If your percentage fees for the month don't reach the minimum, you pay the difference — money for nothing in a slow month.

PCI compliance fee

A charge tied to the card-industry security program (PCI DSS). Reasonable in principle — it's a real program — though the amount varies a lot.

PCI non-compliance fee

A penalty charged when you haven't completed the annual security questionnaire. This is avoidable money — completing the validation usually makes it disappear. One of the most common avoidable charges on a small merchant's statement.

Per-transaction & operational fees

Authorization fee

A small flat fee each time a card is checked for approval — charged whether or not the sale completes. Normal; the amount is what matters.

Batch / settlement fee

Charged when you "close out" the day's transactions to be deposited. Usually small, usually once a day — but it adds up if you batch frequently.

Gateway fee

For online sales: the cost of the service that securely passes card details from your website to the processor. A monthly fee, a per-transaction fee, or both.

Chargeback fee

Charged when a customer disputes a transaction. Standard across the industry; worth knowing the amount in advance.

Equipment

Terminal lease

A multi-year contract to rent your card machine. Often the single worst value on a statement: the total paid over the lease can be many times the cost of simply buying the same terminal. Leases are also notoriously hard to cancel. Almost always worth questioning.

Terminal / equipment fee

A one-time or monthly charge for the hardware itself. Buying outright is usually far cheaper over time than leasing.

How to use this list

Lay your statement next to this glossary and tick off what you can identify. Pay special attention to penalties (PCI non-compliance), floors you never hit (monthly minimum), and leases — those are the usual sources of avoidable cost. Anything you still can't place is exactly the kind of thing a free review exists to explain.