The three layers of every card fee
Every card transaction carries three cost layers. Two are set outside your provider's control. One is where providers actually compete.
Interchange
Paid to the card-issuing bank. Set by the card networks, identical for every processor, and varies by card type and entry method.
Assessments
Paid to Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express. Also fixed and identical across providers.
Processor markup
What your provider charges above cost. This is the negotiable layer and the one worth comparing.
Per-transaction versus monthly fees
Per-transaction costs scale with volume. Monthly costs do not. A business with a high count of small tickets is affected most by per-item charges, while a low-volume business feels flat monthly charges more sharply.
This is why two businesses can be quoted the same headline rate and end up with very different effective costs.
Common monthly items
Statement, service, gateway, PCI program and hardware or software charges.
Common per-item items
Authorization, transaction and batch fees applied to each sale or each settlement.
Incidental items
Chargeback handling, retrieval requests, voice authorization and non-compliance charges.
The effective rate, and why it is the only fair comparison
Effective rate is total processing cost divided by total card volume for the same period. It captures every fee, not just the advertised one.
Compare providers on effective rate over a full month of your own volume rather than on a quoted percentage. A quote describes one line; the effective rate describes your bill.
Fees that usually signal something fixable
Some charges point at a configuration issue rather than a pricing issue. Downgrades from missing data, excess batch fees from multiple daily batches, or PCI non-compliance charges are usually correctable without changing providers at all.
A review should tell you which of your costs are structural, which are markup and which are simply avoidable.
Frequently asked questions
What is a downgrade?
A transaction that fails to qualify for the interchange category it should have hit, usually because required data was missing or the card was keyed rather than present. It settles at a higher interchange tier.
Are PCI fees required?
Programs vary by provider. Non-compliance charges usually stop once your annual self-assessment questionnaire is completed and on file.
Is a lower advertised rate always cheaper?
No. A low headline rate paired with high per-item and monthly charges can produce a higher effective rate than a plainer structure.
Will you quote a rate before reviewing my statement?
No. Pricing depends on business type, volume, ticket size and risk profile, so it is reviewed individually and remains subject to underwriting approval.
Want a second opinion on your setup?
Tell us how you take payments today and a BSV Solution specialist will walk through the options with you. Eligibility and processor selection are reviewed individually, subject to underwriting approval.