How to read your merchant processing statement

Start with the billing period

Confirm the statement dates. Identify gross card volume, refunds, adjustments and settled volume. Use a consistent processing-volume denominator for your calculations.

Look for these fee categories

• Interchange: charges associated with card transactions that depend on card and transaction characteristics.
• Network assessments: card network charges, which may appear as pass-through items.
• Processor markup: additional percentage or per-transaction pricing charged by the processing provider.
• Monthly service charges: statement, gateway, PCI-related or other account fees that may be applicable.
• Other charges: items such as chargebacks, retrievals or hardware that may need separate treatment in comparisons.

Calculate a consistent effective rate

Use the monthly processing fees you wish to compare divided by the card sales for the corresponding month. Keep your definition consistent across alternative quotes.

Review the complete contract

A rate comparison should consider any equipment lease, processing minimum, integration fees, support terms, cancellation conditions and business-critical features.

Protect your financial information

Never submit cardholder data, full account numbers or confidential merchant statements through an unfamiliar form. Our public calculator requires only two aggregate dollar amounts; it does not ask you to upload statements.