Fees & Pricing

Building card costs into your pricing and margins

Credit card fees and profit margin: a worked example of how card costs affect margin, and practical ways to build them into your store's pricing.

Jul 17, 20264 min read

Fees & Pricing

Monthly minimum processing fees: questions to ask

A monthly minimum fee in credit card processing charges the gap when your fees fall short. See how it works, a worked example, and what to ask a provider.

Jul 13, 20264 min read

Fees & Pricing

Daily vs. monthly discounting: how fees leave your deposits

Daily vs monthly discount billing explained: how card fees leave your deposits under each method, why deposits look different, and how to reconcile them.

Jul 4, 20264 min read

Fees & Pricing

Effective rate: the one number to find on your statement

Effective rate credit card processing, explained: how to calculate it from your statement, what moves it each month, and how to use it to compare plans.

Jul 3, 20264 min read

Fees & Pricing

Card network assessment fees, explained

Card network assessment fees, explained: what they are, how they differ from interchange, how they appear on statements, and what a small store can do.

Jul 1, 20264 min read

Fees & Pricing

The twenty-minute annual statement audit

Once a year, read the statement properly. A short routine that finds rate drift, dead services and fees you stopped needing.

May 18, 20264 min read

Fees & Pricing

Cash and credit pricing at the pump

Fuel has posted two prices for decades. What makes forecourt dual pricing different from in-store, and what the sign rules turn on.

Apr 3, 20265 min read

Fees & Pricing

Surcharge signage and receipt disclosure, done properly

A surcharge program that is not disclosed correctly is the part that generates complaints. What has to be posted, where, and what the receipt must show.

Mar 30, 20264 min read

Fees & Pricing

Surcharge, convenience fee, service fee: three different things

These three terms describe three different charges with three different rule sets. Mixing them up is how a store ends up out of compliance.

Mar 28, 20265 min read

Fees & Pricing

Why a transaction downgrades, and what it costs you

A downgrade is a card sale that failed to qualify for the rate it was quoted at. The usual causes are late settlement, missing data, and keyed entry.

Mar 2, 20264 min read

Fees & Pricing

Assessments, dues, and markup: who gets which cents

A card fee splits three ways: interchange to the issuing bank, assessments to the card network, and markup to your processor. Only one is negotiable.

Feb 28, 20264 min read

Fees & Pricing

What the Durbin Amendment did to what you pay on debit

The Durbin Amendment capped debit interchange for large issuers and gave merchants routing choice. What the rule actually says, and what it left out.

Feb 27, 20265 min read

Fees & Pricing

Early termination fees and long contracts: what to ask first

Merchant account contract terms worth reading twice: early termination fees, auto-renewal windows, and the equipment lease trap.

Jan 30, 20265 min read

Fees & Pricing

Should your store set a card minimum? Rules and etiquette

Credit card minimum purchase rules in plain terms: what federal law and card networks allow, the arithmetic behind minimums, and how to post one politely.

Dec 17, 20255 min read

Fees & Pricing

Are credit card surcharges legal? A state-by-state caution guide

Credit card surcharge laws by state vary and keep changing. What a surcharge is, what card networks require, and how to check before posting a fee.

Dec 15, 20255 min read

Fees & Pricing

How to lower credit card processing costs the legitimate way

Practical ways to lower credit card processing fees: cleaner card entry, on-time batching, fewer disputes, and a pricing model that fits your tickets.

Dec 3, 20255 min read

Fees & Pricing

How much does credit card processing cost a small store?

Average credit card processing fees matter less than your own effective rate. Learn what drives processing costs and how to calculate yours in minutes.

Dec 1, 20255 min read