The Hidden Fees in Your Merchant Statement
From PCI non-compliance to tiered downgrades — a step-by-step guide to reading your statement and auditing your current broker.
What to Look For
Open your statement and check for these line items:
- PCI non-compliance fees ($30–$45/mo)
- Batch fees ($0.25 each)
- Monthly minimums
- Statement fees
- IRS reporting fees
- "Tiered" downgrades that quietly reclassify rewards cards into the highest pricing bucket without telling you
How to Calculate Your True Effective Rate
- 1
Total your card volume
Add up everything you processed for the statement period.
- 2
Add up every line-item fee
Every fee on the statement — processing, PCI, batch, monthly minimum, all of it.
- 3
Divide total fees by total volume
That percentage is your true effective rate — not the "rate" your processor quoted you.
If your true effective rate comes out over 2.2%, your statement is hiding more than it's showing. We audit statements for free, usually with results back within 24 hours.
Get a Free Statement Audit
Send us your statement and we'll break down every line item — no obligation.