The short answer
Regulatory compliance fees, IRS reporting fees, network compliance fees and similar charges have no external cost behind them. No regulator bills your processor for them. They exist because the name discourages questions, and merchants who do not ask keep paying $5 to $25 a month indefinitely.
How to test any fee
Ask one question in writing: who receives this money, and what is their published rate? Genuine pass-through costs — interchange, assessments, network access — have public figures. Invented ones produce vague answers.
What to do when you find one
Request removal and a refund of prior charges in writing. If refused, price the account elsewhere. A provider defending an invented fee is telling you what the rest of the relationship looks like.
Key takeaways
- Real pass-through fees have published rates you can verify
- Ask in writing who receives the money
- Refusal to explain a fee is your answer
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