The short answer
Assessments are fees paid to the card networks themselves, separate from interchange, which goes to the issuing bank. They are published, small, and identical for every processor. Because merchants know they cannot be negotiated, some providers quietly inflate them and present the difference as cost.
How to check yours
Find the assessment line on your statement, calculate it as a percentage of the corresponding card-brand volume, and compare against the published figure for that network. A gap is margin, not cost.
Network access fees
Alongside percentage assessments, networks charge small per-transaction access fees. These are also published, also fixed, and also frequently marked up by a fraction of a cent per transaction — which adds up quickly at volume.
Key takeaways
- Assessments go to the card networks, interchange goes to the issuing bank
- Both are public and identical across processors
- Inflated assessment lines are a common and checkable form of hidden markup
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