The short answer
Credit card processing fees are what a business pays to accept card payments, and they have three parts: interchange, which goes to the bank that issued the card; card network fees, often called assessments, set by Visa, Mastercard and the other networks; and your provider's markup plus any account fees. The first two are set by the networks, not by your provider. The markup and account fees are set in your merchant agreement, and they are the part you can compare and negotiate. To see what you really pay, divide one month's total fees by that month's card sales: the result is your effective rate.
The three parts of every card fee
Visa's interchange document says merchants do not pay interchange directly: they pay a merchant discount to their financial institution, which can bundle a variety of processing services. Visa's Core Rules (18 April 2026) describe the US merchant discount rate as the interchange rate, network set fees and the acquirer's own processing fees. In plain terms, every card sale carries a cost that goes to the card-issuing bank, a cost that goes to the card network, and your provider's margin. Account fees billed by the month or the year sit on top of all three.
| Part | Set by | Paid to | Negotiable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interchange | The card network's published schedule | The bank that issued the card | No. Same schedule whichever provider you use |
| Network fees (assessments) | Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and other networks | The card network | No |
| Processor markup | Your provider, in your merchant agreement | Your processor or acquirer | Yes |
| Account fees (monthly, annual, PCI, batch) | Your provider, in your merchant agreement | Your processor or acquirer | Yes |
What makes interchange higher or lower
Interchange is not one rate. Visa's US schedule lists separate fee programs by card type (debit, regular credit, rewards, business), by how the card is taken (tapped or inserted, typed in, or online) and by type of business. Debit cards from large banks are regulated in the US under the Federal Reserve's Regulation II, which caps their interchange; debit cards from smaller banks are not capped. The rows below are interchange only, from one network, for debit cards. They show why two sales of the same amount can cost different amounts.
| Visa fee program | How the sale is taken | Interchange |
|---|---|---|
| CPS/Retail, Debit (exempt) | Card present at a retail merchant | 0.80% + $0.15 |
| CPS/Retail Key Entry, Debit (exempt) | Card number typed in | 1.65% + $0.15 |
| CPS/Retail, Debit (regulated, large-bank debit) | Card present at a retail merchant | 0.05% + $0.21 (plus $0.01 for issuers that meet Visa's fraud-prevention standard) |
Flat rate, interchange-plus and tiered pricing
Providers package the same three parts in different ways. The pricing model decides how much of your bill you can actually see. Ask your provider which model you are on before you compare quotes.
| Model | How it is billed | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Flat rate | One percentage, often plus a per-sale fee, for most cards | Whether keyed-in and online sales are billed at a different rate |
| Interchange-plus | Interchange and network fees passed through at cost, plus a stated markup | The markup (percentage and per-sale) and the monthly fees |
| Tiered | Sales sorted into buckets such as qualified, mid-qualified and non-qualified, each with its own rate | Which sales land in the higher buckets; the provider decides the sorting |
Extra fees to look for on your statement
The per-sale rate is only part of the bill. Account fees are set by your provider, so there is no network rate to look them up against: the amounts are whatever your agreement says. Read each line below against your own fee schedule, and ask in writing about any line you cannot match to a service.
| Fee | What it is | Question to ask your provider |
|---|---|---|
| PCI non-compliance fee | Charged when your provider has no record that you validated PCI DSS | Which questionnaire and scans do you need from me to stop it? |
| Statement fee | A monthly charge for producing your statement | Is there a no-fee electronic statement? |
| Batch fee | A charge each time your terminal closes a batch | Is this per batch, and how many batches did I pay for? |
| Monthly minimum | A top-up charge if your processing fees fall below a set amount | What is the minimum, and did I pay a top-up this month? |
| Annual fee | A yearly account charge, often billed once in a single month | Which month is it billed, and what does it pay for? |
| Gateway fee | A monthly and per-sale charge for online or virtual terminal payments | Do I still use the gateway I am paying for? |
| Chargeback fee | A charge each time a customer disputes a sale | Is it charged even when I win the dispute? |
| Early termination fee | A charge for closing your account before the term ends | What would leaving cost today, and does it apply to equipment too? |
How to work out your effective rate
Take one month's statement. Add every fee on it, including monthly and annual lines, and divide by that month's total card sales, then multiply by 100. Illustrative numbers only, not a quote and not a typical rate: a month with $20,000 in card sales and $560 in total fees gives 560 ÷ 20,000 × 100 = 2.8%. Repeat for three months so one unusual month does not mislead you. Two things move the number more than people expect. Fixed per-sale fees weigh more on small sales: ten cents is 1% of a $10 sale but 0.1% of a $100 sale. Monthly fees weigh more on low volume: $70 of monthly fees on $15,000 of card sales is about 0.47% by itself. The savings calculator on this site runs the same arithmetic on your own numbers.
Canada: what is different
The same three parts apply in Canada, with Canadian interchange schedules. The Government of Canada announced in December 2023 that Visa and Mastercard agreed to lower domestic consumer credit interchange for eligible small businesses, with in-store rates reduced to an annual weighted average of 0.95%, a 10 basis point reduction online, and new rates from fall 2024. Eligibility was set by annual sales volume: under $300,000 on Visa and under $175,000 on Mastercard. Interchange is only one part of your bill, so check whether your own statement shows the change. Interac debit is priced differently from credit cards; ask your provider how it bills Interac on your account. The Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada also sets notice and disclosure rules for fee changes.
Passing the cost on: surcharging and dual pricing
Some businesses add a surcharge to credit card sales or show two prices, one for cash and one for card. Both have rules. Visa's US merchant surcharge Q&A limits a surcharge to credit cards, at no more than your merchant discount rate or 3%, whichever is lower, with 30 days' notice to your acquirer. Several states add their own conditions or limits, and in Quebec the Consumer Protection Act does not allow a surcharge on consumers. Check the rules for your state or province, and ask your processor or a lawyer before you start. This is general information, not legal advice.
How CELER Merchants can help
CELER Merchants is an independent merchant services agent, not a bank or a payment processor. Send one recent statement and we label every fee line, show your effective rate and tell you which pricing model you are on, usually within 4 hours. If you want to compare, we ask the processors we work with to quote on your real volume, in writing. If your current deal is already competitive, we say so.
About the rate tables on this page: Visa is the only card network that publishes a public US merchant interchange schedule, so the rate tables on this site are Visa-only. Mastercard, American Express and Discover do not publish an equivalent US merchant schedule, and their rates are neither shown above nor implied by these figures. Ask your processor for the rates that apply to each network on your account.
Key takeaways
- Every card fee has three parts: interchange, network fees and your provider's markup
- Interchange and network fees are set by the networks; markup and account fees are set by your provider
- Effective rate = all fees ÷ card sales × 100, checked over three months
- Account fees such as PCI, statement and batch fees are set in your agreement, so ask about each one
- Surcharging and dual pricing have network and state or provincial rules; check before you start
Related guides
- Your effective rate
- Interchange explained
- Flat rate vs interchange-plus
- Hidden processing fees: a line-by-line checklist
- What is a PCI non-compliance fee?
- Credit card surcharge laws by state
- Cash discount vs surcharging (dual pricing)
- Average credit card processing fees
- Savings calculator
- Free statement analysis
Sources
- Visa – Visa USA Interchange Reimbursement Fees (18 April 2026) (checked 2026-10-14)
- Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (18 April 2026) (checked 2026-10-14)
- Visa – The Visa System: Rates, Fees and Rules (checked 2026-10-14)
- Visa – U.S. Merchant Surcharge Q&A, version 02152024 (checked 2026-10-13)
- Federal Reserve – Regulation II (Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing) (checked 2026-10-14)
- Government of Canada – Finalized agreements with Visa and Mastercard to lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses, December 2023 (checked 2026-10-14)
- LégisQuébec, Consumer Protection Act (CQLR c P-40.1), s. 224
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