What Are Merchant Service Provider Fees?

Merchant Account Statement

Merchant service provider fees are those charges that a merchant account holder (a business that accepts credit cards) will pay for the ability to accept credit cards for payment.

Transaction Fees

Transaction fees are fixed rates that are charged per payment received by a credit card and typically range between 15 and 30 cents each.

Discount Rates

Discount rate is not a discount to you, but a portion of the sale paid to the merchant service provider and distributed in part to the credit card network and the issuing bank as well. The discount rate is calculated as a percentage of each credit card sale made and often ranges between 1.5 and 2.9 percent.

Keyed Vs. Swiped Discount Rates

Discount rates for a swiped transaction (where the credit card is present) are generally lower by as much as 1/3 to 1/2 the rate for those transactions manually keyed in (such as telephone, online or faxed orders).

Monthly Account Maintenance Fees

Monthly account maintenance fees typically range between $5 and $20.

Statement Fees

Statement fees are often around $5 per month, but this fee may be eliminated if you opt for a paperless (emailed) statement.

Collection of Fees

These fees are usually directly debited from the merchant's bank account that receives the payments credited from transaction processed.

References

• Understanding Service Provider Rates