Find the Hidden Fees on Your Merchant Processing Statement
Grab last month's processing statement, enter three totals, and tick the fee names you see. In about two minutes you'll know your real effective rate and which charges are worth questioning.
Your statement check
Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
The fees you ticked
Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
About your pricing model
Bring this statement. A payments specialist can walk through it line by line with you. Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
How this works: the assumptions behind your numbers
Every number above comes from the totals you enter plus the assumptions below. Assumptions are estimates, not verified rates.
- Industry average effective rate by segment: retail 2.55%, restaurant 2.75%, ecommerce 3.15%, services 2.90%, healthcare 2.65%, b2b 2.80%, high_risk 4.25%. Source: TouchSuite pricing assumptions file (estimates only; replace with verified figures before launch).
- Comparison tolerance band: ±0.25 percentage points counts as 'close to average'. Source: Tool design assumption to avoid flagging trivial differences.
- Last month is representative: Monthly fee amounts are multiplied by 12 to annualize. Source: Tool design assumption; seasonal businesses should treat annual figures as rough.
- Annual fee frequency: Annual fee entered as a once-a-year amount, multiplied by 1. Source: Tool design assumption.
- Early termination fee: Treated as a one-time cost, not annualized. Source: Tool design assumption.
- Fee classification tags: Interchange and card brand fees tagged 'typically pass-through'; listed account-level fees tagged 'typically processor-set'. Source: General industry structure; actual billing varies by processor and contract, so tags read 'typically'.
- Sanity check bounds: Warn if effective rate is above 15% or below 0.5%. Source: Tool design assumption to catch data-entry mistakes.
Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
How the Hidden Fee Finder works
Your effective rate is the simplest honest number on a processing statement: total fees divided by total card volume for the same month. It folds in every rate, surcharge, and monthly charge, so you can compare it across processors and pricing models even when the statements look nothing alike. This tool calculates it, along with your average cost per transaction and average ticket, and puts it next to a published industry average for your type of business. That average is an assumption, not a benchmark you are guaranteed to hit, because card mix, ticket size, and how cards are accepted all move the number.
Every statement mixes two kinds of cost. Interchange and card brand fees are typically pass-through costs set by the card networks and paid to card-issuing banks and the brands themselves. Everything else is typically set by your processor: the markup plus account-level charges such as statement fees, PCI program or non-compliance fees, annual fees, monthly minimums, batch fees, and regulatory or reporting fees. Pass-through costs are hard to change. Processor-set fees are where questions, and sometimes negotiation, pay off. Ticking the fee names on your statement shows which side of that line each charge usually falls on.
Your pricing model shapes how much you can see. Interchange-plus statements list interchange separately, so markup is visible. Flat-rate pricing bundles everything into one percentage, which is simple but hides the markup. Tiered pricing sorts transactions into Qualified, Mid-Qualified, and Non-Qualified buckets chosen by the processor, usually without showing the underlying interchange, which makes it the hardest model to audit. Whatever model you are on, the next step is the same: list the fees you do not understand and ask your processor to explain each one in writing.
Common questions
How do I calculate my credit card processing effective rate?
Divide the total fees charged last month by the total card volume processed in the same month. For example, $1,310 in fees on $42,000 in sales is an effective rate of about 3.12%. Use numbers from the same statement period, and include every fee section, not just the discount rate.
What is a PCI non-compliance fee on my statement?
It is typically a processor-set monthly charge applied when the processor's records show you have not completed your annual PCI validation, usually a Self-Assessment Questionnaire and, for some setups, network scans. Ask your processor exactly what they need from you to stop the fee and whether past charges can be credited once you finish.
Am I overpaying for credit card processing?
An effective rate well above the published average for your industry, several processor-set account fees, or tiered pricing with frequent Non-Qualified charges are all reasons to ask questions. They are not proof of overpaying, since card mix, ticket size, and keyed versus card-present sales all affect cost. This tool shows where to look first.
Why is tiered pricing hard to audit?
On tiered pricing, the processor decides which transactions fall into the Qualified, Mid-Qualified, or Non-Qualified buckets, and the statement usually does not show the interchange cost underneath. Without that, you cannot separate what the card networks charged from what the processor added.
Are the industry averages in this tool exact?
No. They are estimates based on published industry averages and are labeled as assumptions. Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
Do you store my statement?
You never upload a statement. You type in a few totals and tick fee names. If you request the full report, those numbers are used to build your PDF and so a payments specialist can follow up if you want help.