Insights
Insights
Plain explanations of how card processing actually works, written for owners rather than for search engines.
Cash discount vs surcharge: two ways to pass on card costs, and why the law treats them differently
A cash discount and a card surcharge can end at the same price, but they are not the same thing in law. Here is the difference, what each one requires, and how a cash discount program works day to day.
6 min read
How to read a merchant services statement
Work out your real effective rate in about ten minutes, and learn which line items on a card processing statement are unavoidable, which are markup, and which are pure junk.
7 min read
Interchange vs markup: which part of a card fee you can actually change
A card processing fee is not one number. One part is set by the card networks and cannot be discounted by anyone; one part is set by your provider and is the only thing that ever moves. Knowing which is which is the whole game when you compare offers.
6 min read
Merchant statement fee glossary: what every line actually means
A card processing statement can list a dozen fees, and the names are built to be forgettable. Here is what each line means in plain English — which are the network floor nobody can discount, which your provider sets, and which are add-ons worth a question.
8 min read
PCI fees and equipment leases: the two statement lines you can actually control
Interchange is fixed and markup is negotiated, but two lines on most card processing statements are neither — the PCI non-compliance fee and the equipment lease. Here is what each one is and how to remove or avoid it.
6 min read
What your effective rate is — and how to work out yours in ten minutes
The effective rate is the one number that lets you compare any two card processing offers on equal terms. Here is what it means, why the headline number you were quoted is not it, and how to calculate your own from a single statement.
5 min read