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Below
are even more fees
most banks and
processors are currently
charging Texas
businesses
Account
Maintenance Fee
- The account
Maintenance fee is
charged by the
provider to
perform changes to
the merchant
account after it
has been set up.
Changing address
information,
banking
information, and
business name
would all be
considered account
maintenance tasks
and may incur an
account
maintenance fee.
ACH
Reject Fee
- An ACH reject
fee is charged
when a processor
tries to
electronically
withdraw fees for
processing
services and there
is an insufficient
balance in the
merchant's
account. The
merchant bank
(your bank)
rejects the
processors ACH
draft request and
the processor
charges an ACH
reject fee for
their troubles. An
ACH reject fee is
very similar to a
returned check fee
that is charged by
a bank when a
check is written
against an account
with insufficient
funds.
Annual
Fee
- An annual fee is
a yearly flat fee
charged to
maintain a
merchant account.
Application
Fee
- An application
fee is charged to
process the
merchant account
application
paperwork.
Authorization
Fee
- An authorization
fee is charged
when credit card
processing
equipment obtains
an authorization
for a transaction.
AVS
Fee (Address
Verification
Service)
- The AVS fee is
charged when a
credit card
transaction is
processed and the
customer's billing
address and zip
code are entered
into the credit
card equipment.
The billing
information
provided is
compared to the
information on
file at the
issuing bank and a
"Y" (or
similar positive
code) is returned
if the addresses
match and an
"N" (or
similar negative
code) is returned
if the addresses
don't match. The
fee that is
charged to perform
this service is
called an AVS fee.
Batch
Header Fee
- A batch header
fee is charged
when a batch of
credit card
authorizations is
sent to the
processor for
settlement. Every
time a merchant
clears their batch
they will be
charged a batch
header fee.
Cancellation
Fee
- A cancellation
fee is charged
when a merchant
terminates their
merchant account
with the processor
or merchant
service provider.
The cancellation
fee may or may not
be governed by
time constraints,
meaning that it
may be waived
after an account
remains open for a
certain amount of
time.
Change
Fee
- A change fee is
very similar to an
account
maintenance fee
and is charged
when changes need
to be made to an
existing merchant
account. For
instance, a
request made by a
merchant to have
banking
information
changed on an
existing merchant
account may incur
a change fee.
Chargeback
Fee
- A chargeback fee
is charged when a
customer issues a
chargeback against
a merchant.
Chargeback fees
are usually
charged regardless
of whether or not
a merchant wins
the chargeback
dispute.
Debit
Network Fee
- A debit network
fee is usually
charged on a
monthly basis to
allow a merchant
access to the
various debit card
networks.
Discount
Rate
- The discount
rate is the
percentage of a
transaction that
is charged as a
processing fee.
Discount rates
often account for
the majority of
fees on a merchant
statement and they
are also the most
unpredictable and
complicated of all
fees. The next
section is
dedicated entirely
to the important
topic of discount
rates.
Qualified Discount
/ Mid-Qualified
Discount /
Non-Qualified
Discount
Early
Termination Fee
- An early
termination fee is
charged when a
merchant
terminates their
merchant account
prior to the
expiration date
declared in their
merchant
processing
agreement (MPA).
For instance, a
merchant will
incur an early
cancellation fee
if they sign a
three-year
merchant account
contract and
cancel the
merchant account
two years later.
Some merchant
accounts have a
prorated early
termination fee
schedule where the
termination fee is
decreased the
longer an account
remains open.
Gateway
Fee
- A gateway fee is
a monthly fee that
is charged to gain
access to an
online payment
processing
gateway.
Help
Desk Fee
- The help desk
fee is a fee that
is charged for
customer service
related issues.
The help desk fee
is charged when a
merchant calls the
processor or
merchant service
provider for
assistance with
their merchant
account.
Monthly
Minimum
- A monthly
minimum is the
lowest amount of
fees that a
processor will
charge in a
monthly period. If
a merchant does
not meet the
monthly minimum
amount in any
given month they
will incur an
additional charge
that is equal to
the difference
between the actual
fees on their
merchant account
and the monthly
minimum amount.
For instance, a
merchant would
have to pay an
additional $10 in
a month where the
fees on their
account totaled
$15 and their
monthly minimum is
set at $25.
Over
Limit Fee
- An over limit
fee is expressed
as a percentage of
sales that will be
charged if a
merchant processes
in excess of the
monthly processing
volume that they
declared in their
merchant
processing
agreement (MPA).
For instance, if a
merchant declares
$5,000 a month in
processing volume
and processes
$7,000, $2,000 of
their total sales
are subject to an
over limit fee.
Over limit fees
can be as much as
%5.
PIN
Debit Fee
- A PIN debit fee
is charged when a
customer pays for
products or
services using
their debit card
by entering their
personal
identification
number (PIN) into
an encrypted PIN
pad.
Reprogramming
Fee
- A reprogramming
fee is charged
when a provider
reprograms
existing credit
card processing
equipment to
function with a
merchant account
that they issue.
Reprogramming fees
may be charged for
all processing
equipment
including
terminals,
gateways, and
software.
Reserve
Account
Maintenance Fee
- A reserve
account
maintenance fee is
charged when a
processor must
keep a rolling
reserve for a
merchant. Reserve
Account
maintenance fees
are typically flat
monthly fees.
Retrieval
Fee
- A retrieval fee
is charged when a
processor notifies
a merchant of a
chargeback against
their account, and
requests that they
return supporting
documentation to
validate the
charge in
question. When the
merchant returns
the documentation
requested by the
processor their
account is
assessed a
retrieval fee.
Return
Fee
- The return fee
is charged when a
customer's
purchase is
reversed and funds
are restored to
their account.
Returns do not
incur a percentage
discount charge,
but instead are
charged a flat
return fee.
Set-up
Fee
- A set up fee is
usually charged by
a merchant service
provider after the
merchant account
application
process has been
completed and the
account has been
approved. The
provider will then
charge a fee to
complete the set
up of the merchant
account.
Signature
Debit Fee
- A signature
debit fee is
charged when a
customer uses
their debit card
like a credit card
to pay for
products or
services. Instead
of entering their
PIN number into a
keypad the
customer's card is
swiped through a
terminal. In order
for a debit card
to be charged via
swiping there must
be a VISA or
MasterCard logo on
the face of the
card. Debit cards
that have a VISA
or MasterCard logo
are called check
cards.
Statement
Fee
- A statement fee
is a flat monthly
fee that is
charged to
facilitate the
mailing of monthly
merchant bankcard
statements. The
statement fee may
be incorporated
into a number of
different fees
such as a monthly
maintenance fee,
support fee, or
monthly account
fee. Some
providers will
waive the
statement fee if a
merchant agrees to
view their monthly
merchant
statements online
instead of
receiving a paper
statement.
Transaction
Fee
- A transaction
fee is charged
every time a
merchant's
processing
equipment contacts
the processor to
get or give
information. The
transaction fee
can often
piggyback other
fees such as a
return fee or a
batch header fee.
Voice
Authorization Fee
- A voice
authorization fee
is charged when a
merchant contacts
the processor via
telephone to
verbally authorize
a credit card
transaction.
Watts
Surcharge
- A
WATTs
surcharge is
charged when a
credit card
processing
terminal is unable
to contact the
processor using
the default
telephone number
and it must roll
over to a
toll-free number
instead. Most
terminals are
programmed to call
a local number
that is routed to
the processor.
There is no charge
for local phone
service so no
charge is
assessed. However,
if the local line
is busy or
otherwise
inaccessible the
terminal will dial
the toll-free
number and a
WATTs
surcharge will be
assessed to the
merchant's
account.
Wireless
Service Fee
- A wireless
service fee is
charged on a
wireless merchant
account by a
carrier to provide
wireless service
making it possible
for a merchant to
process credit
cards remotely.
The wireless fee
is usually a flat
monthly fee that
allows a merchant
unlimited access
to the wireless
network.
Wireless
Transaction Fee
- A wireless
transaction fee is
charged in
addition to the
merchant account
transaction fee on
wireless merchant
accounts. The
wireless
transaction fee is
usually charged by
the wireless
network provider
and not by the
merchant service
provider.
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