ProcessingPoint.com >> Retail Merchant Accounts >> Merchant Account Fee

Merchant Account Fee

Application and Start Up Costs

Companies will charge a setup fee for the type of Account your setting up. For example an Internet Merchant account would sometimes require and Setup cost for the gateway that is provided. ProcessingPoint does not charge a setup fee for ANY account. Application costs are sometimes charged for the work to underwrite and processing an application. These fees can initially cost a merchant up to $100. ProcessingPoint does NOT Charge any application fees no matter what the account setup.

Qualified, Mid & Non-Qual Rate

In the merchant services industry their are many different costs based on the type of transaction and card type from Visa and MasterCard. These transactions are based on they type of card issued to the consumer. Since there are many different transactions types, a merchant service provider will break these fees into three categories. ProcessingPoint has gone one step further and lead the industry into 4 teir pricing for giving savings on the CheckCard Rate. In the past Checkcards would fall into the first teir, while the cost for this cost was substantially lower to the merchant service provider. Every merchant service provider has these types of costs.

  • Qualified Discount Rate

    The Qualified Rate is what is marketed to the merchant. Anytime you hear about a discount rate, this is probably what is being referred. This is the transaction that you should be receiving the majority of the time if your account is correctly setup. In retail, this rate would be for card swiped transactions. For typical based credit card transactions. ProcessingPoint charges 1.75% for this retail rate and 2.29% for Internet and Phone Order Accounts.

  • Mid-Qualified Rate

    The MidQualified rate is also known as the Partially Qualified rate. This rate is usually for key entered transactions for a retail merchant account. This rate is added to the qualified rate. ProcessingPoint charges 1.00% for Mid Qualified.

  • Non-Qualified Rate

    NonQualified transactions are the highest in the industry. These transactions are due to Corporate Business Cards, International Cards, and no match of address verfication or untimely manner of settlement of transactions. This rate is added to the qualified rate. ProcessingPoint charges 1.27% for non qualified transactions. D. CheckCard Rate

Transaction Fee (aka Authorization, Per Item, Per Inquiry, Interchange Fees, etc.)

A transaction fee is a set amount you are charged for each transaction (sale) you process. Since there is no standard terminology in our industry, some companies may call this fee any number of different names.

Address Verification Service (AVS)

Address Verification Service (AVS) is a fraud prevention service which validates the cardholder's billing address provided in the order against the card issuing bank's records. You must use this service on all keyed-in transactions or they will automatically downgrade to your non-qualified rate.

Batch Fee (aka Batch Header, Settlement, Daily Closeout, etc.)

Your transactions must be closed out within 24 hours of processing (once a day) or it will automatically downgrade to the non-qualified rate. This fee covers the expenses involved with your terminal or account accessing our processing network to close out the transactions. Batching out once a day is sufficient for most merchants. If you do not process anything for a particular day, then it will not apply.

Monthly Statement / Customer Service Fee

There is no standard terminology for the monthly fees charged by merchant providers. The main purpose of this fee isn't to cover the expenses of mailing out a statement, but the costs associated with having customer service available 24 hours a day.

Monthly Minimum Fee

We prefer our accounts to come with a $20.00 monthly minimum. The logic behind it is we do not make any money unless you process. We calculate the minimum by multiplying your discount rate against your total sales for the given month. This amount is then subtracted from the $20.00 minimum and you are charged the difference. For example, you processed $888 in sales for the month, that is $888 X 1.69% = $15.00. Subtract $15.00 from $20.00 and you would be charged the $5.00 difference. If you processed $1,200, then there would be NO minimum charge as it equals $20.28, which exceeds the minimum. Keep in mind you are charged the difference and not a flat $20.00.

Annual Fee (aka yearly membership fee)

Many providers will lure customers in with very low rates or even free terminals, but impose an annual fee that is buried in the fine print.

Contractual Terms & Cancellation / Termination Fee

We prefer our accounts to come with a two year agreement and an early cancellation fee of $99. You may be thinking, "what if I'm not satisfied with your service?" We completely understand your concern and rest assure our company's reputation stands for quality service. Take a look at what our customers have to say here. The main reason we prefer this type of agreement is for the significant cost we incur to board any single merchant. As an example, for merchants using Authorize.net, we are charged a setup fee by them. The process of setting up a merchant account is similar to getting a business loan. Your application travels through multiple channels and requires significant company resources.

For example, the application must be entered into our system, go through the underwriting and approval process, setup by someone from installation, clear the billing department and end its journey at the filing station. This whole process requires the use of several dozen employees working behind the scenes to make it all happen. This doesn't even include your 24/7 customer service department, supplies, etc. In short, the $99 helps us recover all the expenses we incur for any given account that cancels within a short period of time.

Discover Account Activation Fee

If you apply for an account directly through them, they will charge you a $50 setup fee. If you apply through Gotmerchant.com, it will only be $25 and Discover still sets your rate.

Chargeback & Retrieval Fee

A chargeback fee usually applies when a transaction has been disputed by the customer or their issuing bank. A retrieval fee applies when the issuing bank is requesting the original sales draft, such as a signed receipt, order invoice, etc.

Voice Authorization Fee Retail Only

Associated when an issuing bank sends a "Please Call� message to the merchant instead of an authorization number and the merchant must make a phone call. This very seldom occurs.