PAYMENTS AND CARD PROCESSING QUESTIONS.

Because the fee stops coming out of your margin, not because it vanishes. Interchange rates and fees are set by the card networks and banks, and nobody can switch them off. A $0-fee program changes who pays them, usually through a compliant surcharge or cash-discount structure. The name describes what you see on your side of the sale. How that structure is built for your business is walked through before setup. See websites + payments.

The cost of accepting the card is passed through at the point of sale, either as a surcharge on card payments or as a difference between a posted price and a cash price. Which of the two applies depends on card-network rules and the law in your state or province, and both need the same care in how they are disclosed. We walk through what applies to your business before anything is set up, and nothing on this page is legal advice.

Not under the surcharge route. Visa's U.S. requirements limit surcharging to credit transactions, and Mastercard's U.S. rules likewise prohibit surcharging on debit cards, so a surcharge does not cover every card you take. This is one of the honest trade-offs in our guide to lowering card fees. How your particular card mix would be handled is part of what we look at on the call.

No. Sometimes a better-priced interchange-plus account is the right answer instead, especially if you would rather not put a card fee or a cash price difference in front of customers. A $0-fee setup suits businesses with meaningful card volume that want the cost off their margin and are willing to handle the signage and receipt requirements. Our guide lays out the trade-offs so you can decide with open eyes.

Some will, and some will not like it. That is the first trade-off we list in our guide to lowering card fees. Clear signage helps, and the rules require disclosure at the point of entry and the point of sale anyway, but not everyone will be happy with a card fee or a cash price difference. If you expect pushback from your customers, a plain interchange-plus account may fit better.

Four things, and we put them in writing. Some customers dislike a card fee or a cash price difference. Surcharging is credit-only under Visa and Mastercard U.S. rules, so not every card is covered. It adds compliance work: notice, signage, receipts and keeping up with rule changes. And it may not suit every business, where a better-priced interchange-plus account is the answer instead. Your savings, if any, depend on your volume, card mix and setup.

No. Haven Med Spa and Mercado Central are example projects that show what we would set up, including $0-fee card processing. They are not client results or a forecast for you. See Haven Med Spa and Mercado Central.

Rates, fees, equipment and every other cost of processing are set in your separate agreement with the processor, not by us, so we do not quote a number here. Bring a recent statement to the call and we will show you what a $0-fee setup would look like for your business next to what you pay now. Plans and pricing for the website side are covered on the same call. See websites + payments.

Card network fees passed between the merchant's bank and the cardholder's bank on each card sale. Visa describes interchange reimbursement fees as transfer fees between the acquiring bank and the issuing bank. It is set by the networks, varies by card type and by how the card is taken, and it is the layer of your card cost you can least control. Short definition in our glossary, longer one in the guide.

No. Visa notes that merchants do not pay interchange directly; they pay a "merchant discount" to their own financial institution, which is typically a percentage per transaction. Interchange sits inside that discount, along with network fees and whatever your processor adds on top. That is why the pricing model matters: on some models you can see the interchange and the markup separately, and on others they are blended into one number.

Charges from the card brands themselves, usually small line items on your statement. They are the second of the three layers of a card fee, sitting between interchange and your processor's markup. Like interchange, they are set outside your processor and are not the place to look for savings. The layer you can most often change is the markup. Our guide explains all three.

Markup is what your processor or reseller adds on top of interchange and network fees for their service, equipment and support. It is the layer you can most often change, either by asking your current processor in writing to itemize it and remove fees you do not use, or by getting quotes from other providers on the same statements. The practical point is that you rarely control interchange, but you can control how much is added on top and how clearly it is shown to you.

Because interchange varies by card type and by how the card is taken. A rewards credit card, a debit card and a card keyed in by hand can each land on a different interchange rate. On an interchange-plus account those differences show up plainly; on a flat rate they are averaged into one blended number, with the markup hidden inside. This is also why accurate transaction data and taking cards the way your setup expects can affect what you pay.

You pay the actual interchange and network costs, plus a stated markup. It is the most transparent model because the markup is visible, which is why we suggest asking every provider for pricing on interchange-plus terms so quotes can be compared like for like. It is also the model we point to when a $0-fee program is not the right fit for a business. See the pricing models section of our guide.

Nothing is wrong with it as such; it is one blended rate for most transactions, and it is simple to predict. The drawback is that the markup is hidden inside the blend, so you cannot see how much of the rate is interchange and how much is the processor. No model is right for every business. What matters is that you can see the markup and compare it like for like, and flat rate makes that harder.

They are buckets in tiered pricing. Transactions are sorted into tiers such as "qualified" and "non-qualified", each with its own rate, and the processor decides what lands in which bucket. That makes tiered pricing hard to compare with anything else, because two processors can sort the same card sale differently. If your statement uses these labels, ask in writing for pricing on interchange-plus terms so you can see the markup on its own.

A recurring fee plus costs passed through at or near interchange. It can suit a business with steady volume because the markup is a fixed amount rather than a percentage, but the fixed charge is there whether you have a busy month or a quiet one. As with every model, the test is whether you can see the markup and compare it like for like with other quotes. Our guide covers all four models.

There is no model that is right for every business, so we do not pick one for you before we have seen your statement. What matters is that you can see the markup and compare it like for like across quotes. Interchange-plus makes that easiest, flat rate and tiered make it hardest. Bring a recent statement to the call and we will show you which model you are on now and what the alternatives would look like.

Yes. Accurate transaction data and taking cards in the way your setup expects can affect which interchange rate applies. This is one of the avoidable costs on your side that our guide lists alongside negotiating the markup. It is not a substitute for a well-priced account, but it is worth checking with your provider how your equipment is configured before you assume the rate itself is the problem.

No. We are an independent broker and do not sell equipment or process payments. Terminals come through the third-party provider you are set up with, such as Clover, Elavon or TSYS, and equipment, funding times and terms are governed by your agreement with that provider. What we do is make sure the equipment planned for you fits the structure being set up, including the receipt and disclosure requirements.

They are the ones we name on the site as examples of the third-party providers we broker, and they appear in our Terms of Service alongside Stripe, which handles our own plan payments. Which provider fits your business depends on your volume, card mix, industry and equipment, and on the provider's own approval, so it is settled on the call rather than in advance. We are independent and not affiliated with any of them.

That depends on your agreement with the provider, which governs equipment along with rates, funding times and termination. Before you commit, check whether the equipment is bought or leased, and what the lease says about ending early; an equipment lease is one of the things our guide tells you to look for before any switch. Read the provider's paperwork on this point rather than assuming.

It depends on what you have. Equipment, funding times and terms are governed by your agreement with the provider, so we look at what you have before anything changes. A surcharge setup has to be able to itemize the fee on the receipt, which is one practical test. Bring your statement and contract details, tell us what terminal you use, and we will say on the call whether it stays or goes.

You contact the provider. Outages, holds, reserves and terminations are matters between you and the processor under your agreement with them; we do not process, hold, route or settle transactions and are not liable for a processor's acts or omissions, as our Terms of Service set out. The people who built your site still answer the phone and can point you to the right place, but the fix comes from the provider.

The website, directly: you get a line to the people who built it, nights included. The terminal is supported by the provider it came from, because your processing relationship is governed entirely by your agreement with that processor. We will help you find the right contact and understand what you are looking at, but we are not the processor and cannot change how your account is run. See websites + payments.

We introduce you to a processor and help you get set up; we are not a bank, a payment processor, an acquirer, a money transmitter or a money services business, and we do not process, hold, route or settle card transactions or funds. Once you sign with the processor, that agreement governs the relationship. Our Terms of Service spell this out in the section headed merchant processing, broker only.

Two, for two different things. Our plans are a contract with the company named in our Terms of Service, which also operates CELER Merchants. The processing itself is a separate agreement between you and the third-party processor, such as Clover, Elavon or TSYS, and that agreement controls rates, fees, equipment and termination. Read both. See Terms of Service.

No. Clover, Elavon, TSYS, Stripe and all other marks are the property of their respective owners, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting as an agent with authority to bind any of them unless expressly stated in writing. We are an independent broker that works with them as third-party providers. That independence is why we can tell you when a plain interchange-plus account is a better fit than a $0-fee setup.

The processor. Reserves, holds, funding times, chargebacks and disputes are governed by your agreement with them, and we are not liable for a processor's acts, omissions, holds, reserves or terminations. We are happy to help you understand what you are looking at and who to ask, but the decision and the fix sit with the provider. Our Terms of Service set this out plainly.

We are an independent broker and referral partner to the processors we work with. We never take a cut of your card sales, because we do not process, hold, route or settle funds; everything you pay for processing is set out in your agreement with the provider. How the referral relationship works is a fair question to ask on the call, and we will answer it plainly. See Terms of Service.

One team, one call. We read your statement, walk through the surcharge and cash-discount rules for your state or province, tell you honestly if switching does not make sense yet, and tie the processing to the website and Business Profile we are already building. A processor sells its own product; we are independent and not affiliated with any of them, so we can point you to whichever fits. See websites + payments.

Yes. Card processing for mid-size and enterprise clients is arranged through CELER Merchants, including the $0-fee setup where it fits. Terminals, pricing and how the program works in each state or province are covered on the call, because the card-brand rules differ by location and a multi-site business may need more than one answer. See mid-size and enterprise.

An honest look at your statement, a compliant setup brokered with a third-party provider, and straight answers about fit. We do not promise approval, rates, funding times or savings; those depend on the processor and on your ticket size, volume, card mix, industry and risk profile. Any savings figure we publish is an illustrative example from prior merchants, not a quote. Our Terms of Service say the same.

Only the USDA. It says it is the only source that authorizes retailers, and that a store cannot accept EBT until it is authorized; authorized retailers receive a SNAP permit and must use EBT equipment and transaction services. We do not authorize retailers and cannot apply on your behalf. You apply directly with the USDA, and we make sure your card processing setup works alongside the EBT acceptance you have or are applying for. See grocery stores.

The USDA says authorized retailers must use EBT equipment and transaction services, so the equipment has to be able to handle it. What we can do is make sure your card processing setup and equipment are planned around the EBT acceptance you already have or are applying for, and check how they handle card sales and EBT together before anything is set up. Talk it through on a strategy call. See grocery stores.

EBT is not part of the card program. A $0-fee program is about card processing costs, while SNAP EBT runs under its own USDA program rules, so we treat the two separately and check how your equipment and setup handle both before anything is set up. Anything about what is and is not allowed on an EBT transaction comes from the USDA's rules, not from us, so confirm with the USDA or your own advisor.

Your authorization is with the USDA and is not something we touch. What we do is make sure the new card processing setup and equipment are planned around the EBT acceptance you already have, so that switching the card side does not leave the EBT side stranded. Bring your current statement and tell us how EBT runs today. Mercado Central is an example project that shows both running side by side.

We do not know, and we will not guess. The USDA is the only source that authorizes retailers, you apply directly with it, and it decides the timeline. Nothing we do speeds that up. What we can plan in parallel is the website, which notes the payment types you accept with EBT included once you are authorized, and the card processing setup around it. See grocery stores.

Your processor, under your agreement with it. That agreement, not our Terms, controls chargebacks along with rates, fees, interchange, reserves, equipment, funding times and termination. We do not process, hold, route or settle transactions and are not liable for any dispute involving a processor. Our site covers chargebacks only this far; how they are worked, what they cost and how to contest one are in the provider's paperwork. See Terms of Service.

Not in anything we set up. Chargebacks are governed by your agreement with the processor and by card-network rules, whichever pricing structure you are on. What a surcharge program does add is a requirement that the fee be itemized separately on the receipt, which matters if a transaction is ever questioned. For anything beyond that, ask the provider; it is their process and we do not run it.

You agree not to initiate a chargeback, payment dispute or reversal for a charge authorized under our Terms without first giving us a reasonable opportunity to resolve it. Email [email protected] and we will look at it. If a dispute is started in breach of that section, we may suspend the services and recover the disputed amount with dispute fees and costs, to the extent the law and card-network rules allow. Section 8 of the Terms of Service.

Send a written notice of dispute to [email protected] and to our mailing address, describing the dispute and the relief you seek. Both sides then try in good faith to resolve it for 60 days. If that fails, either of us may start binding arbitration under the American Arbitration Association's Commercial Arbitration Rules, seated in Cheyenne, Wyoming. You have 30 days after accepting the Terms to opt out of arbitration. See Terms of Service.

No. Your processing relationship is governed entirely by your agreement with the processor, and our Terms say we are not liable for any act, omission, outage, hold, reserve, termination, fee or dispute involving a processor. You also agree to indemnify us for claims arising from your relationship with a processor. That is the trade of working with a broker: independence, but not a guarantee of the provider's conduct. See Terms of Service.