How to Read Your Merchant Statement

June 23, 2023

You might be costing your company a great deal of money if your merchant account statement looks so intimidating you simply don’t read it.

Your merchant account statement promotes simplicity and efficiency. We believe in complete transparency for your merchant account and payment processing. We’re always seeking to make improvements and alterations related to reading merchant account statements and enhancements in how to best serve your business with low rates, secure merchant accounts, and pricing transparency that are catered to you.

Merchant Account: Money In, Money Out

Your merchant account statement is organized to tell you everything that’s transpiring with your merchant account – from the fees you’re paying for merchant account solutions, to consumer purchases that you’ve processed.

Deposits are itemized individually, showing you the date, quantity and type of card. This section may take up a couple of pages of your merchant account statement, especially if you had a good sales month. You can compare this merchant account statement to your previous statements. If you are using an internet reporting system and are maintaining your merchant account statement tracking during the month, you have already got this step down.

Merchant Account Processing Fees

Fees come in several different forms but they’ll appear on your merchant account statement in organized classes, so you should have the ability to easily understand what they are. For instance, the discount rate is a percentage of every transaction amount that’s deducted for a transaction and should be listed accordingly on your merchant account statement. Rates will vary in the line with the trade type, so you may see various prices. When you first sign up for your low risk merchant account with your preferred payment processing services provider, you consented to your discount rates, and you can also see all of the prices and fees that have been processed through your merchant account. Get in touch with your merchant account service provider in case you don’t know or understand your discount rates.

A transaction fee is just a flat fee, charged in cents, and is deducted from each card transaction listed on your merchant account statement. Once you sign up with your merchant account service provider, you agree to this transaction fee. Unlike discount rates, transaction fees are exactly the same for every transaction on your merchant account statement.

Monthly fees are charged for various merchant account providers and will change based on the sort of payment processing your business does, along with your merchant agreement and pricing program your company performs. Contact your merchant account services provider if you have any questions about these fees and request a complete explanation of your merchant account statement.

Miscellaneous fees are billed on a non-regular basis for several different factors. There might be a new government regulatory fee, or there might be an industry fee for an issue like being PCI compliant. Your merchant account services provider can answer any questions about miscellaneous charges that might show up on your merchant account statement.

The Bottom Line for Merchant Accounts

Once you’re clear on deposits, rates, and fees on your merchant account statement you’ll get a better understanding of your profit each month. You may notice patterns in your transactions that point to the need to make some alterations to your merchant account agreement. In order to make informed decisions, it’s essential for you to understand your merchant account statement.

As a merchant account services provider, PayKings helps work with low rates and fees. If you are not getting that kind of support, consider making a change to PayKings for personalized solutions, clear information, and the support you need to help save money and grow your company.