Interchange-plus pricing passes through the card network's interchange for each transaction and adds a processor markup, usually stated in basis points and a per-item amount. The statement should let you distinguish the pass-through network costs from that “plus.” A neutral review reconstructs both and checks that the extra monthly fees do not quietly change the quoted markup.
Interchange is not one universal percentage. It varies by network, card product, acceptance method, merchant category, and other transaction facts. That is why an interchange-plus quote can be more transparent than a blended rate while still producing a confusing statement. The markup is only comparable after the underlying card mix has been priced from the dated tables.
What the record changes
The audit identifies the pricing model, maps transaction categories to the published network material where the statement permits it, totals assessments, and isolates processor revenue and unexplained fees. It then states a markup figure for the observed mix without naming a processor. The owner uses that number in the supplied letter to the current processor.
- Visa and Mastercard publish merchant interchange information and update their schedules, commonly around spring and fall pricing cycles.
- Basis points are hundredths of a percentage point, so 25 basis points equals 0.25 percent of volume before per-item and monthly charges.
- A fair-looking basis-point quote can still produce a higher effective rate when statement, batch, PCI, minimum, and downgrade fees are added.
How to use this answer
A useful statement review starts with one equation: total processing fees divided by total card volume. The full audit then reconstructs that total from interchange, network assessments, processor markup, and other fee lines. The components must add back to the statement total within tolerance before any markup or unexplained fee is described.
- Use the statement's total card volume and total fees to calculate the effective rate before comparing any quoted percentage.
- Separate public network costs from the processor's markup and classify every monthly, batch, downgrade, PCI, or other fee line.
- Reconcile the components to the statement total, then send the owner-written request for specific fee removals or a specific markup.
Where the service stops
Reality Contact, LLC is not a payment processor, recommends no processor, and accepts no referral fees. We read the statement and write a letter that you send. We do not contact or negotiate with your processor, promise savings, interpret a contract, or log into a merchant portal. This is not legal advice, tax advice, or financial advice.
Sources: Visa regulations and fees; Mastercard interchange rates; Federal Reserve payment-card information.