TL;DR: On an interchange-plus contract, roughly half the fees on your statement are set by Visa, Mastercard, or the Federal Reserve — your processor has zero control over the base rate. The other half — the markup, monthly fees, PCI charge, batch fee — are negotiable, and most merchants never ask. Here's how to tell the difference and what to say.
A $363K/month merchant came to us with a statement full of fees they'd never examined closely. After walking through each line, we found $841/month in charges that shouldn't have been there.
Not all of it was fraud. Some was negotiable fees nobody had ever pushed back on. Some was legitimate pass-through fees that the processor had quietly marked up above published rates.
The distinction matters because the conversation is completely different depending on which type of fee you're dealing with.
For negotiable fees: ask directly. Have a competitor quote. Be willing to move.
For non-negotiable fees: your processor didn't set the underlying rate. But they might have added a margin on top of what should be a clean pass-through. That is a correction, not a negotiation.
Here's the breakdown.
The 6 Fees You Can Negotiate
1. Processor markup
On an interchange-plus contract, the markup is the number your processor chose. Everything above interchange and network assessments goes directly to them. This is the line to negotiate first.
Typical markup ranges for low-risk merchants: 0.15%–0.50% over interchange, plus $0.05–$0.15 per transaction (SwipeSum, Verisave, 2026). Most merchants on legacy contracts sit at the top of that range or above.
A competitive negotiated rate for a low-risk merchant processing $50K+/month typically runs 0.25%–0.35% + $0.08–$0.10 per transaction. For a $100K/month merchant, the gap between 0.50% and 0.30% markup is $200/month — $2,400/year — without changing anything else about how you take payments.
How to negotiate it: Get a written quote from at least one competing processor. Present it to your current processor and ask whether they'll match. Most will. Losing an account costs them more than reducing their markup by 15 basis points.
2. Monthly account or statement fee
Most processors charge $10–$35/month labeled as a "statement fee" or "account maintenance fee." It is not tied to your transaction volume and has no meaningful cost justification at competitive processors.
For merchants processing $50,000+/month, this fee is almost always waivable. For lower-volume merchants, it is often reducible (SwipeSum, 2026).
How to negotiate it: Ask if it can be waived. If not, ask what volume threshold removes it. This is the lowest-stakes ask in the conversation — do it while you're already discussing your markup.
3. PCI compliance fee
PCI compliance fees fund the processor's cost of supporting your PCI-DSS compliance. They appear as $79–$120/year or $6.95–$12.95/month on most statements (CardPaymentOptions, 2026). Some processors bundle this into their account fee and inflate the line.
This fee is regularly waived for merchants who complete their own Self-Assessment Questionnaire independently, use a PCI-validated gateway, or hold higher processing volume.
How to negotiate it: If you are already SAQ-compliant, demonstrate it. Ask whether the fee drops when you maintain compliance independently rather than through their program.
4. Batch settlement fee
Every time you close a batch and settle, some processors charge $0.10–$0.30 (SwipeSum, 2026). For a merchant batching once daily, that is $36–$109/year. Small on its own. No cost justification at processors who do not charge it.
How to negotiate it: Ask to have it removed. Most mid-tier and above processors do not charge this line. Any processor who does should be able to waive it immediately or match a competitor who does not charge it at all.
5. Early termination fee
This one is only negotiable at signing — you cannot easily renegotiate a termination clause after the contract starts. But if you are reviewing or renewing, the ETF is often removable.
Standard ETF language runs $250–$500 flat, or "remaining months times monthly minimum," which can reach several thousand dollars on a 3-year contract. Processors will frequently remove this clause for merchants with solid processing history.
How to negotiate it: Before signing, ask in writing whether the contract can be converted to month-to-month or whether the ETF can be waived. If they will not confirm it in writing, that tells you something about the relationship.
6. Chargeback dispute fee
Most processors charge $15–$25 per chargeback regardless of outcome (SwipeSum, 2026). For merchants with consistently low dispute rates — below 0.5% — this fee is negotiable downward or can be restructured as a capped monthly fee.
How to negotiate it: If your chargeback rate is low, use it explicitly. Ask whether merchants with a sub-0.5% dispute rate qualify for a different fee structure. If your current processor does not have one, a competing processor likely does.
The 4 Fees You Cannot Negotiate
These are not your processor's fees. They flow through your processor to the card networks or the Federal Reserve. A processor can mark them up, and some do — but they cannot reduce the base rate below what the networks or regulations publish.
If these lines on your statement are inflated, that is a correction conversation. Not a negotiation about the underlying fee.
7. Interchange
Interchange is the per-transaction fee paid to the card-issuing bank. Visa and Mastercard publish updated schedules annually. Your processor has no authority over these rates.
On a properly structured interchange-plus contract, the interchange line on your statement should match Visa's or Mastercard's published schedule exactly. If it does not, the processor has applied a markup to a fee they are not entitled to profit from. That is correctable — but the correction is not a rate negotiation.
See merchant services fees explained for a full breakdown of how interchange appears on a statement.
8. Visa and Mastercard assessment fees
Assessment fees go directly to the card networks. Published rates for 2025–2026 (Merchant Cost Consulting, citing Visa and Mastercard published schedules):
- Visa credit: $0.0195 per transaction + 0.14% of credit volume
- Visa debit: $0.0155 per transaction + 0.13% of debit volume
- Mastercard (transactions under $1,000): $0.0195 per transaction + 0.1275% of volume
- Mastercard (transactions over $1,000): $0.0195 per transaction + 0.1475% of volume
Your processor passes these through. On a transparent interchange-plus statement, they appear as labeled pass-through lines. If these numbers are higher on your statement than the published rates above, the processor has marked up a line they are not entitled to profit from.
9. Network access fees (NABU, APF, FANF)
The card networks charge a set of per-transaction fees that fund network operations. These appear on statements under names most merchants do not recognize:
- NABU (Network Acquirer Business Usage): $0.0195/transaction on credit
- APF (Acquirer Processing Fee): varies by transaction type
- FANF (Fixed Acquirer Network Fee): charged per location by Visa
These are non-negotiable pass-throughs. The full guide to what every line on your statement means shows what each should look like and how to spot unauthorized markups on top of them.
10. Regulated debit interchange
For debit transactions processed through covered issuers (banks with $10 billion or more in assets), the Federal Reserve's Regulation II caps interchange at $0.21 + 0.05% of the transaction value, plus a $0.01 fraud-prevention adjustment for eligible issuers (Federal Reserve Board, effective October 1, 2011).
Your processor did not set this number. The Federal Reserve set it under the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act. It is not a negotiation point.
In practice: a debit transaction at a Reg II-covered issuer carries a specific, regulated maximum interchange cost. If this line looks unfamiliar on your statement, it is not a markup. Understanding it is part of reading your merchant processing statement accurately.
One more thing: marking up a pass-through is not the same as setting the fee
Some processors inflate lines 7–10. They cannot change what Visa charges — but they can add margin on top and label it "assessment fee" or "network fee" without disclosing it exceeds the published rate.
If your statement shows NABU at $0.025 instead of $0.0195, the processor is profiting from a pass-through. That is correctable. But the correction is a demand to remove an unauthorized markup, not a negotiation about the underlying fee rate.
A clean interchange-plus statement with no markups on pass-through lines is what you are entitled to. Understanding what the numbers should be is the starting point.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you negotiate processing fees mid-contract, or only at renewal?
Mid-contract negotiation is possible, particularly with a written competing quote. Most processors will renegotiate markup and monthly fees rather than lose an account. Termination clauses and contract terms are harder to change mid-term without processor agreement. If you are more than 12 months into a 3-year contract, start the negotiation now and use the renewal as your leverage point.
What is the best leverage for negotiating processing fees?
A written quote from a competing processor showing lower rates on the same fee structure. Volume helps — processors are more willing to move on a $100K/month account than a $10K/month account — but a concrete competing offer is more effective than volume alone. "I have a quote at 0.30% plus $0.08 — will you match it?" is a specific ask. "I feel like I'm paying too much" is not.
If a processor says their fees are non-negotiable, what does that mean?
Ask which specific line they mean. If they are calling interchange non-negotiable, they are correct. If they are calling their markup non-negotiable, that is a sales posture. Every processor's markup is a number they chose, and they can choose a different one. A flat refusal to discuss markup is a signal to get a competing quote and escalate.
Do flat-rate processors like Square have negotiable fees?
Flat-rate processors generally do not negotiate rates — that is the trade-off for pricing simplicity. If you are processing more than $10,000–$15,000/month, you are likely paying more on flat-rate than you would on a negotiated interchange-plus contract. The comparison is worth running before assuming your current setup is competitive.
When we work through statements with merchants, the most consistent finding is that negotiable fees were never negotiated — not because the processor refused, but because nobody asked. The $841/month in overcharges on that $363K/month account included fees that came down the first time we raised them.
Two options: work through your current processor line by line using the guides linked in this post, or get a comparison quote and see exactly where you stand.
ClickWerxs facilitates merchant account applications and provides ongoing account management as an authorized representative of our banking and processing partners. Approval, rates, and terms are determined by the issuing processor and acquiring bank — ClickWerxs does not guarantee approval for any merchant account application. Processing rates and fee structures cited in this post reflect publicly available industry data and general ranges; your actual rate depends on your industry, volume, and card mix. This post is not legal or financial advice. For a custom quote, see clickwerxs.com/payments/get-a-quote.
Kaleb Dickhaut — Founder, ClickWerxs. Kaleb built ClickWerxs from the ground up — from payment processing ISO to the Command Center platform to the AI SEO methodology the blog runs on. He has onboarded hundreds of small businesses onto payment and CRM systems. linkedin.com/in/kaleb-dickhaut
Sources
- Federal Reserve Board, Regulation II debit card interchange fee standard — covered issuers may not receive more than $0.21 plus 0.05% of transaction value, plus a $0.01 fraud-prevention adjustment where eligible. federalreserve.gov
- Processing rates, fee ranges and effective-rate figures in this post are industry-typical ranges compiled from published network schedules and from accounts reviewed in the ClickWerxs ISO portfolio. They are not quoted rates. Interchange itself is set by Visa and Mastercard on published schedules that change twice yearly; your actual cost depends on card mix, MCC, ticket size and volume.
- Competitor and platform pricing referenced in this post is taken from each company's published pricing or legal pages as of the date noted in text, and is subject to change without notice. ClickWerxs does not link to competitor websites; references are given in text so they remain verifiable. No affiliation is implied.
- ClickWerxs ISO portfolio, aggregate observation — patterns described from merchant accounts under ClickWerxs management. Anonymized and reported in aggregate; individual account terms vary. Operator data.
ClickWerxs facilitates merchant account applications and provides ongoing account management as an authorized representative of our banking and processing partners. Approval, rates, and terms are determined by the issuing processor and acquiring bank — ClickWerxs does not guarantee approval for any merchant account application. Processing rates and fee structures cited in this post reflect publicly available industry data and general ranges; your actual rate depends on your industry, volume, and card mix. This post is not legal or financial advice. For a custom quote, see clickwerxs.com/payments/get-a-quote.