Credit card processing fees?

A bunch of "extra profit" fees

[CernyM]

Ok, I got my first credit card settlement statement this month and had a bunch of fees I didn't understand on it.

I thought I'd ask those that have been around longer whether these are "normal."

1. Discount rate. Yep, understand it. Makes sense.
2. Per transaction fee. Ok, here's where I don't understand. I'm getting hit by a per transaction fee every time someone attempts to use a credit card, even when its a blatant fraud. Does everyone pay the per transaction fee on declines, or is that just me?
3. Batch fee. I have to pay a fee every time my transactions get batched up to the settlement provider. Is that normal?
4. AVS fee. Apparently, using AVS costs an extra 0.05 from the standard transaction fee.

Is this all normal and the cost of doing business, or do I need to start shopping for a new merchant account?

Thanks,

--Mike

[Ally_Cat]

2. Standard, AFAIK. Transaction fee gets charged for any transaction, whether it voids, declines, or is approved.
3. Included in our monthly fees.
4. Automatically included in our transaction fee - because AVS is queried for every transaction through our processor.

Hope this helps!

[sun818]

Yeah, that's partly why I stay with a third-party processor (2checkout.com) because it can be difficult to navigate what all the charges will be until you actually receive your monthly statement. And its not in your favor. :(

[eugenebarnes]

It is unfortunate that merchant account providers are not more up-front about all the fees involved. I also think it would be more helpful if they summarized the fees in such a way that you see the bottom line more clearly.

Third parties like 2Checkout combine all the charges together into a single figure which makes it easier to understand what you are paying. Unfortunately they tend to be very expensive if you are doing good sales on your site.

If you are just starting out and making very few sales, 2Checkout is a good first step... at least when they don't screw up. I have a client who wants off 2Checkout ASAP because they are losing sales due to their undependable service.