Why published rates are only a first filter
A published price list is designed to build a shortlist, and it is useful for that. It is not the price you will pay. The same provider will quote different terms by country, industry, monthly volume, payment method, settlement currency and risk profile, and charges that are absent from the pricing page are often present in the contract or in a product appendix. Some are conditional, which makes them easy to miss until the month they trigger. The discipline that protects you is simple: record the date you viewed the pricing page, note which country and which payment methods it applied to, and ask for a written quote that covers your actual business rather than a hypothetical one. Public pricing is only a first filter. Actual pricing changes with country, industry, volume, settlement currency, integration method and contract terms. Confirm against the provider's official pricing page or a written quote before you go live.
- Record the date and the country whenever you capture a published price for comparison.
- Ask for a written quote covering your real method mix, volume and settlement currency.
- Read the product appendix and the fee schedule, not only the pricing page.
- Recheck the provider's pricing page immediately before signing, because it changes.
Transaction fee and per-transaction fixed fee
Start here, but do not stop here. Ask whether the transaction fee is a blended flat rate, interchange-plus, or tiered, because tiered pricing is the least transparent of the three and pushes transactions into more expensive buckets when operational rules are not followed. Ask whether there is a fixed charge on top of the percentage, since a fixed component on a low average ticket can dominate the percentage entirely. Ask how the fee is calculated on a failed transaction, on a partially refunded one, on a duplicate charge, and on a payment that is authorised but never captured. Ask whether the rate differs by payment method, because Pix, SPEI, OXXO, a wallet and a credit card are rarely priced the same, and a blended quote across all of them hides which of your methods is the expensive one.
- Ask whether the quote is blended, interchange-plus or tiered, and how each is calculated.
- Ask for the fixed per-transaction charge separately from the percentage.
- Ask how failed, partial and duplicated transactions are billed.
- Ask for a per-method rate card rather than one number across your whole mix.
FX spread and the settlement or payout fee
The currency margin is usually the largest hidden cost in cross-border acceptance, because it is embedded in the rate rather than listed as a line item. Ask what reference rate is used, how much is added on top, and at what moment the rate is locked: at payment, at capture, at settlement, or at payout. Those moments can fall on different days, and in a volatile currency that difference is real money. Ask whether conversion is mandatory or whether you can hold a local-currency balance and convert on your own timing. Then ask about the payout fee separately, since some providers charge per payout batch, some charge a flat fee per transfer, and some charge a percentage. Finally, map the full currency path from what the buyer pays to what lands in your account, and count the conversions.
- Ask for the reference rate, the margin added, and the exact moment the rate is locked.
- Ask whether you can hold local-currency balances instead of converting at settlement.
- Ask whether payouts are charged per batch, per transfer, or as a percentage.
- Draw the currency path end to end and check whether conversion happens more than once.
Refund fee and chargeback fee
These two behave very differently and should never be lumped together. A refund is you returning money to a customer, and the question is whether the provider refunds the transaction fee or keeps it, and whether there is an additional per-refund handling charge. A chargeback is a customer disputing through their bank, and that normally carries a handling fee whether you win or lose the case, plus the disputed amount itself if you lose. Ask both numbers. Ask also about retrieval requests, which are the cheaper precursor to a chargeback and are billed separately by some providers. Then ask what happens at volume: card schemes monitor dispute ratios, and once you cross a threshold you can face scheme fines and remediation programmes on top of the per-case fees. Ask who bears the exchange rate difference when a refund is issued after the rate has already moved.
- Ask whether the original transaction fee is returned to you on a refund.
- Ask for the chargeback fee and confirm whether it applies when you win the case.
- Ask whether retrieval requests are billed, and at what rate.
- Ask what dispute ratio triggers monitoring, fines or a remediation programme.
Minimum monthly commitment and setup fee
A minimum monthly commitment is a floor: if your total fees for the month fall short of an agreed figure, you pay the difference. It exists so that very small accounts are not loss-making for the provider, and it is reasonable in principle, but it is painful for a merchant launching in a new market where volume is uncertain. Ask the number, ask whether it is waived above a threshold, and ask what happens in your first few months. Separately, ask about a setup or onboarding fee, an integration or certification fee, a gateway or platform fee, and any PCI compliance or non-compliance charge. Several of these are routinely waived on request, particularly if you have competing quotes in hand, which is a good reason to gather at least three.
- Ask for the monthly minimum in writing, and whether it is waived in the first months.
- Ask for any setup, integration, gateway or PCI fee to be listed as a separate line.
- Ask which of those fees can be waived, and get at least three quotes before you ask.
- Ask for the contract term, the notice period and the early termination formula.
Rolling reserve
A rolling reserve is a percentage of your revenue that the provider holds back for a defined period to cover potential chargebacks, refunds and fraud. It is standard in higher-risk categories and it is not inherently unreasonable, since liability for a transaction can extend for months after the sale. What matters is that it is specified. Ask the percentage, the holding period, the release schedule, and the trigger conditions for it being imposed in the first place or increased later. Ask whether the reserve is calculated on gross volume or net of fees, whether held funds earn anything, and whether the provider has a right of offset that lets it deduct chargebacks or fines from any account it holds for you. An unspecified reserve right is one of the most expensive clauses in a merchant agreement.
- Ask for the reserve percentage, the holding period and the release schedule in writing.
- Ask what triggers the reserve, and what would cause it to be increased.
- Ask whether it is calculated on gross or net, and whether offset rights apply.
- Ask for the reserve to be reviewed after a defined period of clean trading.
How to compare providers honestly
Fix the comparison conditions first and hold them constant: country, monthly volume, average ticket, method mix, refund rate, dispute rate, settlement currency and payout frequency. Then convert every provider's quote into one number, the total cost for that month, and a second number, the amount that actually reaches your bank. Those two figures are the only ones that matter. A provider with a higher headline percentage can easily be cheaper once the FX margin and payout fees are included, and a provider with a lower percentage can be more expensive once a reserve is applied. Once you are live, reconcile your first three statements against your model, and if the numbers disagree, get written clarification before you scale traffic. Bring your own reconciliation data to the table, because it is the strongest argument you will have.
- Use identical volume, ticket size, method mix and settlement currency across every quote.
- Compare total monthly cost and actual cash received, never just the percentage.
- Reconcile your first three statements line by line against the model you built.
- Escalate any mismatch between quote, contract and invoice before scaling spend.
Questions merchants ask
Can I trust the fees listed on a provider's pricing page?
Use it to build a shortlist, not to budget. Published rates omit conditional charges that appear in the contract or on the first invoice, and they rarely reflect your country, industry, method mix or settlement currency. Record the date you viewed the page, then ask for a written quote covering your actual profile. Public pricing is only a first filter; confirm against official pricing or a written quote before you go live.
What is an FX spread and how do I check it?
It is the difference between the reference exchange rate and the rate you actually receive, usually embedded in the rate rather than listed as a fee. Ask which reference rate is used, how much is added, and when the rate is locked. Then take a mid-market rate at the same moment, calculate what you should have received, and compare it with the amount that arrived.
Do I get the transaction fee back when I refund a customer?
Often not, and that is the point to check. Some providers return the variable fee on a refund, some keep it, and some charge an additional per-refund handling fee on top. On a business with a high refund rate this becomes a material cost. Ask whether the original fee is refunded, whether there is a separate refund charge, and whether partial refunds are treated differently from full ones.
What is a rolling reserve and should I accept one?
It is a percentage of revenue withheld for a period to cover chargebacks and fraud, and it is normal in higher-risk categories. Accepting one is usually fine; accepting an unspecified one is not. Ask for the percentage, the holding period, the release schedule, the trigger conditions and whether the provider has offset rights across your other accounts. Get all of it in writing before you sign.
What is a minimum monthly commitment fee?
A floor on your monthly billing. If your total fees fall below the agreed figure, you pay the difference. It protects the provider against very small accounts, but it hurts a merchant launching into a new market with uncertain volume. Ask the number, whether it is waived above a threshold, and whether your first months are exempt before you commit.
How do I compare two providers with different fee structures fairly?
Hold the conditions constant and convert everything to money. Use the same country, monthly volume, average ticket, method mix, refund rate and settlement currency for both, then calculate the total monthly cost and the cash actually received. A higher headline percentage can be cheaper once FX margin and payout fees are included, so compare totals rather than rates.