Your payment processor sends you a statement every month which details every card transaction your business processed, every fee you were charged, and the net amount deposited into your bank account. Most business owners have no time to read through the whole statement and glance at the bottom line, make sure it’s not significantly more or less and then file it away. That habit can easily be costing your business thousands of dollars in fees. Make sure you understand the structure of your Merchant Statement, so you can navigate your typical processing statement. Most business owners glance at the bottom line and file it away. That habit can cost thousands of dollars a year in fees you could have caught, questioned, or eliminated. This guide walks through each section of a typical processing statement so you know exactly what you are looking at.
The top of your statement lists your business name, DBA (doing business as) name, address, and Merchant Identification Number(MID). Your MID is the unique account number assigned by your processor. You will need it any time you call customer support or reference your account. Verify that your business name and MID are correct, as errors here can affect deposits and compliance status. You will also see the statement period (the month covered) and your processor’s contact information.
This is your high-level snapshot for the month. It typically includes gross sales (total card transactions before fees or refunds), total refunds and returns, chargebacks and adjustments, total fees charged, and net deposits (the amount that was actually deposited into your bank account). This section gives you the numbers you need to calculate your effective rate, which is the highest level descriptor of what fees you’re paying monthly.
This section breaks down your transactions by card brand (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) and by entry method(swiped, dipped, tapped, keyed, or online). You will see daily or weekly batch totals showing gross sales, refunds, and net amounts for each batch. A batch is a group of transactions that your terminal or POS system sends to the processor at the end of each business day. The batch dates on your statement may not exactly match the deposit dates in your bank account due to processing and settlement timing.
This is the most important section and often the most confusing. Your fees break into three categories.
If any customer disputes were filed during the statement period, they will appear in this section along with the transaction amount, the reason code, and any chargeback fees assessed. Even if you win the dispute, you may still be charged a chargeback fee by your processor. A sudden increase in chargebacks is a red flag that could indicate fraud, service issues, or a problem with how transactions are being processed.
Buried toward the end of your statement, you may find notices about upcoming fee changes, PCI compliance deadlines, or updates from the card networks. Processors are only required to notify you of changes through your statement, so missing these notices can mean accepting new fees without realizing it. Make sure you’re reading everything that’s available on the statement, especially the fine print.
Fides Bankcard provides clear, transparent processing statements and can walk you through every line item on yours. If your current statement is hard to read or your effective rate seems too high,contact us for a free statement review.
