A rate of 2.5% will be applied every time a regular Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card is processed.

Many people don't realize that Visa and Mastercard assess higher interchange costs when certain types of cards are processed (some points, airmiles, premium and corporate cards). If a card is processed and a higher interchange fee is assessed by Visa or Mastercard, then the exact and true interchange cost difference from Visa or Mastercard is applied to that transaction. We always pass these interchange fees at the exact and true cost, and only when they are assessed by Visa and Mastercard. This allows us to provide the lowest rates when regular credit and debit cards are processed, and the assurance that if a premium card is processed you will never pay more than the absolute minimum pass-through cost for that transaction. A table of the effective processing fees for different card types is included below.

There is no monthly fee whatsoever to have an account. Behind the scenes we incur a small cost to maintain an account. If your account is dormant for an entire month with no transactions whatsoever a $50 dormancy fee is applied to cover our costs. This fee does not apply to active businesses. All discount rate fees paid during the month count towards the dormancy fee.

For example, a seasonal business might be slow during winter and only process a single $500 transaction during the entire month. This transaction will cost $12.50 in discount rate fees. ($500/transaction x 2.5% discount rate = $12.50 paid in discount rate fees). All discount rate fees paid are credited towards the dormancy fee.

Once you achieve $2,000 or more in sales per month the account is totally free. We want you to use and benefit from the service, but even if your account is totally dormant for an entire month the worst case scenario is a $50 dormancy fee. It takes very little trading activity to satisfy. Most of our clients pay no dormancy fee at all.

Chargebacks occur when a cardholder contacts their card issuing bank and requests that the transaction is forcibly reversed. Do not confuse a chargeback with a refund. Refunds are a normal part of day to day business and there is no penalty for doing a refund. A chargeback is not, and can only happen when there is a serious dispute between a merchant and a cardholder. (For example, in the case of fraud). If a chargeback occurs a fee of $25 will apply.

Visa and Mastercard assess cross border fees when international credit cards are processed.

This is an important point that most merchants are unaware of. Many payment processors will mark up and earn extra revenue from cross border fees. At Merchant Accounts.ca we do NOT engage in this practice. We pass through cross border fees at cost directly from Visa and Mastercard. For clarity, a credit card processor cannot stop a cross border fee from being assessed, but they can and should pass the cost through without marking it up.

Each time a transaction is processed Visa and Mastercard look at two things.

1. What country is your business based in?
2. What country is the bank that issued the credit card to your customer based in?

If your business and the card issuing bank are not in the same country Visa and Mastercard will assess a cross border fee on the transaction.

How Much Do Cross Border Fees Cost?

The cross border fee from Visa and Mastercard is 0.50% when you charge a foreign cardholder in a non-local currency.

The cross border fee is 1.00% if you charge a foreign cardholder in their local currency.

Example 1: Canadian merchant processes a transaction for an Australian customer. The card is billed in Canadian dollars. The cross border fee is 0.50%. Cardholder was charged in a non-local currency.

Example 2: Canadian merchant processes a transaction for an Australian customer. The card is billed in Australian dollars. The cross border fee is 1.00%. Cardholder was charged in their local currency (AUD).

Charging foreign customers in a local currency incurs a higher cross border fee, so why use multi-currency processing? Although the cross border fee is slightly higher when billing in a local currency, it is still highly desirable because the customer will have much more confidence when purchasing. This allows you to market more effectively and significantly improve your conversion rates when selling to foreign customers.

For our clients that target international customers we are able to consult and offer advice to minimize cross border fees. Although a payment processor cannot stop Visa and Mastercard from assessing a cross border fee, we can help you establish business entities in multiple countries so that transactions in your major markets do not cross borders. If you need assistance with this contact us.

With the Advanced program your pricing is based on true interchange cost as set by Visa and Mastercard. Interchange fees are charged by Visa and MasterCard to credit card processors each time a transaction is processed. In other words, "Interchange" is the exact and true cost that all credit card processors incur each time a transaction is processed on the Visa or MasterCard network.

Interchange plus pricing (also called "cost plus" pricing) is the best and lowest cost pricing method that a merchant can receive. It eliminates any chance of hidden fees, and requires transparent disclosure of the fees charged by a payment processor.

A rate quote will be provided to you based upon how much money your business will process per month, and to a lesser degree the chargeback risk associated with your product or service. We need to learn about your business, and will do our best to accommodate your pricing goals. In general, the more money that a business processes per month, the lower the rate will be. We will also commit to further rate reductions as your credit card processing volume increases.

An example of interchange plus pricing that a typical mid-sized business would receive is Interchange + 0.20%. In this example, the business would pay a 0.20% processing fee in addition to the interchange cost each time a transaction is processed. Interchange for a classic Visa card is 1.40%%, so if a classic Visa was processed the total rate would be 1.60%.
(1.40% + 0.20% = 1.60%).

In summary, our Advanced Program is the best pricing model for businesses that process a high volume of sales because you will get the lowest rate possible, and you'll know exactly how much income your payment processor is earning. It provides confidence that you are getting a good value, and absolute cost certainty because your fees are tied to true interchange set by Visa and MasterCard.
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The Advanced program is intended for businesses that process a higher volume of credit card transactions each month. If your account is dormant for an entire month with no transactions we charge a $20 dormancy fee. All discount rate fees paid during the month count towards the $20 dormancy fee.

Example: you have a seasonal business and process a single $150 transaction during the entire month. For this example we will pretend the merchant has a discount rate of 2%.

$150 x 2% (discount rate) = $3 in fees.

The $3 in fees you've paid is credited towards your dormancy fee. At the end of the month you are billed a dormancy fee of $17.

$20 (dormancy fee) - $3 (credit for fees) = $17 dormancy fee.

Most merchants on our advanced program should never be paying the dormancy fee because they are usually active and processing transactions every month. We want you to use and benefit from the service, but even if your account is totally dormant for an entire month the worst case scenario is a $20 dormancy fee. It takes very little trading activity to satisfy.

Chargebacks occur when a cardholder contacts their card issuing bank and requests that the transaction is forcibly reversed. Do not confuse a chargeback with a refund. Refunds are a normal part of day to day business and there is no penalty for doing a refund. A chargeback is not, and can only happen when there is a serious dispute between a merchant and a cardholder. (For example, in the case of fraud). If a chargeback occurs a fee of $25 will apply.

Visa and Mastercard assess cross border fees when international credit cards are processed.

This is an important point that most merchants are unaware of. Many payment processors will mark up and earn extra revenue from cross border fees. At Merchant Accounts.ca we do NOT engage in this practice. We pass through cross border fees at cost directly from Visa and Mastercard. For clarity, a credit card processor cannot stop a cross border fee from being assessed, but they can and should pass the cost through without marking it up.

Each time a transaction is processed Visa and Mastercard look at two things.

1. What country is your business based in?
2. What country is the bank that issued the credit card to your customer based in?

If your business and the card issuing bank are not in the same country Visa and Mastercard will assess a cross border fee on the transaction.

How Much Do Cross Border Fees Cost?

The cross border fee from Visa and Mastercard is 0.50% when you charge a foreign cardholder in a non-local currency.

The cross border fee is 1.00% if you charge a foreign cardholder in their local currency.

Example 1: Canadian merchant processes a transaction for an Australian customer. The card is billed in Canadian dollars. The cross border fee is 0.50%. Cardholder was charged in a non-local currency.

Example 2: Canadian merchant processes a transaction for an Australian customer. The card is billed in Australian dollars. The cross border fee is 1.00%. Cardholder was charged in their local currency (AUD).

Charging foreign customers in a local currency incurs a higher cross border fee, so why use multi-currency processing? Although the cross border fee is slightly higher when billing in a local currency, it is still highly desirable because the customer will have much more confidence when purchasing. This allows you to market more effectively and significantly improve your conversion rates when selling to foreign customers.

For our clients that target international customers we are able to consult and offer advice to minimize cross border fees. Although a payment processor cannot stop Visa and Mastercard from assessing a cross border fee, we can help you establish business entities in multiple countries so that transactions in your major markets do not cross borders. If you need assistance with this contact us.