How to Read Your Card Processing Bill (And What You're Really Paying For)

Card payments are convenient for your customers, but for many businesses, the monthly statement from your payment provider is anything but.

Merchant services statements are often filled with technical terms, hidden fees, and confusing breakdowns. As a result, many UK business owners either ignore them or assume the charges are just “the cost of doing business.”

But here’s the truth: if you don’t know what you’re paying for, you could be overpaying every single month.

At Bright Edge, we’re passionate about transparency. So let’s break down your card processing bill, line by line and explain what’s really going on behind the numbers.

The 3 Core Components of a Card Processing Fee

Most providers charge for card transactions using one of two models: blended pricing or interchange-plus pricing (more on that later). But no matter the structure, the fees you pay typically include three distinct parts:

1. Interchange Fee

This is the fee paid to the customer’s card-issuing bank (like HSBC or Barclays). It’s set by card networks (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) and regulated within limits, but it varies based on:

• Card type (debit, credit, business)

• Transaction method (contactless, online, chip & pin)

• Country of origin

Typical ranges:

• UK debit card: 0.2%–0.3%

• UK credit card: 0.3%–0.9%

• Commercial or foreign cards: 1%+

You can’t negotiate interchange, it’s standard across all providers, but understanding it helps you evaluate how much margin your provider is adding.

2. Scheme Fee

These are fees charged by the card networks themselves, like Visa, Mastercard, or Amex, for processing the transaction on their rails.

They are usually small amounts (e.g. 1–6p per transaction) but can add up quickly if you're processing hundreds or thousands of payments per month.

3. Acquirer or Processor Fee

This is the fee charged by the payment processor or acquirer, the company that handles your transactions and deposits funds into your account.

It’s the only part that’s truly negotiable, and where the cost differences between providers become clear.

Bright Edge, for example, partners with multiple acquiring banks to get access to wholesale rates, passing those savings on to you.

The Hidden Fees You Might Not Notice

Beyond the headline processing fees, most businesses are paying other costs they don’t even realise are optional, or at least avoidable.

Watch out for these common extras:

• PCI Compliance Fees
  An annual or monthly charge to cover mandatory data security checks. Some providers bundle this in, others charge it separately (and heavily mark it up).

• Terminal Rental Fees
  If you’re using a countertop, portable or mobile card reader, you’ll usually pay a monthly rental. These range from £10–£25 per machine.

• Minimum Monthly Service Charge
  If your business doesn’t process a certain volume each month, some providers hit you with a minimum charge to cover their costs.

• Authorisation Fees
  A small fee (e.g. 1–3p) for every transaction processed, often buried in your bill.

• Chargeback Fees
  If a customer disputes a charge, your provider may charge £10–£25 per case, even if the claim is resolved in your favour.

• Batch Fees / Statement Fees
  Yes, some providers still charge you for compiling or sending your monthly statement.

If you’re seeing any of these and not sure why, ask your provider to explain.

Blended vs Interchange-Plus: What’s the Difference?

Blended Pricing

This is where you’re quoted a single flat rate, e.g. 1.75% per transaction no matter what card is used. It’s simple, but often not the cheapest. Providers bake in a “buffer” to cover their costs across all scenarios.

Interchange-Plus Pricing

This model separates the true cost (interchange + scheme) from the provider’s markup (their margin). It’s more transparent and usually cheaper for higher-volume or lower-risk businesses.

Example:

• Interchange: 0.3%

• Scheme Fee: 0.1%

• Processor Fee: 0.3%

• Total cost: 0.7%

Many providers don’t advertise this model as it forces them to be clear about their margin, but at Bright Edge, we welcome it. It shows we’re offering a fair deal.

How to Spot If You're Overpaying

Here are 3 quick signs you might be getting a poor deal:

1. Your effective rate is over 2.0%
   For most UK businesses, this is high, especially for card-present transactions.

2. Your bill doesn’t show breakdowns
   If you can’t see what’s going to interchange, scheme, and provider, you may be on a blended rate with a generous margin (for them, not you).

3. Your terminal rental + fees exceed £40/month per device
   Some providers charge premium rental rates on legacy terminals or tie them into long contracts. Newer providers can often offer better tech at half the cost.

What Bright Edge Does Differently

We know that most business owners don’t have the time to dissect merchant fee structures, and frankly, you shouldn’t have to.

When you work with Bright Edge, we’ll:

• Review your existing statement line-by-line

• Benchmark your current rates against wholesale market averages

• Recommend a tailored solution based on your sector, turnover, and goals

• Offer full transparency, no hidden fees, ever

Whether you want a simple flat rate or prefer to see every penny broken down, we’ll work in the way that fits you.

Final Thought

Understanding your card processing bill shouldn’t feel like trying to read a foreign language.

But for too long, providers have relied on complexity and fine print to keep businesses in the dark, charging more than necessary and offering little in the way of transparency or explanation. At Bright Edge, we believe it’s time for that to change.

We know that as a business owner, you don’t have hours to spend analysing fee structures or chasing down hidden charges. You just want a clear, honest solution that works and a partner who’s got your back.

That’s why our approach is simple:

✔️ No confusing contracts
✔️ No “gotcha” fees
✔️ No pressure to switch—just useful advice

We take the time to understand your business, your average sale size, how you take payments, and what’s important to you (whether that’s price, speed, reliability, or flexibility). Then we build a solution that fits, not one designed to boost our margins.

Because at the end of the day, card payments aren’t just a service, they’re a relationship. And we want to be the partner you can trust for the long term.

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