FREE PROCESSING STATEMENT AUDIT
Credit card processing fees:only the markup is negotiable.We find it.
Processing statements are designed to be confusing. That's exactly what processors count on. True interchange is set by the card networks and isn't negotiable; the markup above it is — and it's where the bloat lives.
2.2–2.5% competitive · 3%+ usually padded
our working benchmarks · not a promise
THE INSTRUMENT
The Effective-Rate Instrument.
Two numbers off last month's statement — total card fees and total card volume. The instrument does the division your processor is counting on you to skip, and places the result on the band.
Your effective rate
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THE EXAMINATION
What we examine on a processing statement.
- Your true effective rate — total fees ÷ total volume — against the rate you signed for
- The markup above interchange — interchange is fixed; only the markup is negotiable
- Tiered vs. interchange-plus pricing structure
- Keyed vs. card-present rates and non-qualified downgrade routing
- Tip-adjustment handling on restaurant and service accounts
- Monthly and annual junk fees — statement, batch, gateway, “membership”
- PCI compliance and non-compliance fee stacks
- Equipment leases still billing on paid-off terminals
- Compliant cash-discount / dual-pricing programs that legally pass the cost to card-paying customers. Optional, never forced.
ON THE RECORD
On the record.
Closed-case exhibits ship here when ops clears a file for this vertical. Never a fake case.
RECEIVED — · EXAMINATION PENDING
Coming to the file
RECEIVED
You send one merchant statement — PDF, photo, or a bad scan. It gets a case number the moment it lands.
EXAMINED
A human does the math against benchmark data. Markup, downgrades, junk fees — flagged with evidence.
RETURNED
You get a case file back: findings, a range for each, and a confidence level — high, medium, or indicative.
If we find savings and you choose to act, we're compensated on the back end — never by you for the audit.
Questions on record.
Q.What's a good effective rate?
It depends on your card mix. Our working benchmark from the statements we read: competitive shops typically land near 2.2–2.5% all-in once every fee is counted against volume, and above 3% usually means padding — a benchmark, not a promise. We compute yours exactly, from the statement.
Q.What's the difference between interchange and markup?
Interchange goes to the card-issuing bank, is set by the card networks, and is non-negotiable. Assessments go to the networks and are fixed too. Everything above that is processor markup. Only the markup is negotiable — and it's where the bloat lives. We show you which is which on your own statement.
Q.Will you make me switch processors?
No — you decide. Many findings resolve as a re-price with your current processor. We surface the findings and the options with evidence; nothing on your merchant account changes without your sign-off.
Q.Does this work with my POS?
We audit the statement, not your stack. Toast, Square, Clover, terminal or gateway — the math is the same. If we can read the fee summary, we can examine it.
We do the math your processoris counting on you to skip.
Bloatweiler may be paid by partners or vendors in some categories — always disclosed before any change. No guaranteed savings.
Cross-references
- Merchant servicesProvider + account audit
- Zero-Fee / Dual PricingDual pricing & surcharge
- Vendor cost managementEvery recurring vendor bill, one pass