How looking for these 3 things can help lower your costs

If you’re reading this, then most likely you’ve seen your fees increase recently or over time. Many merchants receive their processing statement but never look at it, and the few that do probably couldn’t make much sense of it anyway. I’m here to show you 3 different things to look for in your monthly processing statement: 

Statement message 

In the front page or the very back page of your processing statement, you will see a box that’s called the statement message. First things first, before you even look at your fees you must read the information in this box.  

This is how your bank or processor will notify you of any changes about to be made in your merchant account. Any increases, additional fees, etc. must notify you 30 days prior to the changes. This is your window to dispute but keeping an eye on this message will eliminate the potential of service increases.  

Effective Rate 

The effective rate is your total fees, divided by your total volume. For example, you paid $800 in fees, and processed $20,000, the effective rate is 4.00%.  

This will give you an exact percentage of what you paid for the month. We run into so many merchants that believe they have the best pricing in town, and it’s somewhat true. The rate may be lower, but there are other fees that make up for the low rate.  

PCI Fees 

The NON – PCI compliance fee is billed monthly. Every merchant needs to complete their PCI compliance survey annually. This only takes a few minutes, however if you don’t your bank or processor could implement this fee which is billed each month, you’re not compliant.  There are other PCI type monthly fees that can be avoided, such as the PCI – Non validation fee.  

Dealing directly with a processor or bank will leave you subject to these types of increases, surprises, and additional fees. The reality is your small business is just another number to them, but not with Aliant. You will have the peace of mind knowing you’re working with a dedicated support team that looks out for your best interest, while still providing the solutions you need to run your day to day.