Guide
Assessments are small fees charged by the card networks on volume. They are one of the layers in your processing cost.
✓ Installed by our team and supported by phone. Rates and equipment are quoted to your business.
Merchant Fund Express explains payments in plain English so owners can make better decisions about equipment and processing.
Assessments are small fees charged by the card networks on volume. They are one of the layers in your processing cost.
Alongside interchange, card brands charge assessments, usually a small percentage of volume and sometimes a per-transaction piece. They apply to everyone and are passed through by the processor.
They are small individually but part of why the same sales mix costs about the same across honest providers before markup.
Network charges on volume.
The card brands.
As a separate line or built into a blended rate.
They are part of the cost floor.
An owner finds a line labeled assessments and assumes it is a hidden fee. Learning it is a pass-through helps her focus on the processor markup, which is what she can negotiate.
If this is new to you, treat it as a vocabulary lesson, not a decision. The decisions come later, with a statement in front of you and a person who can explain the lines, and the words on this page are enough to follow that conversation.
If a term on your paperwork does not match what is written here, ask for it to be explained in writing. A good provider will happily walk through it, and a free statement review is an easy place to start.
Most owners only need to understand this once, at the moment a number on a statement or a clause in an agreement stops making sense. Having the idea clear in advance turns a stressful call into a routine one.
If you would rather hear it from us, call (305) 384-8391. We will walk through the decision with you, quote the equipment and processing for your business and look at your statement while we are at it.
Because assessments are passed through, comparing providers on them is pointless; what matters is how they are shown. On a transparent statement they appear as a separate line with their rate; on a bundled one they are blended into a single percentage. Ask which you have, and if your statement does not itemize them, ask for a breakdown so you can see the layers.
As explained by Merchant Fund Express. Updated 2026.
No. They apply to card-brand volume.
They are set by the brands and apply broadly.
In the fee breakdown or inside a blended rate.
Small compared to interchange, but they add up on volume.
Yes. A free statement review shows what you pay today and where a Clover setup would differ, with no obligation to change anything.
No. Our installer sets up the network, devices and menu with you in the room and trains your staff on the real screens, so nobody has to read a manual or call an IT person.
Call Merchant Fund Express. We install it, train your staff and stay on the line after launch. Ask for a free rate review while you are at it.
