Cost
Know What You’re Paying.
Then Pay Less.
of processing costs are interchange
US card processing fees paid in 2025
per fraud event exceeding the VAMP threshold
CEDP interchange savings available
per excessive retry
penalty
Cost Anatomy
Processing Cost Breakdown
Your processor likely doesn't shows the complex fee structure with four distinct layers: interchange, assessment fees, processor markups, and penalties.
75 %
Interchange
Set by networks. Paid to issuing banks. Non-negotiable.
5 - 10 %
Scheme Assessment Fees
Network service fees. Visa 0.14%, MC 0.13–0.14%. Non-negotiable.
5–15%
Processor / Acquirer Markup
Typically 0.01%–0.50% on IC+ pricing. Negotiable.
Variable
Penalties & Compliance Fees
VAMP disputes, retry penalties, non-tokenized COF fees. Avoidable.
Visualization
Full Cost Visibility Across All Processors
Pagos shows your full cost breakdown across all connected processors, helping you design different optimization strategies for each cost category.
Always-On vs. Periodic
Consultants Find Periodic Issues. Pagos Provides Continuous Cost Monitoring.
Payment consultants can deliver value, especially for contract negotiations and strategic reviews. But relying on periodic analysis creates structural blind spots. Fees change between reviews, new penalties appear, and processor behavior shifts over time. By surfacing problems in real time, you can fix them before they cost you.
Periodic Consultant Review
Frequency
Quarterly / annual
Coverage
Sample of transactions
Detection speed
Weeks to months
Data normalization
Manual
Cross-processor view
Assembled per engagement
Penalty prevention
After the fact
Contract negotiation
Strong
Always-On Cost Intelligence
Frequency
Every transaction
Coverage
100% of transactions
Detection speed
as data comes in
Data normalization
Automatic, cross-processor
Cross-processor view
Built in — harmonized data
Penalty prevention
Alerts before thresholds hit
Contract negotiation
Provides the data for it
Many enterprise merchants use both! Consultants offer negotiation leverage and industry relationships while Pagos provides the continuous monitoring and data foundation that prevents costly surprises between reviews.
Capabilities
Pagos Surfaces Cost Insights
Interchange Analysis
Review the actual interchange category per transaction, not a blended average. Compare rates across processors by card type, product tier, and MCC.
Fee Categorization
Gain full visibility from interchange to invoice, and monitor every fee sorted by category and subcategory: interchange, assessments, processor markups, and penalties.
Penalty Detection
Visualize when new penalty fees hit without warning (e.g. retry violations, VAMP charges, non-tokenized COF fees), and review guidance on how to prevent them.
Downgrade Identification
Identify downgrade triggers that drive up your interchange costs (e.g. late settlement, missing AVS, incomplete Level 2/3 data) so you can fix root causes.
Cross-border Cost Analysis
See the full breakdown of cross-border costs per transaction and identify opportunities to set up local acquirers.
Processor Markup Auditing
Confirm your processor is passing network fees through accurately by identifying processor-added markups on scheme fees.
CEDP Compliance Tracking
Monitor your Visa CEDP verification status, data quality scores, and interchange qualification rates on commercial card transactions in real time.
VAMP Ratio Monitoring
Track your VAMP ratio (TC40 + TC15 / TC05) against current and upcoming thresholds, and get alerts before you cross the line (not after enforcement begins).
Processor Markup Auditing
Confirm your processor is passing network fees through accurately by identifying processor-added markups on scheme fees.
Rate Reference
Current Interchange Rates at a Glance
Pagos tracks which of your transactions qualify, which don't, and why.
Compliance Alert
Visa CEDP Timeline: What's Changing and When
The Level 2 program sunset on April 18, 2026. Now, Level 3/Product 3 data is the only path to B2B interchange savings. Here's the full timeline.
Related Topics
Learn
BIN Data API
Card-level intelligence that powers interchange analysis and routing decisions.
Read More
Blog
Payments Data Harmonization
Why cost comparison across processors requires harmonized.
Read More
Blog
Interchange Fees are Changing
What the latest rate updates mean for your processing costs.
Read More
Blog
Optimize Total Cost of Acceptance
A framework for reducing costs across all fee categories.
Read More
Learn
Cost Reference Guide
Comprehensive rate tables, penalty thresholds, and optimization strategies.
Read More
Blog
Decoding Payment Costs
Latest Pagos features for cost visibility and fee analysis.
Read More
FAQ
The Ultimate Payment Processing Cost Reference guide
Download a comprehensive analysis of interchange rates, scheme fees, network penalties, cross-border charges, alternative payment methods, PSP pricing models, and optimization strategies, including specific rates and thresholds current as of March 2026.
