How to read your merchant statement and find hidden fees

Merchant statements are dense by design, and the headline rate rarely tells the whole story. This is general information to help you work through yours line by line so you understand what you’re actually paying.

Step by step

1. Locate total fees and total card turnoverFind the total of all card fees charged for the statement period and the total card turnover (the value of card sales) for that same period. These two numbers are the foundation for everything else. They’re often on the summary page, but you may need to add up several sections.
2. Calculate your effective (blended) rateDivide total card fees by total card turnover, then multiply by 100, to get your effective rate as a percentage. A blended rate is one average percentage across all card types, so it smooths over the differences between debit, credit and premium cards. This single number is your quickest comparison point against other providers.
3. Identify the fixed feesSeparate out charges that don’t move with your sales: terminal rental, a minimum monthly service fee, a PCI compliance fee and any statement or admin fee. These fixed costs hit hardest when your turnover is low, because they’re spread across fewer transactions. List each one and its monthly amount so nothing is overlooked.
4. Spot tiered or qualified-vs-non-qualified bandsSome statements split transactions into tiers or into “qualified” and “non-qualified” bands priced at very different rates. This structure can make a headline rate look low while routing many of your transactions into a more expensive band. Check what share of your volume actually lands in the cheap tier versus the costly ones.
5. Check whether debit is routed least-costLook for any reference to least-cost routing or merchant-choice routing on debit transactions. Least-cost routing sends dual-network debit to the cheaper network, and the RBA says it can cut debit acceptance cost by around 20%. If your statement gives no sign it’s active, that’s worth raising with your provider.
6. Separate interchange, scheme and margin where shownWhere your statement breaks fees down, note the split between interchange (paid to the card issuer), scheme fees (paid to the network) and your provider’s margin. Your merchant service fee is the sum of these three. Interchange is being capped from 1 October 2026, but you only benefit if your provider passes the reduction through.
7. Expect clearer statements from 1 April 2027Additional statement-transparency measures are due to take effect from 1 April 2027, which should make fee breakdowns easier to read. Until then, treat any opaque line as something to question rather than accept. Keep older statements so you can compare formats once the new measures land.
8. Flag anything unexplained to your providerMake a list of every charge you can’t account for and ask your provider to explain each one in writing. Genuine fees can be justified; vague or duplicated ones often can’t. This is also the moment to ask whether a simpler pricing structure is available.

Source: RBA Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging — Conclusions Paper (March 2026).