Here are the main components merchants need to focus on when reviewing their merchant account statement

1. How
to
Understand
Your
Merchant
Account
Statement

2. Credit
cards
are
a
significant
and
necessary
form
of
payment
for
most
merchants.
Paying
with
plas?c:
• Makes
purchases
easier
• Makes
purchases
quicker
• Allows
the
consumer
to
buy
in
larger
quan??es
than
if
they
paid
with
other
methods
By
learning
the
various
terms
on
your
statement
and
researching
what
credit
cards
work
best
for
your
business,
merchants
can
help
eliminate
any
confusion.

3. Reviewing
your
company’s
statement
may
be
in?mida?ng
with
various
terms
and
words
that
a
business
owner
may
not
be
completely
familiar
with.
Here
are
the
main
components
merchants
need
to
focus
on
for
their
credit
card
processing
solu?on:

4. Summary
Located
typically
at
the
top
of
the
statement,
the
summary
shows
the
sales
that
are
processed
by
the
card
brand
as
well
as
the
total
fees
paid
in
order
to
process
the
sales.
Some
other
items
that
may
be
included
on
the
summary
are:
• Any
adjustments
to
the
account
• Chargebacks
• A
breakdown
of
sales
by
the
card
brand
• Number
of
refunds
Source

5. Deposits
Below
the
summary
is
typically
a
list
of
seMlements
that
are
listed
by
day
that
break
down
the
daily
sales
volume
by
the
card
amount
and
brand.
This
informa?on
is
beneficial
for
reconciling
seMled
batches
to
deposits
that
will
go
into
the
merchant’s
business
related
bank
account.

6. Interchange
Interchange
charges
are
the
variable
fees
that
are
charged
by
the
card
payment
networks
for
processing
transac?ons.
Credit
card
companies
are
the
ones
who
set
these
specific
rates,
which
are
based
off
various
factors
such
as:
• Customer
card
type
• Size
of
business
• Type
of
industry

7. Interchange
Research
shows
that
the
average
rate
for
swipe
transac?ons
are
.05
percent
for
debit
and
1.5-­‐1.65
percent
for
VMC.

8. Markup
The
second
term
is
the
markup.
Whether
this
is
the
discount
rate,
basis
points,
or
something
else,
there
is
a
percentage
that
is
placed
at
the
top
of
all
transac?ons.

9. Ancillary
Fees
Ancillary
fees
are
the
fees
such
as
statement
fees,
batch
fees,
customer
service
fees,
monthly
minimums,
and
more.

10. Processing
Services
This
sec?on
provides
your
discount
rate
charges
that
you
get
from
your
interchange
plus
processor.
Typically
the
charges
will
be
divided
by
card
brand
and
sales
volume.

11. Authoriza?ons
This
por?on
of
the
statement
displays
per
authoriza?on
charges
that
come
from
an
interchange
plus
provider
and
is
split
by
card
brand
and/or
transac?on
type.
Some?mes
the
charges
will
be
listed
as
AUTH
or
WAT
charges.

12. Discount
Rate
The
discount
rate
is
the
percentage
of
every
transac?on
that
is
deducted
as
a
fee.
Qualified,
mid-­‐qualified,
and
non-­‐qualified
are
the
three
different
forms
of
rates.

13. Merchants
should
become
informed
on
the
basic
terms
in
their
statements
to
help
ease
the
burden
on
confusing
terminologies
and
numbers.
By
knowing
the
layout
and
terminology
in
account
statements,
merchants
will
be
able
to
find
what
they
are
looking
for
much
faster
and
be
able
to
determine
the
costs
of
their
current
plan.

14. First
American
wants
to
help
make
your
experience
as
a
merchant
and
your
customers
experience
beMer
than
ever
before.
Contact
us
today
to
get
started!
First
American
Payment
Systems