Assessment fee
A small fee paid directly to the card network, such as Visa or Mastercard, on each transaction.
Assessment fees are charged by the card networks themselves, separate from interchange, which goes to the issuing bank. They're a small percentage of volume and, like interchange, can't be discounted by a processor. Together interchange and assessments form the wholesale cost of accepting cards.
How it works
Assessments are the one line on your bill that no amount of negotiating will move. The networks do not lend the money or approve the payment. They run the rails and set the rules, and they charge for it. Their real value to you is as a floor: interchange plus assessments is wholesale, and no processor sells card acceptance below wholesale and stays in business. A headline rate at or under your likely wholesale cost is either recovering the difference somewhere else or applies to a narrow slice of your card mix.
The charge arrives in two shapes: a percentage of the settled amount, around 0.13% to 0.14% on the main US networks, and a small fixed fee of roughly two cents on each authorization. Under pass-through pricing your acquirer pays the network and bills you the identical amount, while flat-rate providers absorb the same cost inside their headline rate. Small as it is, it applies to every settled dollar, including tax, shipping and tips, so it scales exactly with revenue.
Foreign cards cost more. A card issued outside the United States attracts extra network charges for cross-border handling, and conversion charges on top where the currency differs, which together can add close to a percentage point to an otherwise ordinary sale. The fixed piece is charged when the authorization is requested, so declined and abandoned attempts cost you as well. And if your statement carries one vague line such as card brand fees, ask for the itemised pass-through detail behind it.
Worked example
Run $50,000 across 500 card sales in a month. At roughly 0.14% of volume the networks take about $70, and the fixed fee of about two cents on each of the 500 authorizations adds another $10. Call it $80, or close to 0.16% of volume. That sits underneath interchange and underneath your processor's markup, and nobody in the chain can remove it.
Frequently asked questions
- Why am I charged an assessment fee on top of interchange?
- Two different parties are being paid. Interchange compensates the bank that issued the card for its risk and its funding; the assessment pays the network for running the rails and clearing the transaction. Neither is optional, and no processor can waive either one. Between them they make up the wholesale cost that every merchant pays, whatever pricing model sits on top.
- How much are Visa and Mastercard assessment fees?
- Roughly 0.13% to 0.14% of the settled amount on both networks, plus a fixed fee of around two cents per authorization. The exact figure depends on card type and ticket size, and on whether the transaction runs as credit or debit. The networks also republish their schedules twice a year, so treat any single number as an approximation rather than a rate you can hold a processor to.
- Why did my assessment fees go up without notice?
- The card networks reset their published schedules, normally in April and October, and pass-through charges follow automatically. Your processor is not required to negotiate that with you, because it is not their fee. What should not move without notice is the markup, so pull the statements either side of the increase and compare that line specifically.