Processor comparisons
Side-by-side breakdowns of pricing models, contract terms, early-termination traps, and red flags across 200+ processors.
Independent payments-industry intelligence
Know exactly what you should be paying in credit card processing fees.
The merchant processing industry runs on confusion — tiered pricing, junk fees, and "too good to be true" rates. Merchant Intel cuts through it with real benchmarks, side-by-side processor comparisons, and plain-English fee breakdowns. No sales pitch. No hidden agenda.
We work for you, the merchant — not the processors. Independent by design.
- $9T+U.S. card volume a year
- $160B+Paid in card fees yearly
- 2–4%Typical effective rate
- 100%On your side
U.S. payments-industry figures — the maze we help you cut through.
What you get
Everything you need to stop overpaying — in one place.
Merchant Intel turns an opaque, sales-driven industry into clear, comparable data you can actually act on.
Real rate benchmarks
See what businesses like yours actually pay — by industry, volume, and average ticket — so you know if you're getting fleeced.
Fees, decoded
Every cryptic line item on a merchant statement translated into plain English, with which ones are negotiable or pure junk.
Industry intelligence
News, regulation, and trend analysis on interchange, surcharging, high-risk processing, and the ISO/agent world.
Statement red-flag scan
A guided walkthrough that flags padded markups, mystery fees, and "reserve" games hiding in your monthly statement.
On your side, always
We're the merchant's advocate — never the processor's. Our only job is to get you the right answer, so you can decide with confidence.
Done-for-you services
Don't just get the intel — let us do the work.
Would you rather we handle it? Our team turns the data into results: reviewing your rates, shopping the market on your behalf, and taking PCI compliance off your plate. Every one is backed by our savings guarantee — if you don't save more than the fee, you pay nothing.
Plain-English report, no jargon
Rate Review
$59 one-time
Send us your latest merchant statement and we'll read it line by line — benchmarking your effective rate and flagging every junk fee and padded markup.
- Line-by-line fee breakdown
- Effective-rate benchmark for your industry
- A clear, dollar-figure savings estimate
- Plain-English report — no jargon
Save more than $59/yr or you pay nothing
What's included and how it works Get my rate review – $59 →
Premium
Rate Shopping
$79 one-time
We shop it for you. Tell us your volume and we put vetted processors in competition — negotiating with real benchmark data so you don't have to.
- Processors compete for your business
- An apples-to-apples comparison
- We negotiate the markup on your behalf
- You just pick the winner
Save more than $79/yr or you pay nothing
What's included and how it works Start rate shopping – $79 →
Managed
PCI Compliance, Handled
$99 one-time
Get compliant and stay that way. We complete your SAQ, coordinate any required scans, and manage renewals so you sidestep costly non-compliance fees.
- Your SAQ completed for you
- Vulnerability scan coordination when required
- Ongoing management & annual renewals
- Kill recurring non-compliance charges
Save more than $99/yr or you pay nothing
What's included and how it works Get PCI help – $99 →Free tool
Credit card processing fee calculator: what are you really paying?
Your "effective rate" is the true percentage of your sales that disappears to processing fees. Enter last month's totals to find yours in seconds.
"Total fees" is the grand total your processor charged for the month — add up every fee line if it isn't shown as a single number.
How it works
Get intel in three steps.
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1
Tell us your business
Monthly volume, average ticket, and industry. Takes about 60 seconds — no account required to start.
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2
Get your intel
Instant benchmarks, matching processor comparisons, and a red-flag scan of what you're likely overpaying for.
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3
Stop overpaying
Negotiate with leverage or switch with confidence — armed with the numbers processors hoped you'd never see.
Topics we cover
The whole merchant processing landscape.
From your first statement to high-risk underwriting — if it affects what you pay to accept payments, we cover it.
- Interchange & assessments
- Interchange-plus vs. tiered vs. flat
- Payment gateways
- POS systems
- Surcharging & cash discount
- High-risk processing
- Chargebacks & disputes
- PCI compliance
- ISO & agent programs
- Contract & ETF traps
- Reserves & holds
- E-commerce & card-not-present
Who it's for
🏪 Retail & restaurants
🛒 E-commerce sellers
💼 Small business owners
🤝 Agents & industry pros
Get the intel drop.
One email a week: fresh rate benchmarks, a processor teardown, and the junk-fee of the week. Free, and unsubscribe anytime.
FAQ
Merchant processing FAQ: questions, answered straight.
Is this really free?
The effective-rate calculator is free — enter last month's card volume, total fees and your email, and we'll send your rate. Our Rate Review ($59), Rate Shopping ($79) and PCI Compliance ($99) are flat one-time fees, and you pay nothing if we don't save you more than the fee in a year.
Do you sell payment processing?
No. We don't sell merchant accounts and we're not owned by a processor. That independence is the entire point — our incentive is to be accurate, not to close a sale.
Then how do you make money?
Through our done-for-you services — rate reviews, rate shopping where we represent you in front of processors, and managed PCI compliance. Each is a flat one-time fee, and you pay nothing if it doesn't save you more than that fee in a year. However we're compensated, we work for the merchant, not the processor — and anything sponsored is always labeled.
What exactly is "merchant processing"?
It's the business of letting merchants accept card payments — the processors, gateways, and fees between a customer's tap and money landing in your bank. It's notoriously opaque, which is why Merchant Intel exists.
Where does your data come from?
Published interchange schedules, real (anonymized) merchant statements, processor disclosures, and ongoing industry research — continuously updated as rates and rules change.