Credit card fees for businesses start with the merchant service charge, the percentage everyone advertises. Around it sit six other charges that most pricing pages do not mention: authorisation fees, minimum monthly charges, PCI compliance fees, chargeback fees, refund fees, and surcharges for commercial and overseas cards. Each is published somewhere on the provider's own site.
Credit card charges for businesses: the six beside the percentage
Authorisation fees are charged per request. A minimum monthly charge applies whether you trade or not. PCI compliance fees cover the annual attestation some acquirers manage for you. Chargeback and refund fees apply when money goes back. And commercial, American Express and non UK cards are surcharged. Ask for all six in writing before comparing anyone.
How much do credit cards charge retailers: card payment charges UK merchants pay per sale
Part of every rate is fixed by law. The retained Interchange Fee Regulation caps interchange at 0.2% of the transaction value for a UK consumer debit card and 0.3% for a UK consumer credit card. Above that sit scheme fees and the acquirer's margin, and published in-person rates on this shelf run from 0.79% to 1.75%. Cards from abroad cost more: the Payment Systems Regulator records that after EU withdrawal Mastercard and Visa raised interchange on card not present UK and EEA consumer transactions from 0.2% and 0.3% to 1.15% and 1.5%.
Where credit card merchant services publish their fees
Teya's legal fee schedule prices transfers, ATM withdrawals and cash deposits, and dates its changes. myPOS publishes a separate fee schedule beyond its headline table. Lopay publishes an add-on schedule covering tap to pay, payment links and accounting integration. These pages exist and are rarely linked from the pricing page, which is why they are worth finding.
What to do with the list
Model your own year: your card takings, your average basket, your card mix, your refund rate and your quiet months. Then price each provider against that rather than against a typical business. This is the same information a consultant asks for, so gathering it also makes the unpriced providers quotable on the same footing.
Questions people ask about credit card fees
What credit card merchant fees does a UK business pay?
The merchant service charge as a percentage, often a fixed pence element, plus authorisation, minimum monthly, PCI, chargeback and refund fees depending on the provider, and surcharges on commercial and non UK cards.
Can merchant charges for credit card use be passed on to customers?
Not for consumer cards. Surcharging consumer debit and credit cards is banned in the UK, which is why American surcharging vocabulary does not apply here. Rules differ for commercial cards, so take advice before charging anything.
Where are the fees I was not told about published?
Usually on the provider's own legal or support pages rather than the pricing page: a fee schedule, a support article, or the merchant agreement. Ask for the fee schedule by name.