Merchant Statement Analysis Software

FeeQuery is merchant statement analysis software that reads a credit card processing statement and tells you what you are actually paying. Upload the PDF and it separates interchange and assessments from processor markup, calculates your effective rate, and flags the hidden fees — typically in under 60 seconds.

What the analysis shows you

• Interchange — paid to the cardholder's issuing bank. Set by the banks, non-negotiable with any processor.
• Assessments — paid to Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover. Roughly 0.13%–0.165%, identical for every merchant.
• Processor markup — what your processor keeps. The only negotiable component, and the reason statement analysis exists.
• Effective rate — total fees divided by total card volume, times 100. One number you can compare across processors.
• Hidden and junk fees — PCI non-compliance, batch header, statement, monthly minimum, regulatory recovery, and gateway charges.

Who it is for

ISOs and merchant services agents use FeeQuery to analyze prospect statements and generate branded quotes from their own Schedule A pricing, including batch processing and a white-label upload widget for their own site. Business owners and finance teams use it to audit their processing costs and find out which lines on the bill are real costs and which are markup.

Guides and tools

• How to read a merchant statement — a line-by-line guide to every fee.
• Effective rate calculator — free tool, no signup.
• Merchant statement audit — what an audit finds and how to run one.
• Credit card processing statement analyzer
• Credit card processing junk fees — which are avoidable.
• Interchange plus vs tiered pricing
• Fee Navigator alternative
• IsoAmp alternative

Frequently asked questions

What is merchant statement analysis?

Merchant statement analysis is the process of reading a monthly credit card processing statement and separating what it costs to accept the card from what the processor keeps. Interchange and assessments are fixed pass-through costs. The markup is the only negotiable part, so it is the part an analysis exists to expose.

How does FeeQuery analyze a merchant statement?

You upload the PDF. FeeQuery uses AI and OCR to extract processing volume, transaction counts, and every fee line, classifies each line into interchange, assessments, or markup, and calculates the effective rate. It can then apply your Schedule A pricing to produce a branded PDF or Excel quote.

What is an effective rate and how do I calculate it?

Total processing fees divided by total card sales volume, multiplied by 100. $300 in fees on $10,000 of volume is a 3.0% effective rate. Small businesses commonly land between 2.5% and 3.5%; a well-priced interchange-plus account often falls around 1.7% to 2.2%. These are typical reported ranges, not guarantees.

Which fees on a merchant statement are negotiable?

Interchange and assessments are not negotiable with any processor. Everything else sits in the markup layer and is at least discussable: statement fees, batch header fees, monthly minimums, and gateway fees. PCI non-compliance fees are avoidable by completing your SAQ and any required scans.

How often should a merchant statement be reviewed?

At least annually, ideally every six months. Visa and Mastercard update interchange each April and October, and most processors do not notify merchants when those changes reach the bill.

Open FeeQuery to sign in or create an account and analyze a statement. Sign-in requires JavaScript.