Assessments, dues, and other 'network' fees

Interchange isn't the only fee baked into every card transaction. Sitting alongside it — usually a much smaller line — are assessments, sometimes labeled 'dues,' 'network fees,' or 'card brand fees.'

Assessments are fees paid directly to the card network (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or Amex) — not to the issuing bank, and not to your processor. They fund the network itself: the infrastructure that authorizes and settles transactions, fraud monitoring, and network operations.

Typical assessment rates run around 0.13–0.15% of volume plus a few cents per transaction, and they're nearly identical across Visa and Mastercard. Discover and Amex run their own versions at similar levels.

This is the key distinction merchants often miss. Interchange and assessments are both set by the card networks — your processor has zero ability to discount either one, no matter what a sales rep implies. If a quote promises to 'beat' your assessment fees, that's a sign the quote isn't being straight with you.

The only genuinely negotiable piece of your rate is the processor's own markup — whatever they add on top of interchange and assessments to make their margin. On an interchange-plus statement, this shows up as a clearly disclosed percentage and per-transaction fee. On a flat-rate or tiered plan, it's baked in and much harder to isolate.

If your statement shows assessments separately and they're roughly 0.13–0.15% + a few cents, that's normal and not worth chasing. If a processor is charging noticeably more than that under an 'assessment' or 'network fee' label, they may be quietly padding a non-negotiable line — exactly the kind of thing a statement review is built to catch.