The Hidden Fee You’re Probably Overlooking (And How to Fix It Fast)

Most business owners don’t realize how much they're losing to one sneaky line item buried in their merchant statement. I’ll walk you through what to look for, how to spot it, and what you can do right now to stop the bleed and start saving, transparently.

Let’s play a quick game of “Spot the Fee.”

Go ahead... grab your latest merchant statement. (Or pretend you will. I see you.)

Now, scan the page like you're Indiana Jones on a mission. You’re looking for the tiny dagger that's bleeding your profits dry. It’s disguised in fine print, bundled in “non-qualified rates,” or sneakily labeled as “miscellaneous”, “interchange differential”, or my personal favorite: “optimization fee.” 🙄

Yep. That’s the hidden fee no one talks about. And it's quietly draining your hard-earned revenue month after month while your processor hopes you stay too busy (or too confused) to notice.

🎯 What Is This Fee Actually?

It’s called the Non-Qualified Surcharge or sometimes lumped under “downgrades.” Translation? You’re being penalized for not running your customer’s card exactly how the processor prefers, and they charge you more for it.

Oh, and they rarely explain why it happened or how to avoid it. Cute, right?

💸 What It’s Costing You

I’ve seen businesses lose $6,000–$20,000 a year just from this ONE sneaky line item. That’s not a rounding error. That’s a raise, a new hire, or a paid vacation going straight into your processor’s pocket instead of yours!

🔍 How to Spot It Like a Pro

Look for any of these terms on your statement:

• “Non-Qualified”

• “Mid-Qualified”

• “Enhanced Billback”

• “Interchange Adj”

• “Card Not Present Downgrade”

• "PCI Non-Compliance Fee" - even if you ARE compliant 😤

  
  

If you find one, congrats... you just discovered the leak. 🎉

🚨 The Fix (That Doesn’t Require You to Become a Payment Expert)

This is where I come in.

I live for this kind of stuff. I’m like the fee-sniffing bloodhound of Texas, and I do merchant statement audits like most people scroll TikTok... obsessively and for free. 🕵️‍♀️

Just send me your last full month’s merchant statement and I’ll:

✅ Break it down in plain English

✅ Identify every unnecessary fee

✅ Show you how much you could be saving (without changing your POS)

✅ Deliver all of this in a clean, no-BS summary

No pressure. No pushy pitch. Just transparent pricing and real savings.

(Because that’s how business should be done.)

💥 Let’s Kill the Fees, Not Your Profits

If your gut is saying, “Wait… how much have I already lost?” 

...you already know what to do.

👇Upload your statement here and let’s find your hidden money.

Because it’s not about nickels and dimes... it’s about doing business like the elite.

Stop paying to get paid!

Your Merchant Fee Assassin

Serving Central Texas and Nationwide Support

Carrington Saathoff