Merchant service charge
Also called MSC
The merchant service charge is the total fee a business pays its provider for accepting a card payment, expressed as a percentage of the transaction and often with a fixed amount added. It covers interchange, scheme fees and the provider’s margin.
It is the number most people mean when they say ‘my card rate’.
It is not the whole cost of acceptance. Terminal rental, PCI compliance charges, minimum monthly fees, authorisation fees and statement fees all sit outside it, which is how two providers quoting the same MSC can cost very different amounts.
The honest way to compare providers is effective rate: everything you were charged in a month, divided by everything you processed.
Why it matters to you
Compare effective rates, never headline rates. Take last month’s statement, divide total charges by total turnover, and use that number.
Work out what you’re actually paying.
Whatever your statement calls it, the only figure that matters is total cost divided by total takings. Our calculator works that out from your own numbers.
Open the calculator