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Free Interchange Audit: Find Out What Your Card Payments Really Cost
We do not quote a rate before seeing your statements, because a rate quoted without them is a guess dressed up as an offer.
The short answer
An interchange audit is a line-by-line analysis of your merchant processing statements that identifies how much of your commercial card volume is failing to qualify for the lowest available interchange, and what that costs annually. It normalizes your statements to a single interchange-plus baseline so every line is comparable, separates genuine pass-through interchange from processor markup, and compares the line-item data your invoices carry against what Level 2 and Level 3 qualification requires.
It takes three months of statements and one representative invoice, returns in a few business days, and carries no obligation. You keep the analysis whether or not you do anything with it.
What the analysis actually contains
- Your true effective rate, calculated across all fees rather than the headline discount rate.
- The split between pass-through interchange and processor markup - the only number that is genuinely negotiable.
- Commercial card volume as a share of total, and how much of it is downgrading.
- The specific downgrade reasons appearing on your transactions, and which are fixable on your side.
- A field-by-field comparison of your invoice data against Level 2 and Level 3 requirements.
- An annualized figure for the gap, stated as a range rather than a single number.
What we need from you
- 01
Three consecutive monthly statements
Three is the minimum that shows a pattern rather than an unusual month. Twelve is better if you have them.
- 02
One representative invoice
So the line-item detail can be compared against Level 3 requirements. Redact pricing if you prefer; the structure is what matters.
- 03
The name of your ERP or accounting system
This determines which connectors are available and how much of the data can be automated.
We do not need customer lists, card numbers, bank details or anything about your customers.
What the audit might tell you
Sometimes the answer is that there is nothing meaningful to recover. If your volume is mostly consumer cards, or mostly ACH already, or your current provider is already qualifying you properly, the analysis will say so.
That is a real outcome and we would rather tell you than sell around it. The audit exists to establish whether there is a problem, not to manufacture one.
What happens next, if there is something there
- 01
You get the analysis
In writing, with the workings shown, whether or not you engage us.
- 02
A scoped proposal, if you want one
Pricing model, connector, implementation scope and what it will take on your side.
- 03
Implementation
Typically two to six weeks, driven by the ERP connector and how clean the invoice data is.
- 04
Verification against the first full month
Actual qualification rates compared against the projection. If it did not land, we say so.
Where you are today
Four ways operators start with us on Three months of statements and an invoice is everything required to get a real answer.
Operating and looking to switch
Already processing but paying too much, funding too slowly, or working around a system that does not fit. Send statements and we return a line-by-line read plus alternatives.
Review my current setupRecently shut down or restricted
Account terminated, frozen, capped or moved to reserve. We help you interpret the notice, pursue held funds, and rebuild with fewer single points of failure.
Get help with a complex accountDeclined during underwriting
Turned down on application. We read the decline reason, identify what was missing or mismatched in the file — licence, ownership, product mix, banking — and rebuild the submission before it goes back out.
Review a declined applicationFrequently asked questions
Is it really free?+
Yes, and the analysis is yours regardless of what you do next. We are paid from the ongoing processing relationship if you move, not from the audit.
Do we have to switch processors?+
No. Some findings are fixable with your current provider - settlement timing, how freight is billed, how tax is flagged. Where that is true, the analysis says so.
Will our current processor find out?+
Not from us. We need statements, not account access, and we do not contact your provider.
How long does it take?+
A few business days for three months of statements. Longer if you send twelve, which is worth it if you have seasonal variation.
What if our statements are hard to read?+
That is normal and is frequently part of the finding. Tiered statements in particular are structured to make qualification difficult to see.
Related pages and resources
ChecklistMerchant statement audit checklistRun the analysis yourself before you ask anyone for a quote.Read more CalculatorInterchange savings calculatorEnter your monthly card volume, average ticket and current effective rate to see the annual gap.Read more ReferenceInterchange downgrade reason codesWhat each downgrade means, and which ones are fixable on your side.Read more
More on statement audits
Reading a merchant statement line by line to separate markup from pass-through and find the downgrades. These pages sit under this guide and link back to it.
QuestionMerchant statement explainedWork in three passes. First, total every fee for the month and divide by total volume to get your effective rate. Second, separate the statement into interchange (set by the card networks, pass-through), assessments (Visa and Mastercard, also pass-through) and markup (your processor's margin, the only negotiable part). Third, find the commercial card transactions and check which interchange category each settled at.Open Resourceour calculatorEstimate the annual gap between what your commercial card volume costs today and what it would cost qualifying at Level 3. Enter monthly card volume, average ticket, commercial card share and your current effective rate.Open Resourceour checklistRun the analysis on your own statements before you ask anyone for a quote. Establishes your true effective rate, separates markup from pass-through interchange, and finds the downgrades.Open
Read next
- 1How do I read a merchant processing statementWork in three passes. First, total every fee for the month and divide by total volume to get your effective rate. Second, separate the statement into interchange (set by the card networks, pass-through), assessments (Visa and Mastercard, also pass-through) and markup (your processor's margin, the only negotiable part). Third, find the commercial card transactions and check which interchange category each settled at.
- 2Merchant Statement Audit ChecklistRun the analysis on your own statements before you ask anyone for a quote. Establishes your true effective rate, separates markup from pass-through interchange, and finds the downgrades.
- 3Interchange Savings CalculatorEstimate the annual gap between what your commercial card volume costs today and what it would cost qualifying at Level 3. Enter monthly card volume, average ticket, commercial card share and your current effective rate.
Find out what your statements actually say
Send three months of merchant statements and one representative invoice. You get back a line-item breakdown of what is downgrading, what it costs annually, and what could realistically be recovered. No obligation, and the analysis is yours either way.
Interchange qualification depends on your card mix, the data your systems can transmit, your settlement timing, and card-brand rules that change twice a year. Nothing on this page is a quoted rate, a guarantee of savings, or a promise of approval. Figures shown are illustrative ranges drawn from published card-network and industry sources, not an offer. What you would actually save is whatever a review of your own statements shows, which is why we start there.