Credit card processing, demystified

No jargon, no runaround. Learn how processing really works — PCI compliance, pricing models, surcharging rules, and the terms every merchant should know.

PCI Compliance

We help you get compliant — we never charge you for not being

PCI Compliance is an integral part of the electronic payment industry. How sensitive data is handled affects us all, which is why every merchant must be compliant and making their best effort to stay that way.

Stop storing card data yourself

If you're storing credit card data on local servers, there's a better way. We have compliant software and POS systems that store your sensitive data and remove that part of compliance from your organization. There's virtually no reason to keep sensitive card data in-house anymore — we have secure solutions for your company.

No non-compliance fees — ever

Banks and processors are always trying to mitigate risk. Many merchants are not compliant and end up paying for it — some of our competitors charge over $200/month in non-compliance fees. Worse, if you're not compliant, your processor doesn't have to go through remediation in the event of a breach, and most contracts remove indemnity payments to the merchant. We don't play that game.

It's our job to keep you compliant

We make sure you have compliant hardware, software, and a compliant POS system. It's our job to notify you if you fail a quarterly scan, and to work toward a remedy instead of collecting fees that only pad our margins while leaving your organization at risk. We've even been consulted to perform PCI compliance audits for large organizations — including casinos and multi-million-dollar companies. If you need a PCI compliance audit, we can help, even if you don't process through PayZoom.

Call 866.242.4325
Pricing Models

Three ways processors price — one that's actually fair

Understanding how you're billed is the first step to paying less. Here's the plain-English version.

Flat Rate

One simple percentage on every sale. Easy to read, but you often overpay on lower-cost card types.

Tiered

Transactions sorted into "qualified," "mid," and "non-qualified" buckets. Convenient, but the buckets hide markup.

PayZoom recommends

Interchange-Plus

You pay the true network cost plus a small, fixed margin — like our 0.05% + $0.22. The most transparent model there is.

Surcharge & Cash Discount Rules

Pass on fees the compliant way

A convenience-fee program can offset a significant portion — or even all — of your processing fees. But the rules are strict, and the merchant pays the fine when they're broken. We make sure you follow them.

Can I charge a fee on a debit card?
No — never. Visa states clearly you cannot charge a fee to a debit card, and it doesn't matter how the card is processed; no PIN is required for a card to be considered "debit." The only foolproof way to delineate these transactions is software that reads each card's BIN (Bank Identification Number) and automatically skips the fee on debit BINs. We have software that automates this at PayZoom.
What's the maximum surcharge I can charge?
The maximum fee is 3%. You cannot charge more than 3% under any circumstance. Merchants who violate these rules are subject to fines — from what we're seeing, Visa's first fine is around $1,000 the first month and $10,000/month afterward for every month out of compliance.
How is "Cash Discount" different, and is mine compliant?
Giving a discount for cash is your prerogative. But if your listed prices are the cash prices — in store, online, or on your menu — you do not have a compliant cash discount. To be compliant with a dual-pricing or cash-discount system, you must display two prices on all of your prices, not just at the final POS register. And remember: you may never add a fee to a debit card.
Who actually gets fined — me or my processor?
Unfortunately, the merchant bears the burden of the fines, not the processing company — though we'd like to see that change. Processors make a large markup on debit cards, yet a processor that sets you up with a non-compliant cash-discount system is putting your business in peril. AI is now helping Visa and Mastercard identify non-compliant merchants. If you currently have a non-compliant solution, contact us today at 866.242.4325 — we can help.
Learn the Lingo

A quick glossary

Interchange

The base fee set by Visa/Mastercard that goes to the card-issuing bank on every transaction.

Effective Rate

Total fees ÷ total volume. The single best number for comparing processors.

Level II & III

Richer line-item data on B2B and government cards that, when passed correctly, earns lower rates.

BIN

Bank Identification Number — the card's leading digits that reveal whether it's debit or credit.

Gateway

The software that securely passes online payment data to the processor.

Tokenization

Replacing card numbers with a secure token so sensitive data never sits in your systems.

Still have questions?

Talk to a real person — no scripts

Get straight answers about compliance, pricing, and surcharging from a team that's done this for 20+ years.