Gateway Fee - Your payment processor may charge a monthly gateway fee to pay for the privilege of processing credit cards in real-time. This fee generally ranges from $10-$30 a month.

Swipe Terminal Hardware Fee - This is the cost of the actual card swipe terminal used in most retail transactions. They usally cost around $300 to purchase, but price will vary based on the type and quality of equipment you select. You may also have the option to lease the equipment month-to-month, but this usually adds up to be more expensive than buying the equipment up front.

Programming Fee - This only applies to businesses using card swipe terminals who are moving from one provider to another. This fee can range from $0-$100.

Batch Fee/Daily Close-out Fee - Some companies charge a daily fee for batching your transactions (when they finally submit all the transactions you've accumulated throughout the day.) This fee can range from 10 to 20 cents a day, but may be avoided by shopping around for another provider.

Chargeback Fee - This is the cost to the merchant each time a charge is refused or contested by the customer. This may be due to a fraudulent charge, undelivered products or services, or some other cause. This fee can range from $5-$25 per chargeback and can quickly add up when you run a business vulnerable to fraud, such as an internet business. It may pay off in the long run to shop around for a lower chargeback fee.

Annual Fee - Some providers charge an annual fee for their services, ranging from $0-$100 each year. This fee doesn't serve any real purpose other than increasing revenue for the merchant provider. You'll probably be able to avoid this fee by shopping around.

Reserve Fund - Some companies withhold a portion of your earnings as "insurance" against chargebacks or other future costs. Some companies may even require that you establish a reserve fund before processing your transactions. Since you'll probably want to have access to all of your money, all of the time, avoid this extra expense if possible (very high-risk businesses may not have an option.)

Termination/Cancellation Fees - The majority of merchant providers enforce a set "term" to their contract and many charge some type of penalty for early termination. Be sure to find out the exact term of your agreement, as well as the amount you'll be charged if you decide to cancel your service. Also, find out whether the contract will be "automatically renewed" each year. With this type of contract you may be charged a penalty for cancellation any time after the initial term.

Foreign Card surcharges - These fees are passed down directly from Visa and MasterCard, so most companies will charge them. Surcharges can range from 1.5% - 2.0% .

Debit fees - Some companies charge access fees to accept ATM/Debit cards with a pin pad. They may also charge an additional statement fee, if they do not integrate the credit and debit statements. If you're a retail business that accepts debit cards using a pin pad, keep shopping. There are many other companies who do not charge these fees. Fees to Avoid: Retrieval Fees Non-refundable or hidden set up charges Pass-through Fees Software fees Licensing fees Amex/Discover setup fees Keep in mind that rates and fees may vary from those outlined here, depending on individual merchant account terms. This list is meant only as a guideline for comparing merchant accounts. Refer to the terms and conditions of your own merchant account contract for complete information.