Card processing comes with its own language. These guides explain it in plain words, quote the card networks, regulators and providers directly, and link to the source every time.
- What is a chargeback?: how disputes work, how long you get to respond, the reason codes, and what each provider charges.
- Interchange fees: the part of every card fee that goes to your customer’s bank, real Visa rates, and the federal debit cap.
- What is a merchant account?: your own account vs selling under a payment facilitator like Square or Stripe.
- What is a payment processor?: the issuer, acquirer, network, processor and gateway, and who does what.
- PCI compliance: what the card security standard asks of a small business, and what a PCI fee is.
Ready to compare real prices? Start with every processor side by side, or read every fee on a US statement, explained.