Merchant Fee
A merchant fee is what a card processor charges you to accept a card payment. It is usually a cut of the sale plus a small fixed amount. Your own processor sets the real number.
What it means
Every card payment you take goes through a processor first. The processor keeps a slice before the rest reaches your account. That slice is the merchant fee. A card machine, a payment link and an online checkout can each charge a different amount for the same sale.
The processor takes the fee before the money lands. It does not send a separate bill later. The amount in your account is already net of the fee. Check your processor's statement or agreement for the real number. It changes by provider and by country.
You take a card payment on a $600 invoice. Your processor's statement shows $582.60 landed in your account. The missing $17.40 is the merchant fee for that one transaction.
Quoting a job at the full invoice amount and forgetting the merchant fee. The money that lands is always a little less than the invoice.
See also
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- guide How to get paid faster, without the awkward follow-up The reminder cadence here stops most late invoices from becoming a collections problem.
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