Technology has created comfort in mobile wallets, increasing contactless transaction caps, and the continued growth of debit and credit cards. How much does Mastercard charge merchants UK? first let us understand transactions between businesses that are located in totally different places where there are even time differences.

As an entrepreneur, it is quite a wise decision to accept cashless payments. Today, interest is invested more on debit and credit cards whereas ‘Mastercard’ is a case study. Before we explain How much does Mastercard charges merchants in the UK?, allow me to begin with a brief explanation of what Mastercard is all about.


Mastercard Inc. is a multinational financial services corporation and it is of American origins. Headquartered in the Mastercard International Global Headquarters in Purchase, New York, Mastercard’s Global Operations Headquarters is located in O’Fallon, Missouri, a municipality of St. Charles County, Missouri. The main business engaged by this company is the facilitation of transactions between merchant banks as and the banks that issue cards, a common issue throughout the world.


For years Mastercard has faced little competition from VISA but still stands the tests that come its way. It being a universally trusted financial service, it comes with quite some charges for merchants. This article takes interest in the aspect of charges merchants incur while using Mastercard services.


When you consider the charges Mastercard has set you will realize more money is taken by the institutions it passes through. A fee of £15 per year, is collected from businesses per location. This translates to only £3 per year when you are under a payment facilitator, like Square. It is advised that you watch out for your merchant services provider who may mark this up. It is one of the things you need to pay attention to in your statement. You ought to negotiate before signing any contract.


Institutions that offer merchant accounts take advantage of the state of confusion this presents. You can save yourself from being held down by a contract where the payments you make are a phenomenon you have no idea of. In order to safeguard your interests, you need to know exactly what you are paying for.

This will save you the trouble of being locked into a long contract where you have no idea what you’re paying and we find it necessary to break down the classes of merchant fees and the exchange rates. Find how much does Mastercard charge merchants UK? below;

Here’s how much does Mastercard charges merchants the UK

  1. Wholesale:
    These are two different types of fees at the top level. The former is set by the card-issuing banks and the card associations involved in the transaction. It is important to note these are fixed rates, therefore there can’t be anything fluctuations around that amount. You also cannot negotiate these. The only thing to do is toughen up and pay.
    There are two forms of this type of fee The two most common forms of wholesale merchant account fees are called interchange and assessments.
  2. Markup fees: These are additions to wholesale fees implemented by other parties involved in a transaction. Unlike the former, Markup fees are negotiable. Usually, these parties include; the “payment gateway, the payment processor, and the merchant services provider.”
    Wholesale and Markup fees are an umbrella of three subcategories; transactional, scheduled, and incidental fees.
  3. Transactional fees: These are charges due from you every time your business takes a credit/debit card payment. These could come in one or two parts. As a percentage of the transaction’s value or, plus a flat rate. In this category, the biggest sum of your wholesale fees is interchange fees while the main markup fee comes in the form of the processor’s rate. From the processor’s rate to all other markup fees that may be involved, you can negotiate.
  4. Scheduled fees: Unlike transactional fees, a time is set for fees. They are consistent and usually, these are monthly bills. Wholesale costs such as the Fixed Acquirer Network Fee (FANF) are included in this category. Markup fees are mainly of account maintenance in nature. Some of them are terminal fees and statement fees.
  5. Incidental fees: this is arguably the most unsettling category of fees. Their random occurrences tend to choose when you never expect them and you do not want those from the position you are in. This category includes chargebacks.
ALSO READ:  Cost of Living in UK Per Month

Some incidental costs for how much does Mastercard charges merchants in the UK are avoidable given they usually sprout when something has gone wrong. This can be an incident of you not complying with the regulations governing the card payment industry.

Smart businesses take into account the trends that tend to prevail in their transactions. It is important as an entrepreneur to know these ins and outs and not fall into the trap of solely depending on hired accountants.

SIMILAR CONTENT

Previous articleHow to use PayPal to receive money from USA
Next articleCan you deposit money at ATM?