If you want a fee reduced or even removed, you can call your credit card processor and just ask. Most of the time they are willing to comply. Why not?… after all, it makes you happy because you just checked off a box on your to do list and made you feel like a winner! You probably thought, “How hard was that?”

Falling right into their playbook, you are on to your next task and this one is now in your rearview mirror. Most likely, this was your first rodeo while it was their ten thousandth. They do this all day, every day and have for years. There’s a reason their company makes billions every year, and it is not because they just roll over.

So, let’s assume you just found a new bogus fee like an “Interchange Clearing Fee” that was costing you .15% like the one below…

Again, they say to you, “No problem,” and remove it to appease you.

Fast forward a few months and now you have a “Settlement Funding Fee” like the one below…

It is also costing you .15% – only this one has been on your statements for a couple of months. Now, they may try to appease you again, and try again next month. Or they may say, “Sorry, this is a fee we cannot remove.” Or worse, they will point you back to your merchant agreement and say, “Read page one.” (Which states they can increase your fees and add NEW FEES for any reason.)

Sadly, it gets worse!…

They will also point to a clause like the one below that says by continuing to use your merchant account after 30 days, you are agreeing to the new or increased fees, so by agreeing to these new fees, they now become part of your agreement going forward.

In short, you have 30 days to catch the new or increased fees and file a dispute to get any monies back, and more importantly, to make sure they are not part of your agreement moving forward.

Enough of the bad news; here’s the good news! – weAudit stops credit card processors dead in their tracks. This is why monthly monitoring is so critical. We catch the overbillings and get the money returned and ensure that you do not get stuck with any bad deals moving forward. And our fees are a small fraction of what we get you back.

As Kevin Harrington from Shark Tank said, “This truly is a no-brainer!”

He also said, “weAudit is the only company that EVERY company needs.”     

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Understanding credit card processing terminology is crucial for merchants who want to make sense of correspondence and memos from their credit card processor. We’ve also highlighted a few common “made-up” terms, such as “Risk Fees” and “Interchange Clearing Fees.” If you come across a fee on your merchant processing statement that isn’t listed here, don’t assume it’s legitimate. Our goal isn’t to catalog every made-up fee, but to provide examples so you, as a merchant, are aware that such fees exist.

Click here to go to Definitions.

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Best Credit Card Processors – SCAM

No one has put together a definitive list of the best processors. Who could do that even if they wanted to? Fiserv (formerly First Data) and WorldPay are the two largest processors globally, yet they never appear on these lists. Instead, what you’ll find on the lists of “Best Credit Card Processors” are names you’ve likely never heard of.

In fact, the companies on these lists are often not credit card processors at all. They are what’s known as ISOs (Independent Sales Organizations). These are companies that resell merchant processing services. I don’t have an issue with ISOs; more often than not, unless you are a very large merchant, you will find better pricing with an ISO compared to an actual processor.

The real issue is that many of these ISOs, especially the smaller ones that engage in some of the worst deceptive billing practices, pay to be listed as the “Best Credit Card Processor.”

A few things to consider:

1. They are not being truthful about being a credit card processors, let alone the BEST. If anything, they should be on a list of the “Best Credit Card ISOs”—that is, if they were actually the best, which I doubt. So, if they would lie about being the best credit card processor, would they also use deceptive billing tactics?

2. These websites charge a lot of money to put these lists together. If you follow the logic, it would be very difficult to pay a lot of money to be on a list and still offer the lowest fees to customers.

3. Credit card processing is extremely complex. It takes years to even come close to fully understanding it. Much like sports, you might have the basics down, but are you an expert on every rule? Are the people who compile the “Best Credit Card Processor” lists experts in merchant processing? Oh, and by the way, they also create other “Best of” lists—so are they experts in all of these topics too? I’ve been in this industry for over 25 years and worked as an executive for over a decade at one of the world’s largest processors, and even I couldn’t put together a definitive list because I’ve seen both amazing deals and horrific deals from the same processor.

If you want to know if the company is an ISO, you need to look at the footer of their website. If they are an ISO they have to disclose it there. However, if it is a name you’ve never heard of, and you don’t see the ISO disclosure, then they are probably an agent for an ISO. If you want to know for sure, you can simply ask us and we will let you know.

An example of an ISO disclosure:

Another type of website you have to be cautious of are the “free” blogs claiming to help you get the best credit card processing deal—for free!

We all remember what Mom taught us: there’s no such thing as a free lunch. How is that website making its money? No business puts in endless hours and pays for hosting, etc., just as a gift to the world. No, they get kickbacks, which is now called “revenue share.” So, the credit card processor jacks up your rate and then gives part of those higher fees to the blog or website that referred you to them. Again, the entire relationship is built on deception.

The question is… can you expect transparent billing and the lowest rates from someone who deceived you just to get your business?

Now, to be fair, we do offer a free initial audit—but our concept is like the big box grocer who gives away a free cookie in hopes you’ll buy the bag. The initial sample is free, but if you want the entire bag, it will cost you. Also, like the big box stores, we too have amazing money-back guarantees if you don’t love the results.

Unlike the other guys, we are not partners with credit card processors and they do not pay us anything! We audit credit card processors. Unlike others who claim to represent you while actually representing the processors, we only represent YOU—the merchant.

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SAY NO to PassKey Encryption

**Urgent Notice: CRITICAL UPDATE**

Please Read – Very Important Information!

Starting August 26th, 2024, Fiserv will urge merchants to implement PassKey encryption, in order to access their merchant processing statements claiming it enhances security. However, before you opt-in, be aware that this encryption will lock everyone except you out of your account. 

(Fiserv aka ClientLine is where you pull your merchant processing statements.)

PassKey encryption is designed for highly classified financial documents owned by a single individual and is not intended for business accounts.

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If that employee leaves the company, is terminated, or is unavailable, you could be completely locked out of your account.

Is this really about making your processing systems more secure? No. Even if others had access to your account, all they could see is how much you processed and how your transactions settled. They cannot take, move, or manipulate your money in any way.

The real intent behind this move is to block third parties like us from accessing and, more importantly, auditing your statements.

This effectively shuts the door to any outside help. They have overbilled you in the past, and once everyone else is locked out, your fees can no longer be audited. What do you think their next move will be?

SAY NO to PassKey Encryption.

You can schedule a consultation with us where we can go over any questions you may have.

NOTE: You may not have ClientLine; however, we will still want to make sure you do not implement PassKey encryption, which would lock us out and prevent us from auditing your merchant fees.

California Has Flipped Flopped On Surcharging Again!

Here’s the 2024 update:

I say “flip flop” because they banned surcharging in 1985. Then, in 2018, they allowed surcharging as long as they did not mislead customers. Now, they’ve recently banned surcharging again.

So, can you still slap a surcharge on a credit card in California? Spoiler Alert: Nope. As of July 1, 2024, California’s latest surcharge law, SB 478, kicked in, banning most “junk fees” across the board.

But wait, there’s more! This law doesn’t just stop at credit card surcharges, you can also say goodbye to sneaky “service fees” and those delightful “resort fees” at hotels. 

Want the nitty-gritty? Keep reading for all the juicy details on how this affects your business (or your wallet). Just note we are not providing legal advice. Please consult your lawyer regarding your specific situation.

California’s Senate Bill 478: The Rundown

– All fees must be in the advertised price.

– No sneaky add-ons at checkout.

– Taxes are, of course, exempt from this. The state is not going to stop the business from tacking on those fees. 

– You can’t advertise a lower price than what customers actually pay.

– If you ignore this, you’re looking at a $1,000 fine per violation.

It’s all about stopping shady practices and keeping pricing transparent. However, businesses can just add 3% on everything they sell and offer a 3% cash discount if they want. 

Gyms, hotels, airlines, and concert venues will be the industries most affected by SB 478. 

Shockingly, restaurants are off the hook. Thanks to SB 1524, signed just days before SB 478 took effect, restaurants can still charge those beloved service fees and mandatory gratuities—just don’t forget to put them on the menu.

California’s no-fee party has the potential to spread nationwide if the FTC gets its way. The agency is considering similar rules, which could end hidden fees across the country.

The best defense against all of this is to make sure your credit card processor is not overbilling you. Let’s be honest… so many businesses are looking to surcharge because they are sick and tired of the high credit card processing fees. Take advantage of our FREE AUDIT and make sure you are not paying one penny too much. The average overbillings found is just over 40%. 

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The Great American Heist! I am sure many will say, wow, that might just be a little overkill, don’t you think? Do you really think this is the biggest scam America has ever seen? Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic? Actually, I don’t think I am. Since I left the “dark side” (aka, the bank), I have had two very strong groups of followers. Those who hate me (and I do mean hate me) and those who love me and they, too, are very passionate. After all, many of them have saved millions a year.

I know that I am a lone fish swimming upstream. I have been asked to speak at some trade shows and conferences only to find out, just days before my flight, that the processors and banks (who happened to be large sponsors of the event) said they would pull their sponsorship if I were allowed to speak. I’ve also been interviewed more times than I can remember by reporters asking me my thoughts on different topics about merchant processing. More specifically, around the practice of business loans backed by merchant processing which I am not going to get into in this book. Suffice it to say, I would prefer to do business with a loan shark, who is way more ethical, in my opinion. I would tell the reporter there is a much bigger story that needs to get out.

But I would also tell them that this is not anything your editor will ever approve. I have said this to many reporters, and it always ends the same way. The editor would tell the reporter to just stick to the other story. (One might just get the feeling that the people upstairs don’t want to upset the people paying for millions of dollars worth of advertising). It’s too bad for those reporters because this story could make one famous. To my knowledge, no one has ever written or exposed the massive corruption that is taking place in this industry.

I use the word “corruption” because that’s also my opinion. You must read the rest of this book and decide for yourself. Is it just business, and the banks and processors are not doing anything wrong, or are they stealing businesses’ hard-earned profits?

According to the SBA, as of March 2023, there are over 33.1 million small businesses and 20,516 large businesses. If every company in the US is being overbilled at the same rate as the thousands of audits we have performed over the past 14 years, then this would mean American businesses are being overbilled by well over 100 billion dollars each year!

As my teacher would always say, show your math: 

According to today’s government records, there are 20,516 large businesses and 33.1 million small businesses. If small businesses were overbilled only $2,500 a year, this would equate to just under $83 billion in overbillings. Now, add in the 20,516 large businesses, and if they were overbilled $1 million, that would equate to approximately $21 billion a year. Combined, that is over $100 billion in overbillings. However, our audit findings show much larger amounts than the numbers I’ve used above. Companies in the small category can easily save $5,000 or more per year, and large companies save well over $10 million. Therefore, I feel $100 billion is a very conservative yearly estimate.

Now you can see why I named this book The Great American Heist. Not to be confused with the 2022 movie of the same title about a 1978 robbery where nearly $6 million in cash & jewels were stolen. This was equivalent to a mere $28 million today. The largest bank heist in recorded history was actually in 2003 at the Central Bank of Iraq, where $920 million was taken by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as the mastermind. The two of these “great” heists COMBINED don’t even compare to the over billing of merchants to the tune of over $100 BILLION every year.

Why do I use the word overbilled? Merriam-Webster definition:

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If you use Bank of America as your credit card processor, take a look at your statements. We had clients with them who were at only 4 basis points (.04%), and they recently took them to over 40 basis points (.40%), which is over a 1000% increase or ten times what they were paying. They went on to say they were justified because that was the market rate! We have clients paying anywhere from 1 to 5 basis points with other processors, so how do they come up with 40 basis points as the market rate?

Now, to be clear, this is just the “Discount Rate”. They can also play games by inflating interchange fees and sneaking in many other junk fees. So please don’t get hyper-focused on the “Discount Rate”.

Also, they will offer you a low Discount Rate with a 3-year contract that has all kinds of hidden clauses that can cost tens of thousands of dollars should you want to break the agreement after they raise rates or play some other type of billing game.

They know what we all know – businesses have so many things to watch for and try to navigate that they spend more time doing everything but growing their business. I know that as managing partner of weAudit.com I spend way more time dealing with things that have nothing to do with our core services. This allows processors and banks to attack businesses and try everything they can to sneak things past them.

This is where we come in. We audit credit card processing fees and keep the processors at bay. When I speak, I am often asked, “Who is my favorite processor?” The reply is always the same: I hate them all equally. That’s partly me being funny and partly true! If you have seen what I have seen, you would understand. I have seen businesses get overbilled by over $10 million a year. Even small companies are overbilled tens of thousands of dollars.

You can fight with BOA or whatever processor you want to work with, or let us help you. We have a 100% money-back guarantee. If you don’t love the results, we give you back every penny you paid us and send you on your merry way. Think about that: we can do everything we promised and more, and you can still take advantage of the money-back guarantee. We have a 99% retention rate with no contracts. Our clients stay with us because they love us, not because we force them to.

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