When was the last time you looked at your merchant services statement and understood what you were paying for? You’re not alone—merchant services billing is notoriously opaque, and there are nearly endless ways for processors to layer on additional charges.
Best Card, TDA Perks Program’s endorsed payment processor, regularly conducts cost analyses to help dental offices save money. Here’s what every practice should know about taking control of this often-overlooked expense.
Real Fees vs. Made-Up Fees
Every time you accept a payment in the U.S., you pay a fee to process that transaction. Some of those fees are legitimate hard costs that every processor pays to the card brands. Others are flexible—or entirely invented. Knowing the difference is the first step to protecting your bottom line.
Real Costs (paid by all processors on every transaction)
These are the fees that go back to the banks and card brands.
- Interchange: The fee paid to the card issuer, determined by the type of card used and how the payment was accepted.
- Dues and Assessments: Small fees paid to card networks like Visa and Mastercard to facilitate payments.
Negotiable Costs (what most offices focus on when shopping processors)
These include the pricing structures processors offer, along with recurring monthly fees like statement or PCI fees.
- Flat Rates
- Tiered Rates
- Processor Discount/Fee Earned
Made-Up Costs (watch out for these)
These are fees processors can quietly add to significantly boost their margins.
- Transaction Risk Fees
- Risk Assessment Fees
- Settlement Funding Fees
- Non-EMV Program Fees
- Interchange Surcharges
- Network Security Fees
- Technology Fees
- Rate Guarantee Fees
Not Sure Where to Start? Calculate Your Effective Rate.
With so many fee types to track, a simple calculation can quickly tell you whether you’re being overcharged. Pull a recent monthly processing statement—or check your bank records—and use this formula:
Total Processing Fees ÷ Total Card Sales = Effective Rate
What Should Your Effective Rate Be?
The average dental office using Best Card on exclusive TDA member rates paid 2.29% in 2025. By comparison, offices using competing processors paid an average of 3.56%—a significant gap that adds up fast.
Why Do So Many Offices Overpay?
- Many processors raise rates regularly, so a competitive deal from six months ago may already be costing you more than you realize.
- It’s easy for processors to add “made-up” fees over time—offices often negotiate a low base rate but don’t notice new fees quietly appearing on statements.
- The most common mistake: choosing a processor primarily because they offer free equipment. That “savings” typically gets baked right back into higher monthly fees.
What Pricing Model to Ask For
The closer your fee structure mirrors the actual costs the card brands charge your processor, the lower your overall rate will be. Pricing models with one or two “flat” rates almost always cost more, because processors need to build in a profit buffer to protect against variability in their own costs.
Ask for Interchange Plus pricing. This means you pay the direct pass-through costs, and the “plus” is a clear, fixed markup for the processor’s service. It’s the most transparent pricing model available and the easiest way to catch any unauthorized increases.