Your Fees.
Under Control.
A local merchant services specialist in Tomahawk. Send one recent statement and I will show you, line by line, what you really pay. Free, with no obligation.
Interchange on one line. Markup on another. A PCI fee, a statement fee and a batch fee somewhere on page three. And not one line that tells you your rate.
NorthStar reads every line and turns it into
your real rate, and what you can cut.
9:41
Avoidable
$204
Found on an example statement.
Where it went
PROCESSOR
$561
EQUIPMENT
$69
NETWORKS
$100
CARD BANKS
$844
Biggest share
CARD BANKS
Negotiable
Volume markup
−$237
Per-sale fees
−$82
Non-qualified
PCI fee
Statement fee
Batch fees
Monthly minimum
Per-sale fees
Annual fee
Terminal lease
Free, and no obligation to switch. If your pricing is already fair, I’ll tell you that too.
WHAT I CHECK
One statement. Every line on it.
Five things decide what you pay to take cards. I check all five and explain each one in plain English.
Non-qualified
SURCHARGES · 38 SALES
−$154.48
PCI fee
NON-COMPLIANCE
−$39.95
Statement fee
PAPER STATEMENT
−$9.95
FEES YOU DON’T NEED
A PCI penalty that stops once your compliance is validated, a charge for a paper statement, and tier surcharges on cards your processor calls non-qualified. $204 a month on this example.
Debit card
$50 SALE · 9:12
−$0.46
CARD BANKS
Credit card
$50 SALE · 11:40
−$1.12
CARD BANKS
Rewards card
$50 SALE · 18:05
−$1.85
PROCESSOR
HOW EACH SALE IS PRICED
The same $50 sale costs more on a rewards card, and on tiered pricing more again, because your processor can move those cards into a costlier tier.
$69
A MONTH FOR A LEASED TERMINAL
PAID 13 MO
NEXT 6 MO
OWED 29 MO
Lease payment
$69 × 48
Total cost
$3,312
LEASES NOBODY MENTIONED
A basic terminal on a 48 month lease can cost $3,312, and many leases can’t be cancelled early. I check what you pay for hardware too.
CARD BANKS AND NETWORKS
$944
REWARDS
$398
NETWORKS
$100
STANDARD
$262
DEBIT
$118
CORPORATE
$66
WHAT NOBODY CAN CUT
Interchange is set by Visa and Mastercard and paid to the bank that issued each card. Nobody negotiates the rates, but I check your sales qualify for the lowest ones: batches closed daily, address checks, business card data.
FEES OVER 12 MONTHS
$18,900
6 MO AGO
TODAY
IN 6 MO
WHAT A YEAR COSTS
At this pricing the example pays about $18,900 a year to take cards, and about $2,450 of it was avoidable.
YOUR STATEMENT
Your fees were never one number.
$1,574 in fees on an example month. $844 went to the banks that issued the cards, $100 to Visa and Mastercard and $69 to a leased terminal. The other $561 is the processor’s, and that is where I look first.
Which is why I don’t quote you a rate. I show you the lines.
EXAMPLE STATEMENT, ONE MONTH
FOUR PARTS
PROCESSOR
Markup and fees
$561
Everything your processor adds on top of the card banks. It’s the only part anyone can negotiate, and the part I read line by line.
LINE ITEMS
Non-qualified
−$154.48
Rewards card
−$1.85
CARD BANKS
Interchange
$844
EQUIPMENT
Leased terminal
$69
NETWORKS
Card network fees
$100
Send your statement
THE TERMINAL
One terminal. Every way they pay.
If switching saves you money, this is the terminal I install: tap, chip, swipe or phone, a receipt printed on the spot, and ready for a cash discount program done the way card brand rules require.
PROCESSOR
PROCESSOR
EQUIPMENT
NETWORKS
CARD BANKS
Priced from
PROCESSOR
· $561 available
CASH DISCOUNTS ARE ALLOWED IN ALL 50 STATES
THE NUMBER
A statement tells you what you paid. This tells you what you didn’t have to.
AVOIDABLE, EVERY MONTH
Your statement shows
$1,574
Your processor’s share
$561
Volume markup
−$237
Per-sale fees
−$82
Service fee
−$30
Batch fees
−$8
Avoidable
$204
An example statement, worked through: $599 a year in fees you can stop now, and about $1,850 in tier surcharges that interchange plus pricing removes.
WHO IT’S FOR
For owners in Tomahawk and the Northwoods, where 0.5% of every card sale adds up to real money.
Restaurants
Cafes
Bars and taverns
Retail shops
Salons and barbers
Auto repair
Contractors
Resorts and lodges
The usual options each leave something out.
Bank processors
CALL CENTERS
Flat-rate apps
CAN COST MORE
Tiered pricing
HIDDEN MARKUP
Leased terminals
LOCKED IN
Staying put
RATES CREEP UP
NorthStar
SECURITY
Handled like a bank document. Because it is one.
Encrypted in transit
Your upload travels over an encrypted connection, straight to me. Not to a call center, not to a list.
Black out what you like
I need the totals and the fee lines. Cover account numbers before you send it if you prefer.
Yours alone
Used for your analysis and nothing else. Never sold, never shared, and deleted once your analysis is done.
QUESTIONS
Straight answers, before you ask.
Is the analysis really free?
Yes. No fee, no contract and no obligation. If better pricing or a cash discount program would save you money, I’ll show you the numbers and you decide. If your pricing is already fair, I’ll tell you that.
What should I send?
Do I have to switch processors?
How soon will I hear back?
What is a cash discount program?
Is my information safe?
FREE STATEMENT ANALYSIS
One statement is all I need.
Send it below. I read every line myself, call you with what I find, usually the next business day, and you decide what happens next.
Your statement is used for your analysis and nothing else.
NorthStar
Merchant Solutions · Tomahawk, Wisconsin
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