The statement arrives at the start of the month and you give it about eight seconds. Sales at the top, a smaller number at the bottom, a column of deductions in between that you have never had a reason to work through. The bottom number matches your bank, so you file it and get on with the day.
That eight seconds is where the money goes. Somewhere in that column sits the difference between the rate you agreed to when you signed and the rate you are actually paying, and for most merchants those two figures have quietly drifted apart.
It is not usually anyone's fault. The rate you were quoted covered one line. Your statement contains several. Some scale with your sales, some do not, and one or two only appear in the months when business is slow. Add them together and the real cost of accepting cards looks different from the one on your contract.
You do not need an accountant to find it. You need your last statement, ten minutes, and a calculator. Work through it in this order.
A statement is a report, not a bill
A bill tells you what to pay. Your merchant statement tells you what was already taken before the money reached you.
That difference matters more than it sounds. Nothing on this document is waiting for your approval. The fees came out during settlement, transaction by transaction, and the statement is the receipt for a decision that was made without you in the room.
Which is why reading it carefully is not an accounting exercise. It is the only opportunity you get to check the work.
Start with four numbers, not the whole document
Ignore everything else on the first pass. Find these four and you have the shape of the month.
| Card settlement summary | August 2026 |
|---|---|
| VOLUME | |
| Gross card volume | 50,000.00 |
| Transactions processed | 1,000 |
| DEDUCTIONS | |
| Merchant service fee | 940.00 |
| Per transaction fee | 50.00 |
| International card fee | 68.00 |
| Chargeback fee | 25.00 |
| Terminal rental | 60.00 |
| PCI compliance fee | 15.00 |
| Total fees deducted | 1,158.00 |
| SETTLEMENT | |
| Net amount to your account | 48,842.00 |
Gross card volume
Everything your customers paid by card before anything was deducted. This is the number every calculation below divides into.
Transactions processed
The count, not the value. Fixed per transaction charges live here, and a high count with a low average sale value is where they hurt.
Total fees deducted
Every charge added together, not just the merchant service fee. If your provider does not total these for you, total them yourself.
Net settlement
What actually reached your account. Check it against your bank, because this is the only figure on the page you can verify independently.
Work out the only rate that describes what you really pay
Your quoted rate applies to one line. Your effective rate applies to everything, and it is the number to use whenever you compare providers, forecast margins or price a menu.
Start with
Total fees deducted
Every deduction on the statement added together, not only the merchant service fee.
Divided by
Gross card volume
What your customers paid by card that month, before anything came out.
Then
One hundred
Turns the ratio into the percentage you can hold against a quote.
Total fees deducted, divided by gross card volume, times one hundred.
Worked example
1,158.00 ÷ 50,000.00 × 100 = 2.32 per cent. That is the effective rate on the illustrative statement above. Your own figures will differ.
Run it for the last three months rather than one. A single month tells you very little, because card mix moves with the season and one bad chargeback can distort a quiet period. Three months tells you whether your effective rate is stable, creeping up, or swinging with your customer profile.
Then compare the result against the rate you were quoted when you signed. The gap between those two numbers is the part of your payment costs nobody discussed with you.
Every other line, and whether it should be there
Names vary between providers, which is part of the problem. These are the charges you are most likely to find on a Singapore merchant statement, listed by what they actually do.
| Line on your statement | What it actually is | Should you be paying it |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant service fee Also called: MDR, discount rate, processing fee |
The percentage taken from every card sale. It contains three separate costs rolled together: the interchange, which the card networks set and your customer's bank receives; the scheme fee the card network keeps; and your provider's own margin. Interchange++ pricing is the model that shows those three parts separately instead of averaging them. | Yes. This is the core cost of accepting cards. |
| Per transaction fee Also called: authorisation fee, item fee |
A fixed cents amount charged on every transaction regardless of size. It barely registers on a large sale and it hurts on a small one. | Common. Watch it closely if your average sale value is low. |
| International or cross-border fee Also called: non-domestic surcharge, foreign card fee |
An additional charge applied when the card was issued outside Singapore. Some providers fold this into a second headline rate instead of showing it as its own line. | Expected if you serve visitors. Check whether it is a line or a second rate. |
| Terminal rental Also called: equipment fee, hardware lease |
A monthly charge for the card terminal itself, billed per device. It does not scale with your sales, so it weighs most heavily in a quiet month. | Depends on your agreement. Worth questioning at renewal. |
| Chargeback fee Also called: dispute fee, retrieval fee |
An administrative charge for handling a disputed transaction, applied whether or not you win the dispute. | Yes, but the count matters more than the fee. |
| PCI compliance fee Also called: security fee, PCI DSS charge |
A charge for card data security compliance programmes. Some providers include this in their service and some bill it separately. | Ask which of the two your provider does. |
| Monthly minimum Also called: minimum service charge, shortfall fee |
A top up charged when your fees for the month fall below an agreed floor. It appears only in your quieter months, which is exactly when you can least afford it. | Query it. This one is often negotiable. |
The charges that do not move when your sales do
Split your deductions into two piles. One pile scales with your takings, so a strong month costs more and a quiet month costs less. The other pile stays exactly the same whatever happens on the shop floor.
Terminal rental, compliance fees and any monthly minimum belong in the second pile. In a busy month they disappear into the noise. In a quiet month they can be the difference between a thin profit and none, because you are paying the same fixed amount against far less revenue.
This is why comparing providers on percentage alone misleads so many merchants. A slightly higher rate with no fixed charges frequently beats a lower rate carrying a rental, a compliance fee and a minimum. Work out what each option costs you in your worst month, not your best one.
Check this before you calculate
GST should not be sitting on your core fee. IRAS treats the merchant discount rate and interchange as exempt financial services, so no GST is charged on the processing fee itself. GST at 9 per cent can still apply to genuinely separate taxable supplies on the same statement, such as terminal or hardware rental, so those lines may carry it. Presentation varies between providers, so check how each line is shown on your own statement and have your accountant confirm how it should be recorded for your business.
Your ten minute statement audit
Print this, sit down with your last three statements and work through it once. Most merchants find something on the first pass.
Add every deduction on the statement, not only the merchant service fee, and check the total against your net settlement.
Divide your total fees by your gross card volume to get your effective rate for the month.
Compare that effective rate against the rate you were quoted when you signed, and note the gap.
Run the same calculation for the two months either side, so you can see whether the gap is stable or growing.
Count the fixed charges that do not move with your sales, then work out what they cost you in a slow month.
Check whether international cards are charged as a separate line or as a second headline rate.
Look at how many chargeback fees appear, not just how much each one costs.
Check that no GST has been added to the merchant service fee itself, and note which lines, such as terminal rental, do carry it.
What the exercise actually gives you
An effective rate is not a complaint. It is a position. Once you know yours, you can ask your provider a specific question instead of a general one, and specific questions get specific answers.
It also changes what a competing quote means. A rival provider offering you a lower headline number is not offering you a lower cost until you have run their full fee schedule through the same calculation. Merchants who do this before they switch tend not to switch twice.
Worth noticing, too, that none of this required special access. It required a document you already receive and a calculator. The only reason larger businesses have always understood their payment costs better is that somebody in the building was paid to sit down and do exactly this.
One document. Ten minutes. Your real number.
Stuck on a line you cannot identify?
You do not need to send us anything. Tell us what the charge is called and we will explain what it usually covers, whether it is standard practice in Singapore, and what to ask your current provider about it. That holds whether or not you ever move to Qashier.
Ask us about your card processing costsFrequently asked questions
How do you read a card processing statement?
Start with four numbers rather than the whole document: your gross card volume, your transaction count, your total fees deducted and your net settlement. Everything else on the statement explains how you travelled from the first number to the last. Once you have those four, divide total fees by gross volume to get your effective rate, which is the only figure that describes what card acceptance really costs you.
What is an effective rate and how do I calculate mine?
Your effective rate is your total card processing costs for the month divided by your total card volume for the month, expressed as a percentage. Include every deduction, not just the headline merchant service fee, so terminal rental, per transaction fees, compliance charges and any monthly minimum all count. The result is almost always higher than the rate you were quoted, because the quoted rate usually covers one line of several.
Why is my card processing fee higher than the rate I was quoted?
Two reasons, and usually both at once. Your quoted rate normally covers only the merchant service fee on standard domestic cards, while premium, corporate and overseas cards are charged at higher rates or carry an added line. On top of that sit fixed charges such as terminal rental, per transaction fees and compliance fees, which are not part of the rate at all but come out of the same settlement.
What is a chargeback fee?
A chargeback happens when a cardholder disputes a transaction with their bank and the amount is pulled back from you. The chargeback fee is a separate administrative charge your provider applies for handling that dispute, and it applies whether or not you eventually win the case. Check both the fee amount and how many appear on your statement, because a rising count usually points at something fixable in your checkout or your refund process.
Is GST charged on card processing fees in Singapore?
Generally no on the core fee. IRAS treats the merchant discount rate and interchange as exempt financial services, so you should not see GST added to the processing fee itself. GST at the prevailing rate can still apply to separate taxable supplies such as terminal or hardware rental, so those lines may carry it. Because presentation varies between providers, check how each line is shown on your own statement and ask your accountant to confirm how it should be recorded for your business.
Which payment methods does QashierPay accept in Singapore?
QashierPay accepts Visa, Mastercard and AMEX, along with PayNow, GrabPay, ShopeePay, Atome and Alipay+ and other international e-wallets. In store card payments settle T+1. Qashier holds a Major Payment Institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The full list sits on the QashierPay rates page.
Do I need to install an app to see my settlement records?
No. QashierHQ runs in a web browser on any device, so your sales, fees and settlement records are available wherever you are. There is nothing to download and nothing to install.
Disclaimer
This article is general information about card payment costs and is not financial, tax or accounting advice. Fee names and structures vary between providers. The GST position described here reflects IRAS guidance current at August 2026, and how any individual line should be recorded for your business should be confirmed with your accountant. Qashier is a Major Payment Institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.