Acquirer markup
Acquirer markup is the part of a card processing charge that the acquirer or processor keeps for itself, on top of interchange and scheme fees. Your contract sets it, usually as a percentage of value, a fixed fee per transaction or both, and often with volume tiers, minimums and extra service fees attached.
How acquirer markup is calculated
Acquirer markup is calculated from the rate card in your processing agreement. A typical rate card sets a percentage of transaction value, a fixed amount per transaction, or both, and steps the rate down as monthly volume passes agreed breakpoints. Minimum monthly fees, refund fees, chargeback fees and account fees usually sit alongside it.
Every card transaction carries three layers of cost: interchange paid to the issuer, scheme fees paid to the network, and the acquirer's markup (Ryft, 2026). Interchange in the UK and EEA is capped by regulation, while markup is a commercial term you negotiate. Under interchange++ pricing the markup appears as its own line. Under blended pricing it is folded into a single rate, and you can only find it by subtracting the other two layers.
Where acquirer markup goes wrong on a bill
Markup errors usually come from the rate card being applied wrongly. A volume tier is reached but the rate never steps down, a minimum fee is charged on top of usage when the contract says instead of usage, or an old rate card is still in use after a renegotiation. Fixed fees can also be billed twice.
The contract's wording decides some of these cases. A tier table that does not say whether the lower rate applies to all volume or only to volume above the breakpoint can be read two ways, and the difference is large. Addenda add to the problem, because a rate agreed in a later letter only helps you if billing picked it up from its effective date. In the illustrative findings on the FeeVerify homepage, a monthly per-merchant account fee billed twice is one of the four variances, for a fictional tenant with synthetic figures.
How to check acquirer markup
To check markup, rebuild the rate card from the processing agreement and every addendum, with effective dates, then recalculate the month's charges from your own volumes. Compare the result line by line with the invoice. Pay most attention to tier logic, minimums and fixed monthly fees, because that is where the rate card is most often misapplied.
Where the contract can be read more than one way, write down both readings and the amount each produces, then ask the acquirer which one it applies. FeeVerify turns each fee in the agreement into a rule with the clause attached and a confidence grade. A rule that needs interpretation, such as an ambiguous tier table, is graded lower and goes to a cards and payments specialist before any finding built on it is treated as final.
Worked example
A contract sets markup at 0.30% of value up to £5,000,000 a month and 0.22% above that. In the example month, volume is £6,200,000 and the invoice charges 0.30% on all of it. The figures are synthetic, and the expected amount depends on how the tier is read.
| Reading of the tier | Expected markup | Billed | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.22% applies to all volume once £5,000,000 is passed | £13,640 | £18,600 | £4,960 |
| 0.22% applies only to volume above £5,000,000 | £17,640 | £18,600 | £960 |
Under either reading the bill is too high. The clause decides whether the claim is £960 or £4,960 a month, which is why the rule behind it would carry a Medium grade until someone has read the tier table and, if needed, asked the acquirer how it applies it. Synthetic figures for illustration.
Related terms
Sources: Ryft, European payment fees guide, 2026.
Start with one month of your own data.
A pilot begins with the agreements that protect both sides, then your contracts and one month of settlement data, scoped with a payments specialist on the first call. The 30-day diagnostic re-costs every transaction against them and shows each variance with its clause, before any recurring fee.