Assessment fees (also called network fees or dues and assessments) are fees paid directly to the card networks — Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express — on every card transaction. They are distinct from interchange fees (which go to the issuing bank) and processor markup (which goes to your processor).
Assessment fees are relatively small, typically 0.10%–0.15% of transaction volume, but they are mandatory and non-negotiable. Visa charges 0.14% for credit transactions and 0.13% for debit. Mastercard charges slightly different rates depending on volume tiers. These rates are publicly available in each network's regulations.
In addition to the basic assessment rate, card networks charge various other fees including: - NABU (Network Access and Brand Usage): Mastercard's per-transaction fee - FANF (Fixed Acquirer Network Fee): Visa's fee based on merchant location count - APF (Acquirer Processing Fee): Visa's per-transaction fee - KICC: Mastercard's transaction processing fee
These additional fees collectively add 0.01%–0.05% to effective processing costs. Under interchange plus pricing, all assessment fees are passed through at cost. Under tiered pricing, they're often embedded in the quoted rate.
Assessment fees are small individually but unavoidable. For a merchant processing $100,000/month, assessment fees total approximately $135–$175/month. These cannot be negotiated away — they're the card networks' dues for using their infrastructure.
What matters is that your processor passes assessment fees through at actual cost, rather than marking them up. Some tiered pricing processors bundle assessments into their rates and charge more than the actual network fees. Under interchange plus, you can verify that assessment fees match published network rates.
A salon processes $20,000 in Visa credit card transactions and $5,000 in Mastercard credit transactions this month. - Visa assessment (0.14%): $20,000 × 0.14% = $28.00 - Visa APF (Acquirer Processing Fee): ~$0.0195 per transaction × 200 transactions = $3.90 - Mastercard assessment (~0.13%): $5,000 × 0.13% = $6.50 - Mastercard NABU: ~$0.0195 per transaction × 50 transactions = $0.98 - Total assessment fees: ~$39.38 - These fees go directly to Visa and Mastercard, not to the processor
No. Assessment fees are set by card networks and are non-negotiable for all but the largest merchants (with billions in volume). What you can ensure is that your processor passes them through at actual cost rather than marking them up.
Interchange fees go to the bank that issued the customer's card. Assessment fees go to the card network (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) that processed the transaction. Both are charged on every transaction.
Assessment fees fluctuate with volume and transaction count. Visa's FANF fee may change based on how many locations you have. Network fee structures are complex but the changes are usually small.
Liberty Bancard passes all assessment fees through at actual card network cost — zero markup. On your statement, you'll see Visa and Mastercard fees listed separately and at published rates. We never use assessment fees as a hidden profit center.
Continue learning: Browse all 60 payment processing terms in our Payment Processing Glossary, or upload your statement for a free analysis of your current processing costs.