Credit card processing customers are not big fans of fees, those additional add-ons that make the actual cost of credit card processing vague and uncertain.
Most human beings prefer to avoid uncertainty, so the justification and necessity of additional processing fees is certain to be an issue on multiple occasions. Getting customers to accept these fees is often dependent on helping them to predict what the fees will be, which different business scenarios affect which fees and the amounts of those fees, and ultimately why the fees are necessary.
The number one way to prevent conflict over merchant account fees is to market them properly. Since customers do not appreciate unpleasant surprises, it would be a good idea to disclose, rather than bury add-on fees and to also refrain from marketing an unrealistic, low-ball rate that will have a broad menu of additional fees hiding in the small print of contracts.
This tactic of hiding fees or pushing them into the future is the precise reason why cable and satellite TV providers experience the costly churn of clients who eagerly await contracts to expire to get out from under what they perceive as an example of allowing themselves to be fooled.
When questions do arise regarding merchant account fees, at all costs avoid establishing an adversarial relationship with the customer. Business owners understand the necessity of offering their customers the convenience of using credit cards for goods and services. They also are realistic enough to know that these services cannot be had for free. They want to make a profit and they know that any of their vendors are in business for the same reason. This common ground can be used to make an ally out of a potential adversary.
The key is to develop realistic expectations for the customer. They won’t care as much about how the fees are calculated as they will about the bottom line. Once they understand and accept that they are getting a great deal and offering their customers a valuable service if the fees on their credit card transactions are at least somewhat predictable, they will be less likely to quibble over any of the individual fees on their statements.