Merchant Processing Auditing Services
Stop Losing Profit to Card Fees — Save 15–20% Without Changing Processors
Our merchant processing experts uncover interchange inefficiencies, hidden markups, and padded fees buried in your credit card statements. Using the P3 proprietary database of processor benchmarks, we help you reclaim margins and optimize every transaction.
Bloated Surcharge and Markups
Duplicate or Hidden Fees
Incorrect Interchange Charges
Above Market Rates
What Is a Merchant Processing Audit?
A merchant processing audit is a forensic analysis of your payment processing system — from interchange rates and data quality to processor fees and chargeback handling.
At P3 Cost Analysts, we dig into your monthly statements and transaction data using our proprietary benchmark database to identify excessive costs, uncover hidden surcharges, and compare your rates to true market pricing. Then, we renegotiate and reconfigure your setup to ensure every transaction clears at the lowest justifiable cost.
Most clients reduce their effective card-processing rate by 15–20% — and often without changing processors or disrupting payment flow.
What We Audit
Our analysts dissect every element of your merchant processing environment, including:
- Interchange qualification
- Processor fees
- Pricing structure
- Gateway performance
- Chargebacks and reversals
- Surcharges and markups
Each variable is cross-checked against the P3 database — representing thousands of processor arrangements across industries — to ensure no hidden premium remains undetected.
Why Merchant Processing Costs Creep Up
Card fees are intentionally opaque. Processors, gateways, and card brands all take a slice — and without ongoing oversight, costs escalate silently.
Here’s why your rates drift upward:
“Tiered” pricing models
that hide true interchange costs
Non-qualified transactions
due to missing Level 2/3 data fields
Overlapping or padded fees
labeled “PCI,” “batch,” or “statement”
Misclassified SIC codes
that push you into higher interchange categories
Processor incentives
to steer you into higher-margin rate structures
Our Proven 4-Step Process
We cross-check every line item against contract terms, interchange rates, and competitive benchmarks.
Engagement model: 100% contingency-based. You pay only when we deliver measurable savings.
Benefits You Can Expect
15–20% reduction in total card-processing costs
Transparent, verifiable fee structures
Optimized interchange qualification through data enrichment
Stronger negotiating leverage backed by the P3 proprietary benchmark database
Ongoing rate monitoring to prevent pricing drift
Zero-risk engagement — you only pay when we save you money
Who We Help
- Non-Profits
- Healthcare systems & clinics
- B2B distributors & manufacturers
- Professional services & financial institutions
- Hospitality & restaurant groups
- Multi-location organizations
- Any business spending more than our category minimums
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a merchant processing audit cost?
There are no upfront fees or charges. We only bill based on implemented savings, that are easily quantifiable. These are easily seen comparing the charges we achieve for you on the new invoices, vs the old invoices.
Then we simply share in the savings each month for a finite period of time (12-60 months depending on the level of service our clients want).
What data do you need from us to get started?
We need 4 months of statements. We can often get these invoices via online login portals our clients already have set up.
Will you negotiate with providers?
Yes. We work directly with the telecom providers to negotiate refunds/credits, and implement the corrections moving forward.
What does “risk-free” mean here?
Our service is contingency-based—there’s no upfront cost, and fees are tied to verified savings. If we don’t find you savings, that don’t hit your bottom line, there is no fee. It’s that simple.
How long does a typical audit take?
We aim to deliver our initial findings within 30 days and deliver savings within 90 days to your bottom line.
I have people on my team that handle this/I handle this myself, why would we need you?
If you work for a business or own one, you’ve been managing these expenses since the beginning. We find savings 90% of the time for businesses and organizations we look at.
However, if the answer to all of the following is true, you may not need our help.
- Do the person managing this know your processor’s break-even costs to process for your account, and how much incremental profit your account represents?
- Do they know what price and pricing methodology to request?
- Do they know all the Interchange categories (there are over 225) and the Debit Network Fee categories (there are over 50).
- Do they know all the qualifications necessary to obtain the most favorable transaction costs on each?
- Do they know what changes can be made with your internal method of payment acceptance that can result in greater efficiency, more security, and lower processing costs?
- Is the person who is managing this expense category, only managing that expense, and has no other duties?
- Are they incentivized to save every dollar on a performance basis in that particular expense category?
- Do they have over 10 years (minimum) of sole focus on this particular expense category, doing nothing else each day?
- Do they have access to thousands of other comparable data points across industries, organizations, and peers outlining comparable costs (at a line-item level) of this particular expense category?
If the answer to all of those is ‘yes’ then we would concede a merchant account cost reduction audit by experts may not yield results. However, given we only charge if we find savings, it’s certainly worth a shot and we are happy to invest our time and resources on our client’s behalf.
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Ready to stop losing margin to avoidable card fees?
Schedule your free Merchant Processing Audit today.
No upfront cost. No obligation. Only results — backed by P3’s proprietary benchmark intelligence.
