Payment problems
Your card fees don’t match the quote. Here’s where they hide.
The headline rate is rarely the problem — the drift lives in blends, surcharges and ancillary lines nobody mentioned at signing.
What’s actually happening
Common hiding places: blended rates that quietly pool expensive card types into “one simple rate”; premium-card and cross-border uplifts; monthly minimums; PCI “non-compliance” fees that continue after you comply; statement fees; and — in specialist sectors — flat monthly risk surcharges that appear on no comparison table.
None of this is necessarily improper; most of it is in the contract. The issue is that category-level pricing plus low transparency means merchants pay for opacity.
What to do right now
- Pull three months of statements and list every distinct fee line — most merchants find lines they cannot name.
- Ask your provider, in writing, to map each line to your contract. Unmappable lines are your negotiation.
- When comparing, demand the same disclosure from every bidder: every fee category, including reserves and chargeback fees, named before signature.
How the group helps
Our pricing model is the audit-proof version: no published teaser rates, but every fee category named and explained before you commit — processing, settlement, reserves, chargebacks — and no hidden risk premium.
If your current statement is a mystery, bring it: pricing yours properly starts with understanding what you actually pay now.
Realistic expectations
Specialist-sector processing legitimately costs more than mainstream retail — anyone quoting otherwise is hiding the difference somewhere. What you should never pay for is not knowing.
Related: Pricing, explained · Payment gateway costs · Card machines compared
VIP360 is the platform, not the counterparty: regulated services are provided by the licensed institution you are matched with, under its own licence and terms.
Frequently asked questions
Are blended rates always bad?
No — they trade precision for simplicity. They become a problem when the blend is priced assuming your cheapest card mix and your real mix is dearer, or when the “simple rate” sits on top of unadvertised ancillary fees.
What is an honest quote?
One that names every fee category you will pay — including reserves and per-chargeback fees — in writing, before you sign. Comparable, auditable, boring.
Why don’t you publish rates?
Because honest pricing in specialist sectors depends on your file, and teaser rates that don’t survive underwriting are the industry’s oldest hidden fee. We publish the structure instead and quote the numbers.
Talk it through with a specialist
Tell us what happened: sector, provider, timeline. You’ll get an honest read on your options, typically within one business day.
Prefer to write directly? Email info@vip-360.com with “urgent” in the subject line and what happened — it reaches the same specialists, and honesty about your situation speeds everything up.