Mid-Qualified Rate Explained:
What is a Mid-Qualified Rate? The Mid-Qualified rate is most often found in three-tier merchant account pricing schemes, with the other two tiers referred to as “Qualified” and “Non-Qualified.” This fee is often referred to in the credit card processing industry as a “Mid-Qualified Transaction Fee” or “Mid-Qualified Downgrade Fee,” or just as “Mid-Qual.” This fee is actually a surcharge that is added on top of the base tier (Qualified Rate) for certain card types.
Generally, the Mid-Qualified surcharge costs merchants an additional 1% and is applied because of cards that have a rewards program such as miles or points. However, merchant account providers can define the fee tiers however they choose because there are no industry standards dictating how fees must be defined. One provider may define Mid-Qualified transactions very differently than another, which makes comparing provider costs nearly impossible.
Learn how everything thing you need to know about rates and how to get the lowest fees from any provider in “Fee Sweep: How to Get the Merchant Services You Need Without Getting Scammed.”
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About Phillip Parker
I'm a small business owner, former credit card processing sales director, author of this post and creator of this website. I've seen the merchant account industry from both sides of the table and built this website to, hopefully, make your life easier when it comes to accepting credit cards. I review every service provider I can find and track the best merchant accounts as well the worst merchant accounts. I also built the free tool below to find hidden credit card processing fees and overcharges in your merchant account statement. Try it out and contact me to let me know what you think! Thank you for reading my article!
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