Monthly fees are the flat amount a merchant pays to keep the merchant account open. This is generally around $10 per month. Some processors might charge up to $50 per month.
A monthly minimum fee is similar to a monthly fee. It ensures there is minimum activity in the merchant account. Merchants pay a minimum amount per month, even if they do no transactions. However, if the merchant does do a certain level of transaction the monthly fee disappears. In general, monthly minimum fees are much better than monthly fees.
Here’s an example: if you process $1,000 in credit card sales over a month, and let’s say your credit card fees totaled $22.20 for that period. If your monthly minimum is set to $25, you would be charged $2.80 ($25.00 – $22.20) for the month. That’s much better than a flat rate of $25/mo. In general, monthly minimums are achieved with around $2000 in credit card sales.