From a merchant statement
Also billed as Equipment rental fee, Terminal lease.
What is a terminal rental markup?
The recurring charge for renting or leasing your card terminal, priced above what the hardware is worth. Long leases can total many times the retail price of the device, and some run on a separate contract that survives the processing agreement.
Who charges it and why
The processor or an affiliated leasing company. Hardware has a real cost, so a rental line is not junk by definition; the problem is the multiple. A multi-year non-cancellable lease on a commodity terminal is a financing product dressed as equipment.
What fair looks like
Fair looks like transparent hardware pricing you can check against retail: buy the terminal outright, or rent month to month at a price that tracks the device's value, cancellable when the account closes.
Can you get rid of it
Read the lease before the processing contract, because the lease is often the harder one to exit and may bind even if you switch processors. If you are in one, check the buyout terms; if you are shopping, price the same device at retail and let that number negotiate.
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What is a terminal rental markup?
The recurring charge for renting or leasing your card terminal, priced above what the hardware is worth. Long leases can total many times the retail price of the device, and some run on a separate contract that survives the processing agreement.
Who charges the terminal rental markup and why?
The processor or an affiliated leasing company. Hardware has a real cost, so a rental line is not junk by definition; the problem is the multiple. A multi-year non-cancellable lease on a commodity terminal is a financing product dressed as equipment.
Can you get rid of a terminal rental markup?
Read the lease before the processing contract, because the lease is often the harder one to exit and may bind even if you switch processors. If you are in one, check the buyout terms; if you are shopping, price the same device at retail and let that number negotiate.