82ad790e_and_Merchant_Services_Glossary__Definition
[Term] Monthly Minimum [Definition] 
A way to ensure the merchants pay a minimum amount in fees each month and or cover costs from the provider to maintain the account and to create minimal profits. If a merchant’s qualified fees do not equal or exceed the monthly minimum, they will be charged up to the monthly minimum to satisfy their minimum fee requirements. In a three-tier or four-tier pricing structure, the qualified discount rate is used in calculating the monthly minimum. With NAB, a monthly minimum of $25.00 is required for free equipment. For example, if a merchant usually processes $10,000 in Visa/MasterCard volume and their qualified discount rate is 1.69%, the merchant would have paid $169.00 in qualified discount rates. Because this is more than $25.00, the merchant would not be billed any portion of the monthly minimum. If however the merchant processes $1,000 in Visa/MasterCard volume and their qualified discount rate is 1.69%, the merchant would have paid $16.90 in qualified discount rates. This means that the merchant did not reach their $25.00 in monthly minimum and so would be assessed with an additional charge of $8.10 to get the merchant up to $25.00 in qualified discount rates. In an interchange plus pricing scenario, the basis points charged to the merchant are what count towards the monthly minimum.
Credit Card Processing and Merchant Services Glossary
Definition