What it means
Separate the charges
A payment can involve a network fee, a gateway processing charge, a conversion spread and a payout fee. These costs have different bases and may be charged to different parties. One advertised percentage does not necessarily represent the complete cost.
Compare like with like
Use the same asset, network, transaction size, conversion policy and payout route when comparing costs. Estimates can differ from final charges. Retain the fee components in accounting records so the gross customer payment can be reconciled to the net amount received.
Related concepts
In practice
A concrete example
A merchant compares the gross payment, network cost, provider fee and final payout instead of recording only the net deposit.
Technical notes & boundaries
A gas fee is one kind of network charge, not a synonym for every transaction fee. No fixed fee or universal lowest-cost claim follows from the payment method alone.
Go to the source.
Original references used for this definition. Product details and standards can change.
