How FANF Fees Are Calculated: Factors That Affect the Amount You Pay

By fanffee August 26, 2025

The Fixed Acquirer Network Fee (FANF) is not a one-size-fits-all fee. Visa calculates it based on a number of factors about your company, which means the fees can be quite variable.

Your location, your Visa monthly sales volume, your merchant category code (MCC), and whether or not transactions are card-present or card-not-present all play a major factor during calculation.

Keeping these factors in mind allows you to prepare for your expenses and more accurately control your payment processing costs.

When and How Do FANF Fees Get Charged?

FANF fees are calculated monthly, but they’re not deducted immediately. Rather, they’re charged once per quarter.

For instance, the fee you accumulate in August will typically appear on your account near the end of September. After being calculated, your payment processor deducts the fee and remits it to Visa.

Who Must Pay FANF Fees?

If you are a company that accepts Visa cards via a merchant account, you will have to pay FANF fees. It doesn’t matter if you accept payments by means of a Visa credit card or a Visa debit card, or if you receive payments in-store or online.

However there are a couple of exceptions:

If you make less than $200 in Visa sales via in-store transactions each month, you won’t be charged FANF fees.
If you’re a registered U.S. charity under MCC 8398, Visa waives the fees. The fees will appear initially, but you’ll receive a rebate later.

How Are FANF Fees Calculated?

FANF fees are not uniform for every business. Visa determines the fee based on several important criteria. Therefore, if you accept Visa payments, the actual fee you pay relies on these factors:

Merchant Category Code (MCC)

All businesses receive a Merchant Category Code (MCC) when they establish a merchant account. This code indicates to Visa the kind of products or services you sell. As your MCC is tied to your volume of sales, it also has a role on how much you pay in FANF fees.

Some business types that tend to be assigned to higher sales volume categories — and pay more FANF fees are:

Merchant Category Code	Business/Industry	Description
3000-3299, 4511	Airlines	Companies operating scheduled or non-scheduled air transportation.
3300-3499, 7512	Auto Rental	Businesses that rent or lease passenger automobiles without drivers.
3500-3999, 7011	Lodging	Retailers offer a variety of goods at reduced prices.
5310	Discount Stores	Businesses sell bulk merchandise to members.
5200, 5300	Warehouse Stores & Wholesale Clubs	Stores offering goods in bulk, often requiring membership.
5411	Supermarkets	Full-service grocery stores.
5311	Department Stores	Major retailers with a wide range of products, including apparel and home goods.
5511	Car & Truck Dealers	Dealerships selling new and used automobiles.
5532	Tire Stores	Specialized in selling and possibly servicing tires.
5541, 5542	Petroleum	Includes service stations with or without additional services.
5651	Clothing Stores	Retailers specializing in apparel.
5712	Furniture Stores	Stores selling home furnishings.
5912	Drugstores	Pharmacies selling prescription drugs and other merchandise.
5732	Electronics Stores	Retailers of consumer electronic devices.
7832	Theaters	Venues showing live performances or movies.
4829	Wire Transfer & Money Orders	Businesses providing wire transfer and money order services.
5943	Stationery Stores	Shops selling stationery, paper products, and related goods.
7012	Timeshares	Companies offering partial ownership of vacation properties.

Type of Business

The business you operate also impacts your FANF fees. Visa considers whether you’re a card-present business or a card-not-present business.

Card-Present Businesses: A card-present business accepts payments in person, typically using a card reader or tap-to-pay technology. For such an operation, Visa calculates your FANF fees based on the number of locations you have. The greater the number of locations, the more expensive the fees.

Here’s a sample: if you have 1–3 locations and your business is in a high volume of sales MCC, you would pay $2 per location, plus $2.90 for being in the high-volume category.

Number of Locations	FANF per Location	FANF for High Volume MCCs per Location
1–2	$2.00	$2.90
4–10	$2.90	$4.00
11–50	$4.00	$5.00
101–150	$6.00	$8.00
151–200	$10.00	$18.00
201–250	$14.00	$25.00
251–500	$24.00	$35.00
1,001–1,500	$40.00	$55.00
1,501–2,000	$50.00	$65.00
2,001–4,000	$50.00	$65.00

Card-Not-Present Businesses: A card-not-present business refers to a business that accepts payment without the physical presence of the customer. This typically occurs online, over the phone, or when card numbers are manually entered.

For these merchants, Visa calculates FANF fees on your monthly Visa processing volume. For instance, if your Visa monthly processing volume is between $1,250 and $3,999, the FANF fee would be $7.

Monthly Visa Card Processing Volume	Monthly Fee
$1,250 – $3,999	$7.00
$4,000 – $7,999	$9.00
$8,000 – $39,999	$15.00
$40,000 – $199,999	$45.00
$200,000 – $799,999	$8,000.00
$40,000,000 – $79,999,999	$16,000.00
$80,000,000 – $399,999,999	$45,000.00
$400,000,000 or more	$70,000.00

Examples of FANF Fees

The Fixed Acquirer Network Fee (FANF) might sound complicated, but viewing actual business scenarios helps a lot in getting clarity. For a single retail store merchant with one location and approximately $5,000 in monthly card sales, the FANF fee is straightforward—just $2 per location.

If you have one to three locations, it’s still the same level flat $2 per location, which keeps expenses predictable for physical stores.

Next consider an e-business, since all transactions are card-not-present, the charge is based on the volume of sales. If the store processes between $1,250 and $3,999 per month, the FANF fee works out to $7. This is the additional cost of electronic transactions.

Lastly, imagine a restaurant chain with five locations. For card payments in person, it is $2 per location, or $10 in total. But if some of the sales are from orders placed online, the card-not-present fee is also applied.

Let’s say 80% of the sales are card-present and 20% are online, the restaurant would pay $9 in total FANF fees. These instances demonstrate how the fee varies based on the kind of business and the method of accepting payments.

How to Spot FANF on Your Merchant Statement

Identifying the FANF fee on your merchant statement may not be easy, as it can be listed under different names.

You may recognize it as “Visa Fixed Acquirer Network Fee,” “Visa Network Fee,” “Fixed Network CNP Fee,” “High Volume Card Present Fee,” or simply “FNF Fee.” The statement may also vary depending on whether your transactions are card-present (in person) or card-not-present (online or keyed in).

If your processor uses flat-rate pricing, the FANF may not show up as a separate line item. That doesn’t mean you’re not paying it, it’s usually included in the flat fee you’re charged.

To keep ahead of these fees, check over your monthly statements and see if any of the above names appear. If you’re not sure, your payment processor can provide a complete breakdown of fees.

Additionally, be aware that shifts in your sales volume or quantity of locations will influence the amount of FANF you’re assessed. Keeping this information close at hand will make it easier to plan and budget.

Can I Reduce Paying FANF Fees?

For the most part, no, you can’t escape FANF fees. They are required fees charged by Visa to pay for operating its payment network and combating fraud.

However, there are two scenarios in which you won’t pay. First, if your Visa sales are exceptionally low such as below $200, then you’re not charged.

The second is if you operate an MCC 8398 registered U.S. charity, wherein Visa pays a rebate to adjust the fee. Other than these exceptions, FANF fees are charged to all merchants that accept Visa cards.

If you truly want to reduce your processing expenses, what you have to do is keep an eye on your processor’s markup. This is the additional fee your processor adds in addition to normal fees that Visa, Mastercard, and the issuing banks charge.

By knowing precisely what your processor is charging over those set network and bank fees, you will know where you can negotiate or switch in order to save some cash.

Does Mastercard Charge FANF Fees?

No, Mastercard does not charge a Fixed Acquirer Network Fee (FANF). This fee is exclusive to Visa. Mastercard however, has its own network fees that merchants pay.

These include the Acquirer Brand Volume Fee, which is 0.13% of transaction volume. For over the limit credit transactions, the rate remains at 0.13%, whereas debit transactions above $1,000 are charged 0.14%.

In addition, Mastercard charges an additional Network Access and Brand Usage Fee (NABU) of $0.195 per transaction. These charges operate in much the same manner as Visa’s FANF, increasing the total cost of Mastercard processing.

How the FANF Has Evolved Over the Years

In April 2015, Visa revised how FANF fees operated. The intention was to make the fee more flexible rather than entirely fixed.

One adjustment was that companies processing less than $200 on a monthly basis were no longer required to pay the fee.

Another change implemented a percentage fee on smaller volumes—if your Visa sales for the month were between $200 and $1,249.99, the FANF was 0.15% of your overall sales. These changes put the fee scale into better proportion with business size and sales volume.

Conclusion

FANF fees are a mandatory cost of accepting Visa payments, but they do not have to be complicated. How much you pay is determined by clear factors such as volume of sales, type of business, locations, and the payment methods your customers use.

Knowing how these fees can help you budget ahead of time, identify them on your statement, and control costs with more confidence. Rather than being blindsided, you’ll know just what to anticipate every quarter.

FAQs

What is the FANF fee?

The Fixed Acquirer Network Fee (FANF) is an obligatory fee that Visa levies to meet network and fraud management expenses.

Who pays FANF fees?

Any merchant who accepts Visa cards pays FANF, with the exception of charities with MCC 8398 and merchants with less than $200 per month of Visa sales.

How often are FANF fees charged?

They’re computed each month but charged quarterly, and then transmitted from your processor to Visa.

Do Mastercard transactions incur FANF fees?

No, Mastercard pays its own network charges, but they operate almost the same as Visa’s FANF.

Can I reduce or skip FANF fees?

FANF cannot be avoided, but you might fall under the exempt category if your sales are below $200 or if you’re a registered U.S. charity.