← FeeCheck

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Reading time: approx. 6 minutes | Last reviewed: May 2026

Comparison Logic and Neutrality — How FeeCheck Ensures Fair Comparisons

FeeCheck receives no payment from compared providers. Our comparison logic is based exclusively on objective cost parameters. No provider can improve its position by paying FeeCheck.

What "Neutral" Means at FeeCheck

The word "neutral" is used widely — and often carelessly — in the comparison portal industry. At FeeCheck, neutrality has a precise operational definition with three distinct dimensions:

1. Financial Independence from Compared Providers

FeeCheck does not receive revenue from any payment provider that appears in its comparisons. This means:

No inclusion fees (providers cannot pay to be listed)
No exclusion fees (providers cannot pay to be removed from unfavourable comparisons)
No sponsored positions (no provider can pay for a better placement in results)
No referral commissions (FeeCheck does not earn money when merchants sign contracts with compared providers)

2. Consistent Application of Comparison Parameters

Every provider in every comparison is assessed using the same parameters, the same methodology, and the same data quality standards. There are no exceptions based on provider size, market position, or relationship with FeeCheck.

3. Transparency About Limitations

Where FeeCheck's data is incomplete, approximate, or based on estimates, this is explicitly stated. Neutrality includes being honest about the limits of what FeeCheck knows.

Permitted Business Models (Neutrality-Compatible)

FeeCheck's operational independence must be funded. The following revenue sources are considered compatible with neutrality because they do not create incentives to distort comparisons:

Revenue Source	Why Neutral
Anonymous aggregate data licensing to financial researchers	Data is anonymised; no individual provider benefits
B2B reports on EU payment market trends	Based on market analysis, not provider relationships
White-label data services to financial media (with disclosure)	Editorial content not influenced by data licensing
EU research grants and public funding	No commercial provider interest

FeeCheck publishes its revenue model in this document. If this model changes in any way that could affect neutrality, it will be disclosed immediately in an updated version of this page.

Prohibited Practices

The following are explicitly prohibited and will never be introduced at FeeCheck:

Practice	Why Prohibited
Pay-for-placement (sponsored rankings)	Directly compromises neutrality
Referral commission from provider sign-ups	Creates financial incentive to favour high-commission providers
Provider-funded "research" reports	Conflicts of interest cannot be adequately disclosed away
Selective data inclusion to benefit a paying partner	Destroys the fundamental value proposition of FeeCheck
"Trusted partner" badges sold to providers	Misleads merchants about the basis of any endorsement

Comparison Parameters: What FeeCheck Assesses

FeeCheck's comparisons are built on the following objective parameters. All parameters are applied consistently across all providers:

Mandatory Comparison Parameters

1. Effective Cost per Transaction (ECT) The primary metric: the total cost to the merchant as a percentage of transaction value, including all three components (interchange + scheme fee + acquiring margin).

2. Pricing Model Transparency Which pricing model does the provider use? (Blended / Interchange++ / Flat Fee / Mixed) Is the full cost structure disclosed in the provider's public tariffs?

3. Card System Coverage Which card types and networks does the provider accept? Coverage gaps are displayed prominently.

4. Contract Terms (where publicly available)

Minimum contract duration
Notice period for termination
Settlement time (how quickly funds reach the merchant)

5. Data Availability Score FeeCheck rates the quality of a provider's public pricing disclosure. Providers with opaque or incomplete public pricing receive a lower data availability score — this is not a judgement of their service quality, but a transparency indicator for merchants.

What FeeCheck Does Not Compare

Some factors cannot be fairly compared with publicly available data:

Customer service quality (subjective; not consistently measurable)
Hardware quality and reliability (insufficient public data)
Fraud prevention efficacy (provider-proprietary systems; no independent data)
Integration quality (highly merchant-context dependent)

FeeCheck encourages merchants to seek independent reviews for these factors.

How FeeCheck Generates Revenue (Full Disclosure)

In the interest of complete transparency, FeeCheck discloses its current revenue model:

FeeCheck generates revenue through:

Anonymous market data licensing — aggregated, non-identified transaction cost data licensed to financial researchers and EU policy institutions
B2B market intelligence reports — periodic reports on EU payment cost trends, sold to financial institutions and consultancies
EU public funding applications — where available for digital market transparency initiatives

FeeCheck does not generate revenue through:

Referral fees from payment providers
Placement fees or sponsored positions
Affiliate marketing commissions
Lead generation for payment providers

EU AI Act Relevance

FeeCheck's comparison engine constitutes an automated decision-support system. Under the EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689), systems that materially influence commercial decisions must meet transparency requirements. FeeCheck is committed to full compliance:

The comparison parameters and weighting logic are publicly documented on this page
No black-box algorithms are used in ranking or presentation
Merchants can inspect the basis of every comparison result
There are no personalised recommendations without explicit consent (GDPR-compliant)

Dispute Process: Challenging Data Quality

FeeCheck welcomes data quality challenges from any party — including payment providers who believe their data has been inaccurately represented.

What is accepted as a challenge:

Demonstrable factual error (e.g., incorrect interchange rate, outdated tariff)
Missing data that is publicly available (with source link)

What is not accepted:

Requests to remove unfavourable but accurate data
Challenges to FeeCheck's methodology or comparison logic that are not supported by evidence
Commercially motivated requests without factual basis

Disputes are reviewed by FeeCheck's editorial team within 10 business days. If a factual error is confirmed, it is corrected and the page's Last reviewed date is updated. If the challenge is rejected, the requesting party receives a written explanation.

Submit data quality challenges via: /en/data-feedback/

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is FeeCheck funded by payment service providers? No. FeeCheck receives no revenue from payment providers included in its comparisons. Revenue comes from data licensing, B2B research reports, and public funding. See the full disclosure above.

Can a provider pay to improve its rating at FeeCheck? No. This is explicitly prohibited. All providers are assessed using the same parameters from publicly available data. No commercial relationship with FeeCheck affects comparison results.

Why are some providers not included in FeeCheck comparisons? Providers may be absent because: (1) their public pricing data is insufficient for a fair comparison, (2) they do not serve the specific market segment being compared, or (3) FeeCheck has not yet completed data collection for that provider. Absence is not a negative judgement.

What happens if a provider submits incorrect prices to FeeCheck? FeeCheck uses only publicly available, independently verifiable data. If a provider's published tariff contains an error, merchants can submit a data quality challenge. Corrections are made based on verified evidence, not provider requests.

How is FeeCheck different from affiliate comparison portals? Affiliate comparison portals earn commission when merchants sign up with a provider — creating a direct financial incentive to recommend high-commission providers. FeeCheck earns no commissions from provider contracts. This structural difference is what makes independent comparison possible.