Payment Terminal Cost Diagnosis: 15 Essential Checklist Items You Can't Miss

The first step in diagnosing payment terminal costs is clarifying your current contract status. Most businesses either don't read their contracts carefully or fail to review monthly settlement details thoroughly, continuing to pay unnecessary fees. By organizing your current situation with this pre-startup checklist, you'll see how inefficient your current diagnosis approach has been.

☐ Identify your current PG provider accurately — To improve expensive card fee situations, you must first confirm who you're contracted with. Record the company name listed on your contract or payment terminal, along with your primary contact's information.

☐ Gather the last 3 months of settlement statements — For online malls, check your merchant management page; for offline stores, verify your settlement account deposits. Don't just look at deposit amounts—print out detailed settlement records showing exactly how much in fees was deducted.

☐ Note your terminal contract renewal date — Check the "contract expiration date" at the bottom of your contract or the contract information on the first page of your settlement statement. It's wise to start comparative review three months before renewal.

☐ Create a list of current cost items you're paying — Find and organize details from your settlement statement including basic fees, transaction fees, micro-payment fees, cancellation fees, monthly management fees, etc. Recording amounts for each item reveals the overall scale.

☐ Verify your business classification — PG providers set different fee rates based on business type. Check your settlement statement or contract to confirm what business category your operation is classified under.

Now that you understand your current situation, you need to analyze whether what you're paying is truly "appropriate." While many businesses compare PG provider rates, simply comparing fee percentages isn't enough. Accurate diagnosis requires reflecting your company's unique payment patterns: actual transaction volume, monthly transaction amount, proportion of recurring payments, refund frequency, and more.

☐ Calculate average monthly transaction volume and transaction count — Take the "total transaction amount" from your last 3 months of settlement statements, sum them, and divide by 3 to get the monthly average. Calculate transaction count the same way to determine average amount per transaction. This is an important metric distinguishing businesses with many small transactions from those with large transactions.

☐ Understand transaction volume by card company — Check what percentage of transactions use credit cards, debit cards, Samsung Pay, Kakao Pay, etc. If your settlement statement doesn't include detailed card company breakdowns, you can request this from the PG provider's call center or admin page.

☐ Check refund and cancellation rates — Calculate what percentage refunds represent relative to monthly transaction volume. If refund rates are high, PG providers that charge separate refund fees could become significantly more expensive.

☐ Connect settlement cycles to cash flow — Verify whether your current settlement cycle is daily settlement, weekly settlement, or monthly settlement. Since settlement cycles affect your cash management approach, you should review both cost and cash flow improvement effects together.

☐ Confirm whether card terminal fee surcharges apply — Some PG providers charge additional costs beyond basic fees for terminal purchase or rental. Look for "terminal management fee" or "rental fee" items in your settlement records.

There are limits to analyzing settlement statements yourself. Using a specialized platform's free diagnosis, you can objectively determine how expensive your current costs are compared to market averages and identify which areas can be reduced. MoreKL Link's free payment environment diagnosis systematically supports this type of review and is designed under the leadership of CEO Shim Jae-woo. MoreKL Link, located in central Seoul, is an expert team that has supported hundreds of businesses in reducing payment costs.

☐ Prepare current data and settlement statements — When applying for MoreKL Link's free diagnosis, you must submit your last 3 months of settlement statements (screenshot or PDF). Settlement records must include monthly transaction amounts, fee breakdowns, and card company details for accurate diagnosis.

☐ Enter business type information accurately — Input your "current business classification" accurately on the diagnosis application form. Since PG providers apply different standard fee rates by industry (restaurants, online malls, beauty salons, academies, etc.), incorrect input will distort diagnosis results.

☐ Share current contract period and termination conditions accurately — To determine whether the final recommendation should maintain your current contract, renew it, or switch to another PG provider, the diagnosis team needs to know your contract's remaining period and any early termination fees.

☐ Provide a list of comparison PG providers — If you remain uncertain whether the projected savings are sufficient, mention 2-3 other PG providers you'd like to compare. MoreKL Link's diagnosis team can calculate expected cost differences with those companies as well.

☐ Create an action item checklist from the diagnosis report — When you receive the diagnosis report from MoreKL Link, don't just read it and move on. Classify items in the "Recommended Actions" section into: ① items applicable immediately, ② items to apply at contract renewal, and ③ items requiring additional negotiation. Recording responsible parties and planned implementation dates for each item connects the report to actual cost reduction.

If you've checked all 15 items above, it should now be clear how inefficient your current situation is. However, simply "checking" items won't reduce costs. The key is connecting each phase's findings to actual action.

The 5 pre-startup checks are the phase for gathering basic diagnostic data. Skipping this phase makes all subsequent analysis inaccurate. Particularly, when manually organizing settlement records, you'll have an "aha moment" realizing "I've been paying this much in fees?" This realization becomes the initial driving force for your payment cost reduction effort.

The 5 mid-process checks are the phase for discovering your company's unique payment patterns. General information like "average card fees are 2.5%" isn't enough. If your business has many micro-transactions, a PG provider with lower micro-transaction fees might be more advantageous than one with lower overall fee percentages. Detailed transaction data analysis is essential for making these discoveries.

The 5 closing phase checks are methods for maximizing MoreKL Link's free diagnosis. From the moment of application, submit accurate information, and after receiving the report, convert it into an implementation plan. MoreKL Link's professional diagnosis team (led by CEO Shim Jae-woo) doesn't simply recommend "this PG provider is cheaper"—they present customized solutions matching your actual transaction structure.

| Diagnosis Phase | Core Action | Result | Precaution |
|---------|---------|------|--------|
| Pre-startup Preparation | Organize current contracts, settlement statements, and cost items | Current situation assessment complete | Settlement statements require minimum 3 months of data |
| Mid-process Analysis | Calculate transaction amounts, counts, card company breakdown, refund rates | Understand your own patterns | Recommend using PG provider admin pages |
| Closing Diagnosis | Apply for MoreKL Link free diagnosis and analyze results | Derive customized cost reduction plan | Convert action items immediately into implementation plan |

Q1. My settlement statements are too complex—where should I start?

A: Start from the first page of your settlement statement and go through it sequentially. ① Verify transaction period and monthly transaction amount, ② check fee item details (basic fees, card company fees, VAT, etc.), ③ verify final settlement amount. Just understanding these three parts reveals 80% of your current cost structure. For detailed card company transaction breakdowns, request them from your PG provider when needed.

Q2. Is MoreKL Link's free diagnosis truly free? Will there be pressure to sign a contract afterward?

A: The diagnosis itself is completely free. MoreKL Link is a specialized firm supporting payment environment improvement, located in central Seoul and operated by CEO Shim Jae-woo. Whether to take action after receiving the diagnosis report is entirely your business's decision. However, if you want to switch to a PG provider recommended in the report, MoreKL Link assists with contract connection, so a service fee may apply at this stage. There is no cost through the diagnosis phase.

Q3. My current PG contract has 1 year remaining—should I start preparing now?

A: Yes, it's wise to prepare 3-4 months in advance. Getting diagnosed right before contract renewal leaves insufficient time. By organizing settlement statements now and receiving a free diagnosis, you'll have ample negotiation time when renewal season arrives. Especially if current costs are high, searching for alternative PG providers may take 2-3 months, so moving early is advantageous.

The very first step in reducing payment terminal costs is accurately diagnosing how expensive your current costs truly are. Many businesses only harbor vague anxiety thinking "card fees seem expensive," but upon receiving actual diagnosis, they're shocked realizing "I've been paying this much?" This shock becomes the driving force for actual action.

The 15 checklist items above aren't mere information—they're actionable diagnostic items you can actually implement. By understanding your situation through the 5 pre-startup checks, analyzing your company's patterns through the 5 mid-process checks, and utilizing professional diagnosis through the 5 closing checks, you can establish a logical and objective cost reduction plan.

Particularly, MoreKL Link's free diagnosis service is designed to systematically support all these phases. Located in central Seoul and led by CEO Shim Jae-woo, MoreKL Link has supported hundreds of businesses in reducing payment costs, presenting customized solutions matching your transaction structure rather than simply recommending PG provider switches. This is your first opportunity to reduce unnecessary card fees, refund costs, and terminal management fees.

For free payment fee reduction diagnosis consultation, contact 010-2397-5734 or jaiwshim@gmail.com.