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About the Author
Brookside Payments
Brookside Payments brings 20+ years of merchant services experience to small and mid-size businesses. We specialize in interchange-plus pricing and dual pricing programs — two of the most transparent pricing models available — with no long-term contracts, no hidden fees, and a local representative who picks up the phone. Our focus is simple: help merchants understand exactly what they're paying and why, then structure a merchant account that works in their favor. Every business deserves honest advice, whether they end up working with us or not.
Published Articles
Risk & Fraud Prevention · May 5, 2026
What an AVS or CVV Mismatch Actually Means — and What Your Processor Does With It
AVS RESPONSE GRID What the Code Means and What to Do ZIP MATCHES ZIP DOES NOT MATCH ADDR MATCHES ADDR…
Risk & Fraud Prevention · May 4, 2026
Chargeback Ratio Thresholds: When the Networks Step In
Source: Visa VAMP fact sheet (2025) · Mastercard ECP program guide Risk & Fraud Prevention A 1% chargeback ratio sounds…
Risk & Fraud Prevention · May 4, 2026
When Your Best Customer Calls Their Bank: Friendly Fraud Hit My Boutique for $214
Risk & Fraud Prevention The hardest chargeback to lose is the one filed by a customer who actually made the…
Legal & Compliance · May 3, 2026
What PCI DSS 4.0 Actually Requires Now — A Small Merchant’s Guide to the Changes That Took Effect in 2025 and the Assessments You’ll Face in 2026
Legal & Compliance PCI DSS 4.0’s “future-dated” requirements stopped being future on March 31, 2025. Small merchants who treated PCI…
Pricing Models · May 3, 2026
The Pricing Model With No Fixed Definition — What Pass-Through Pricing Actually Means When a Processor Quotes It
Pricing Models Pass-through pricing has no fixed industry definition. Some processors use it as a synonym for interchange-plus. Others use…
Industry Insights · May 2, 2026
When Your Processor Rebrands, Nothing Changes
Industry Insights If your processing statement looks different this month — new logo, new color scheme, new name at the…
Fees & Interchange · May 2, 2026
What the 2026 Visa-Mastercard Settlement Means for Your Rates
Visa-Mastercard 2026 Settlement: 21 Years of Litigation From 2005 filing to 2026 settlement decision 2005 Litigation begins 2013 $7.25B damages…
Business Growth · May 1, 2026
Four Merchant Statement Line Items Bookkeepers Should Flag Every Month
For Bookkeepers Most bookkeepers code merchant statement line items the same way every month: total fees go to “Processing Fees”…
Industry Insights · May 1, 2026
How to Switch Payment Processors Without Losing a Day of Sales
Industry Insights Most merchants who want to switch payment processors do not. They have looked at the math, they know…
Business Growth · April 30, 2026
Hidden Statement Fees a CPA Caught — $11,400 in Markup
For Tax Advisors Diane Karaoulis runs a solo CPA practice out of Tampa. Forty-seven small-business clients on annual review, mostly…