You may have seen or heard about a recent announcement from our credit card processing vendor, Fiserv, regarding upcoming Mastercard fee changes effective January 1, 2026. We want to reassure you up front: These changes do not impact the vast majority of TherapyNotes® customers.
Below is a brief overview of the announcement and what it means for you.
What Was Announced?
Mastercard announced industry-wide changes to certain network fees that will take effect beginning January 1, 2026. As part of these changes, Mastercard will increase its existing Undefined Authorization fee, raising the percentage rate from 0.25% to 0.30% and the minimum fixed fee from $0.04 to $0.05.
Mastercard also announced updates to its Mail/Telephone Order (MOTO) fee. Starting in January 2026, this fee will be calculated based on authorization volume rather than cleared transactions, meaning it may apply to both approved and declined authorizations. In addition, Mastercard is introducing a $75 fee cap on declined transactions over $500.
How This Affects TherapyNotes Customers
For most customers, it doesn’t. TherapyNotes offers simple, predictable pricing by covering the majority of processing fees on your behalf and providing you with a fixed rate. Because of this pricing model, changes to underlying Mastercard network fees are absorbed by TherapyNotes and not passed on to you.
Our Commitment to Transparent Pricing
We understand how frustrating unexpected fee changes can be. That’s why TherapyNotes is committed to straightforward, transparent pricing. Our rates are designed to stay in line with industry averages while covering many of the underlying processing fees on your behalf, allowing us to offer a consistent, fixed rate that helps you better predict and manage your costs.
In addition, our pricing includes a full suite of integrated payment tools within TherapyNotes, including online payment forms, autopay, and secure portal payments, designed to streamline your workflow and make the payment experience simple and convenient for your patients. We also simplify compliance by having our dedicated Merchant Services team guide you through the required annual PCI questionnaire step by step, reducing administrative burden and helping you stay secure.
Together, this approach helps keep your payment processing expenses stable while providing an easy-to-use, fully integrated payment solution built directly into TherapyNotes. As the payments industry continues to evolve, we remain focused on absorbing changes like these whenever possible so you can stay focused on your practice, not payment processing.
