⚡ TL;DR · 30-second answerPayment processing help in San Diego, operator-honest: Most local businesses overpay
0.3–0.8% in hidden processor markup + junk fees. SideGuy (Solana Beach) reads your statement
free, finds the markup, and routes you to interchange-plus pricing with the right processor for your industry — restaurants, contractors, dental, medical, ecommerce, salons + more.
No long contract, no markup, no kickback. On $500K/yr volume that's $1,500–$4,000 back.
Text PJ at 858-461-8054 — free statement read.
Payment Processing in San Diego — Operator-Honest, by Industry
Stop overpaying your processor. Free statement read, interchange-plus pricing, no markup, no long-term contract. Built by a Solana Beach operator who reads the fine print so you don't get padded. Find your industry below.
Payment processing by industry
Core payment guides
Overpaying and not sure?
Text a photo of your processing statement. I'll find the markup and tell you what you should be paying — free, no sales call.
Text 858-461-8054Call PJWhy operator-honest beats a processor's sales rep
Processor reps make their money on the markup they put on top of interchange — so they're not on your side. SideGuy doesn't take a processor kickback; the job is to read your statement, strip the padding (tiered pricing, junk fees, PCI non-compliance charges), and route you to honest interchange-plus pricing with the right processor for your volume and industry. Most San Diego businesses save 0.3–0.8% of card volume — and keep the relationship, no lock-in.
How to spot the markup on your statement (in 5 minutes)
You don't need to be an accountant to catch processor padding. Pull your most recent statement and look for these five things — the same checklist I run on a free read:
- Your effective rate. Divide total fees by total card volume. If it's over ~2.5–2.7%, you're likely padded. Interchange-plus should land you closer to 2.1–2.4% for most card-present businesses.
- "Tiered" or "qualified/non-qualified" language. That's the #1 padding model — it lets the processor quietly downgrade your transactions into the expensive bucket. Interchange-plus has no tiers.
- Junk line items. Statement fee, batch fee, monthly minimum, "PCI non-compliance" fee, IRS reporting fee — most can be zeroed out or waived.
- The markup over interchange. On a real interchange-plus statement you can SEE the processor's margin (e.g., "+0.20% + $0.10"). If you can't find it, it's hidden in a bundled rate — that's the tell.
- Your contract term + early-termination fee. Long lock-ins with ETFs exist to keep you from leaving when you find out you're overpaying. Honest setups are month-to-month.
Find two or more of these and you're almost certainly leaving money on the table. Text a photo of the statement and I'll mark up exactly where — free, no sales call.