There are a couple fees that Forte charges each month that some people find confusing. Here is an explanation of the fees and ways to control them.
Forte Validate - $5.00
This is required service so it is a required fee. If a merchant is originating WEB Debits, the NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association) requires ACH originators of web debit entries to implement a commercially reasonable method to determine that the account number to be used for the entry is validated. If they do not have the validate in place, then they are charged a noncompliant fee.
Here is a blog about the requirements and how it's being enforced.
https://www.saltmarshcpa.com/cpa-news/blog/nacha_s_web_debit_account_validation_rule.asp#:~:text=Nacha's%20WEB%20Debit%20Account%20Validation%20Rule%20requires%20ACH%20originators%20of,is%20for%20a%20valid%20account.
PCI compliance - between $0 and $29.99 per month
PCI compliance is compliance with The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a set of requirements intended to ensure that all companies that process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Every company that has the possibility of credit card processing needs to be PCI compliant.
With Forte, there are 3 different ways that Forte account holders can control how much they pay for this fee.
Option 1
do nothing to address PCI compliance in your company
Forte charges $29.99 / month and assume your PCI compliance risk exposure
Option 2
enroll in Forte's PCI-DSS Compliance Program (Aperia)
Forte charges $7.99 / month
To make becoming PCI-DSS compliant as easy as possible, Forte has partnered with both a Primary and Secondary PCI Vendor to provide easy-to-use, low-cost tools to help our Merchants with the process of validating compliance.
download Aperia application form
Option 3
Fill out a PCI Self-reporting compliance form and send the successful report to Forte
Forte charges $0.00 / month
The Self-reporting form is fairly lengthy and has terminology that maybe hard to understand for anyone without extensive knowledge in the field. There is no one on the AccountTECH staff who is qualified to help you answer the most complex questions on the form, but likely Forte support or your local bank would be a better resource.
learn more about PCI compliance: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/
download an overview of PCI Self-reporting compliance
download the PCI Self-reporting compliance form