Free template from Keepwatch
Credit card processing non-renewal letter
Stop a merchant services agreement from renewing, close the account cleanly and stop the monthly fees.
Before you send it
- Find the right company. A processing agreement is often signed with a processor, a sales agent (often called an ISO) and a sponsor bank together. Send notice to the party and address in the notice clause, and copy the company you deal with day to day if it is different.
- Check the term and the fees for leaving. Many processing agreements have a multi-year first term that renews automatically, and charge an early termination fee if you leave sooner. Some add liquidated damages based on your card volume. Ending at the end of the term usually avoids them; find the date with the notice deadline calculator.
- Look at your card terminals separately. Terminals are often leased under a separate, non-cancellable lease with a different company, which keeps billing after the processing agreement ends. Check your statements and send that company its own notice.
- Don’t stop taking cards too early. Set up and test the new processor before the old account closes. Refunds and chargebacks on earlier sales can arrive months later, and some processors hold a reserve until that period passes, so keep the old statements.
- Watch your bank account. After the end date, check for debits from the old processor and dispute any the agreement doesn’t allow. Keep proof of when your notice was delivered.
Other contracts: all letter templates.
The template, as text
The same letter with blanks in brackets, for copying into your own letterhead. The optional notice-period sentence is included; delete it if your contract doesn’t state a period.
[Your name]
[Your title]
[Your company]
[Your address]
[Date]
VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
[Processor or merchant services company]
[Their notice address, from the contract]
Re: Notice of Non-Renewal of Merchant Processing Agreement
To whom it may concern:
This letter is written notice that [Your company] does not intend to renew the above-referenced agreement with [Processor or merchant services company] (the “Agreement”).
The Agreement requires not less than [notice period] written notice prior to the end of the current term. This notice is given on [Date], in advance of the [End of current term] expiration, and is intended to satisfy that requirement.
Accordingly, the Agreement will expire by its terms on [End of current term] and will not renew.
Please close our merchant account at the end of the term on [End of current term] and confirm the closing date in writing.
After [End of current term], please make no further charges or debits to our bank account, including monthly, statement, PCI compliance and other recurring fees, other than amounts for transactions processed before that date.
Please tell us whether you hold a reserve or any other funds of ours and, if so, when they will be released.
Please send a final statement showing any fees or other amounts you consider due through the end of the term.
Please acknowledge receipt of this notice.
Sincerely,
_______________________________
[Your name]
[Your title]
[Your company]
Next year, don’t start from the contract. Keepwatch tracks the notice deadline for every contract you have signed, reminds you before each one, and drafts this letter from the contract’s own details. Free for three contracts on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Get Keepwatch.
Common questions
How do I cancel a credit card processing contract without a fee?
Usually by giving notice of non-renewal by the deadline, so the agreement ends at the end of its current term. Leaving earlier often triggers an early termination fee. Check the term and termination sections of your agreement, and any separate lease for your card terminals.
Can my old processor still charge me after I cancel?
It may debit amounts the agreement allows, such as chargebacks or refunds on sales processed before the account closed. Recurring fees after the end date generally should stop. Ask for a final statement and dispute charges the agreement doesn’t support.
When do I have to send a non-renewal letter?
By the notice deadline in your contract, which is usually a set number of days or months before the current term ends. Use the free notice deadline calculator to find the date, and allow time for delivery if the contract counts notice from when it is received.
How should I send it?
The way your contract’s notice clause requires. Many require certified mail, overnight courier or hand delivery, and some do not accept email. Keep the receipt or tracking record as proof of when the notice went out and when it arrived.
What if they don’t acknowledge the letter?
Follow up in writing and keep a copy. A missing acknowledgment does not by itself make your notice ineffective, but proof of delivery matters if the other side later says it never arrived.
Linking to a filled-in letter
Add ?example to open the Miami example: https://lincolnroadapps.com/keepwatch/non-renewal-letter/credit-card-processing/?example.
To open the builder with details already filled in, put them after a #, which
browsers never send to the server: https://lincolnroadapps.com/keepwatch/non-renewal-letter/credit-card-processing/#co=Your%20Company&rc=Their%20Company&end=2026-12-31&nn=60.
Fields: co your company, nm name, ti title, ad
address, rc recipient, at attention, ra their address,
ag agreement title, agd agreement date, acct account
number, loc location or premises, cc copy to, end end of
term, nn notice period, nu days or months,
nb calendar or business, dm delivery method.
Dates are YYYY-MM-DD; use %0A for a new line in an address.
This template is sample language, not legal advice, and the builder runs entirely in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere. Your contract controls: check the notice clause for what the notice must say, who receives it and how it must be delivered. For advice about a specific agreement, consult an attorney.