# Comparing Published Fees With Fees Actually Charged

> A method for checking that a schedule is applied, which takes one transaction and a careful look at the statement.

- Source: https://astanacryptonotes.com/published-fees-versus-charged/
- Published: 2026-10-02
- Author: Yerlan Nurpeis
- Publication: Astana Crypto Notes — Dated notes from the AIFC
- Topic: exchange
- Tags: exchange, fees, method

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A published schedule is a commitment. Checking whether it is applied takes one transaction and five minutes.

## The method

Make a small transaction. Note the amount sent, the amount received, and the fee shown at the time.

Then open the statement and compare against the published schedule line by line.

## What to compare

The trading fee against the published rate for your volume tier. The withdrawal fee against the published figure for that asset and network. And any conversion against the quoted rate.

Three comparisons. Each either matches or does not.

## What a mismatch means

Usually a tier you did not know applied, a network fee that moved, or a conversion you did not notice. Rarely anything improper.

The point of the check is not to catch a platform. It is to understand what you are being charged.

## The one that usually surprises

The conversion. A transaction that crossed a currency you did not intend to cross shows up here and nowhere else.

## What the statement should contain

Each component separately. A statement showing only a net amount cannot be checked against anything, which is itself a finding.

## What I record

Date, transaction, each published figure, each charged figure, and any difference. Five lines.

Repeating this quarterly catches schedule changes, which happen without announcement.

## What remains unverified

Whether the spread embedded in a quoted rate matches any stated policy, since there usually is no stated policy for it.

That part can only be measured against an external reference, not against the schedule.

## Why this is worth the effort once

Because it tells you whether the platform's published terms describe its behaviour. That is a property worth knowing about any counterparty, and it generalises beyond fees.

## Where to start

A platform that publishes a complete schedule and issues itemised statements. [Exchanges that list their regulatory permissions](https://collectnexchange.com/) generally publish both.

[Collect & Exchange](https://collectnexchange.com/services/crypto-exchange) itemises fees on the statement, which is what makes the comparison possible, and [a venue authorised for the activity it advertises](https://collectnexchange.com/compliance/cysec-licensed) has a supervisor who can be told if the two do not match.

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This article explains how something works. It is not financial advice.
Canonical HTML version: https://astanacryptonotes.com/published-fees-versus-charged/