Interchange-plus, and every fee underneath it
Interchange-plus is a pricing model that charges the two components your processor does not control at cost — interchange, which goes to the bank that issued the card, and the card network's own fees — then adds a separate, stated markup. Because all three numbers are visible, you can check the bill and compare providers on the only part that differs between them. Interchange schedules are published by the networks, differ by country, and are revised on the networks' own timetable.
What you actually pay
Interchange, paid to the card issuer
The largest part of the cost, and the part nobody in the chain can discount. Interchange goes to the bank that issued the customer's card, and the card network publishes the schedule that decides it. Your processor collects it and passes it on; it does not set it and cannot negotiate it.
Card brand fees, paid to the network
Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Discover each charge the acquirer for running the network the transaction crossed. These are the assessment, authorization, cross-border and related fees below. Like interchange, they are published by the network and do not become a processor discount.
The processor markup, paid to your provider
The only layer that is actually a price. In interchange-plus this is stated as a separate number — a percentage, a per-transaction amount, or both — and it is the number to compare between providers, because the two layers above it are identical wherever you go.
Card brand fees, one by one
Assessment or service fee
A percentage of every transaction, charged by the network on the volume that crossed it. It is small next to interchange and it applies to essentially everything, which is why it belongs in any honest total rather than in a footnote.
Authorization or network access fee
A flat amount per authorization request, charged whether the issuing bank approves or not — a network rule identical at every processor. A second attempt is a second fee, which is why RapidCents shows the issuer's reason clearly so staff can complete the sale without unnecessary retries.
Cross-border fee
Charged when the card was issued in a different country from the merchant. It is decided by where the card comes from, not by the currency shown at checkout or where the customer is standing, so a tourist paying in your local currency can still be a cross-border transaction.
Currency conversion fee
Charged when the transaction currency and the settlement currency differ. It is separate from the cross-border fee and can apply alongside it, which is the usual reason an international sale costs noticeably more than the same sale at home.
Digital enablement and card-not-present fees
Networks charge more where the card is not physically present — online, keyed, or paid by link — because those transactions carry more fraud risk. The names differ by network; the pattern does not. This is the single biggest reason an e-commerce effective rate sits above a counter effective rate.
Integrity, misuse and downgrade fees
Charged when a transaction does not meet the network's own rules: an authorization not settled in time, a missing address or a missing order identifier, a batch left open too long. These are avoidable, they are usually a configuration problem rather than a pricing one, and they are the fees most worth chasing.
What changes the rate on a single transaction
Which card was presented
A consumer debit card, a standard credit card, a premium rewards card and a commercial card sit in different interchange categories. The rewards a customer is earning are funded from the interchange on their purchase, which is why a premium card costs the merchant more.
Whether the card was present
Tapped, inserted or swiped at a terminal is the cheapest way to take a card. Keyed, online or over the phone costs more, because the issuer is accepting more risk without the chip.
What the business sells
The merchant category code assigned to your account puts you in a rate table. Some categories — grocery, fuel, charities, public sector — have their own schedules entirely.
Where the card came from
A domestic card, a card from another country, and a commercial card issued abroad are three different prices on the same purchase.
What data reached the network
Address verification, an order identifier, tax detail on a commercial card: supplying what the network asks for can qualify a transaction for a lower category, and omitting it can push the same sale into a higher one.
How to read your own statement
Add every fee on the month, including monthly, per-item and equipment charges.
Divide that total by the volume processed and multiply by 100. That is your effective rate.
Find the three layers on the statement — interchange, card brand fees, markup. A statement that does not separate them is not interchange-plus.
Pull out the integrity and downgrade fees. Those are the ones that are a configuration problem rather than a price.
Compare the markup between providers. The other two layers are the same wherever you go.
Where the current United States rates are published
Visa USA interchange reimbursement fees
Visa's published United States rate tables, by card product and merchant category. This is the schedule your processor applies.
ExploreMastercard US interchange rates
Mastercard's published United States rates, revised on Mastercard's own schedule.
ExploreFederal Reserve — Regulation II debit interchange
The cap on debit interchange for cards issued by larger banks, and the data the Federal Reserve publishes on what debit acceptance actually costs.
Explore
Questions about interchange and processing fees
What is interchange-plus pricing?
Interchange-plus is a pricing model that states the two costs your processor cannot change — interchange and card brand fees — at cost, and adds a separate, stated markup on top. You can see all three numbers, so you can check the bill and compare providers on the only part that differs between them.
What is an interchange fee?
Interchange is the amount paid to the bank that issued the customer's card on every card transaction. The card network publishes the schedule that sets it, the issuing bank receives it, and no processor or acquirer can discount it. It is the largest single component of what accepting a card costs.
Who sets interchange rates, and how often do they change?
The card networks set and publish interchange schedules — including Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Discover — and revise them on their own timetable. Because the figures can change independently of any processor, read the current number from the network's own United States table rather than from an undated provider summary.
Why is interchange different in each country?
Each market has its own schedule, and regulation may shape part of it. In the United States, Regulation II limits debit interchange for cards issued by covered institutions, while credit-card schedules remain segmented by card product, merchant category and acceptance method. Use the schedule for the country where the merchant account is established.
What is a cross-border fee?
A network fee charged when the card was issued in a different country from the merchant. It is decided by where the card was issued, not by the currency or where the customer is standing, so a visitor paying in your own currency can still be a cross-border transaction. A currency conversion fee is separate and can apply on top.
What are assessment or card brand fees?
The fees the network charges for running the transaction across it, as distinct from interchange, which goes to the issuing bank. They include the assessment on volume, a flat fee per authorization, and the cross-border, currency and card-not-present fees above. Like interchange, they are published and identical for every processor.
Why is my effective rate higher than the rate I was quoted?
The quote usually describes one transaction type. Your effective rate — total fees divided by total volume — is the average across every card you actually took, including premium rewards cards, commercial cards, foreign cards and card-not-present sales, plus any monthly and per-item charges. It is the only figure that compares two providers honestly.
Can I reduce what I pay in interchange?
Not the rate itself, but often the category a transaction lands in. Supplying the data the network asks for, settling authorizations promptly, taking the card in person where you can, and closing batches on time all keep transactions out of more expensive categories. What is genuinely negotiable is the processor markup.
Take the next step
Talk to a RapidCents specialist
RapidCents Fee Check reads a processing statement and shows interchange separately from the markup. Upload a statement for an instant breakdown, or open a merchant account and start accepting payments on one account.
- No obligation
- Payment specialists, not a call centre
- Secure statement upload
