Interchange Updates
What’s an Interchange fee?
Interchange fee is a term used in the payment card industry to describe a fee that a merchant’s bank (the “acquiring bank”) pays a customer’s bank (the “issuing bank”) when merchants accept cards using card networks such as VISA and MasterCard for purchases. In a credit card transaction, the card-issuing bank in a payment transaction deducts the interchange fee from the amount it pays the acquiring bank that handles a credit or debit card transaction for a merchant. The acquiring bank then pays the merchant the amount of the transaction minus both the interchange fee and an additional, usually smaller fee for the acquiring bank or ISO, which is often referred to as a discount rate, an add-on rate, or passthru.
October2010
Visa has announced additions to the CPS/Small Ticket Interchange Program. Effective October 2010 CPS/Small Ticket has been extended to most merchant category codes (MCCs). Most merchants will be eligible to qualify for the U.S. CPS/Small Ticket Interchange program. Current CPS/Small Ticket Interchange applies to transactions less than $15. The Visa Small Ticket Credit Interchange is 1.65% + $0.04 and the Visa Small Ticket Debit Interchange is 1.55% + $0.04.
MCCs excluded from U.S. CPS/Small Ticket Interchange Reimbursement Fee include Grocery Stores, Convenience Stores, Service Stations, Wire Transfer Money Orders, Automated Fuel Dispensers, Direct Marketing – Insurance Service, Direct Marketing – Travel-Related Arrangement Services, Direct Marketing – Catalog Merchants, Direct Marketing – Combination Catalog and Retail Merchants, Direct Marketing – Outbound Telemarketing Merchants, Direct Marketing – Inbound Telemarketing Merchants, Direct Marketing – Continuity/Subscription Merchants, Direct Marketing/Direct marketers (not else classified), Financial Institutions – Manual Cash Disbursements, Financial Institutions – Automated Cash Disbursements, Intra-Government Purchases.
Transactions made through merchants eligible for the Visa CPS/Retail and Supermarket performance threshold Interchange programs will not be eligible for the CPS/Small Ticket Interchange program.
July 2010
Visa has announced changes to their No Signature Required (NSR) program. Effective July 2010, the NSR program has been extended to most merchant category codes (MCCs). Transactions on U.S. issued cards of $25 or less from most all MCCs will be eligible to qualify for the NSR program.
MCCs excluded from Visa’s NSR program include: Wire Transfer Money Orders, Automated Fuel Dispensers, Direct Marketing – Insurance Service, Direct Marketing – Travel-Related Arrangement Services, Direct Marketing – Catalog Merchants, Direct Marketing – Combination Catalog and Retail Merchants, Direct Marketing – Outbound Telemarketing Merchants, Direct Marketing – Inbound Telemarketing Merchants, Direct Marketing – Continuity/Subscription Merchants, Direct Marketing/Direct marketers (not else classified), Financial Institutions – Manual Cash Disbursements, Financial Institutions – Automated Cash Disbursements, Intra-Government Purchases.
May 2010
The debit networks Accel and Pulse have announced several changes to their debit network pricing effective May 1, 2010. The changed fees are as follows:
Accel
- Retail merchants will be billed at 0.80% + $0.21 per transaction with no maximum fee per transaction.
- Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) merchants will be billed at 0.95% + $0.18 per transaction and the maximum fee for QSR transactions has been eliminated.
- Supermarket merchants will be billed a total of $0.31 per transaction.
- Petroleum merchants will be billed at 0.80% + $0.19 per transaction with no maximum transaction fee. These transactions were previously bundled with Retail and will now post separately.
- PINless Utility merchants will now post separately from regular PINless and will be billed a total of $0.660 per transaction.
- All other PINless transactions will be billed at 0.75% + $0.21 per transaction with a maximum transaction fee of $1.28.
Pulse
- Retail merchants will be billed at 0.86% + $0.21 per transaction with no maximum fee per transaction.
- Supermarket merchants will be billed a total of $0.345 per transaction.
- Petroleum merchants will be billed at 0.71% + $0.21 per transaction with a maximum transaction fee of $1.03.These transactions were previously bundled with Retail and will now post separately.
- PINless Utility merchants will be billed a total of $0.755 per transaction.
- All other PINless transactions will be billed at 0.80% + $0.27 per transaction.
April 2010
MasterCard
Currently, MasterCard’s Assessment fee is 0.095%. MasterCard will increase the Assessment fee to 0.110%.
MasterCard is introducing new Interregional Interchange programs. A unique brand product classification has been defined for each of the consumer credit, debit, and commercial product families. The following brand products will qualify for the new Interregional Consumer Premium Interchange Structure.
- MasterCard World Card
- MasterCard World Elite
- World MasterCard for Business
- MasterCard Corporate World
- World Elite MasterCard Business
- MasterCard Corporate World Elite
Business Data Rate programs fees have been modified for both World and World Elite categories.
MasterCard is revising the qualification criteria for Commercial Face to Face and Commercial Data Rate II. Effective April 2010, zero will no longer be accepted as a valid tax value to qualify for these rate categories. Only non-zero tax values that fall within the specified valid range will be accepted. Therefore, if a commercial transaction has no sales tax, the transaction will downgrade to a lower Interchange level.
MasterCard is adding a new Interchange program for MasterCard Enhanced Small Business. The following card programs will be supported in the U.S. Small Business Sector:
- MasterCard BusinessCard Card
- MasterCard Professional Card
- MasterCard Executive BusinessCard Card
MasterCard Pay with Rewards Service
This service provides cardholders with the ability to redeem their loyalty points as currency to pay for purchases at any merchant where MasterCard-branded payment cards are accepted. The cardholder will use a separately issued “redemption card,” which will be a MasterCard debit product, to initiate points redemption transactions at the POS. Participating card issuers will register redemption cards into the MasterCard Pay with Rewards service. At the time of redemption, a Pay with Rewards cardholder will present his or her redemption card as any other payment card today.
New Interchange Fees for Pay with Rewards (Consumer Core, Consumer Debit, Consumer World and Commercial) will start out at 0.90% + $0.00
Visa
Visa is implementing modifications to the No Signature Required program:
- MCC 5993 (Cigar Stores/Stands) is being added as an eligible MCC
- Standardize amount to equal to or less than US $25.00 to be eligible.
- Transaction with cash back amounts will not be eligible.
Visa will adjust the following U.S. Visa Debit Interchange reimbursement fees.
|
Fee Program |
Current Fee |
April 2010 Fee |
| CPS Retail Debit |
1.03% + $0.15 |
0.95% + $0.20 |
| CPS Supermarket Debit |
1.03% + $0.15 ($0.35 max) |
0.95% + $0.20 ($0.35 max) |
| CPS Service Station Debit |
0.70% + $0.17 ($0.95 max) |
0.75% + $0.17 ($0.95 max) |
| CPS Automated Fuel Dispenser Debit |
0.70% + $0.17 ($0.95 max) |
0.75% + $0.17 ($0.95 max) |
Interlink PIN Debit
Visa has announced changes in the pricing for Interlink debit transactions.
|
Fee Program |
Current Fee |
April 2010 Fee |
| Interlink Standard— IV |
0.75% + $0.17 |
0.95% + $0.20 |
| Interlink Supermarket— Performance Threshold IV |
$0.25 |
0.95% + $0.20 ($0.35 max) |
| Interlink Standard—Fuel |
0.70% + $0.17 ($0.95 max) |
0.75% + $0.17 ($0.95 max) |
| Interlink Quasi Cash |
1.80% + $0.10 |
2.30% + $0.10 |
NYCE PIN Debit
- NYCE will implement a Premier Issuer fee of $0.011 per transaction. This will be an addition to the existing interchange fees.
March 2010
STAR PIN Debit has announced modifications to the current rates effective March 1, 2010. The changes are as follows:
- Retail merchants will be billed at 0.80% + $0.2125 per transaction. The maximum transaction fee is being eliminated.
- Quick Service Restaurant merchants will be billed at 01.25% + $0.1925 per transaction. The maximum transaction fee is being eliminated.
- Petroleum merchants will continue to be billed at 0.80% + $0.1725 per transaction however the maximum transaction fee is being eliminated.
- Supermarket merchants will be billed at $0.3025 per transaction
- Medical Retailer merchants will be billed at 1.20% + $0.2425 for each transaction equal to or less than $15.00. Transactions over $15.00 will be assessed the standard Retail rates.
- Small Ticket Retailer merchants will be billed at 1.25% + $0.1925 for each transaction equal to or less than $10.00. Transactions over $10.00 will be assessed the standard Retail rates.
- PINless transactions will continue to be billed at 0.65% + $0.1725 per transaction. The maximum transaction fee is being increased to $2.0425.