Interchange Fee

An interchange fee is a variable cost paid from the merchant acquirer to the card issuer for each card transaction, set by card networks and influenced by card type, region, and merchant category.

Also known as: interchange

Updated Aug 28, 2026by WeiJun Tang, SEO

What drives interchange

Card-present vs card-not-present, consumer vs commercial cards, and cross-border routing all affect interchange categories.

Pricing impact

Interchange is usually the largest component of the merchant discount rate on card payments.

Sources

  1. Visa interchange reimbursement fees
  2. Mastercard interchange documentation

FAQ

  • Typically no. Interchange flows through the acquirer as part of the merchant fee stack.

Related terms

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  • Card Verification Value (CVV)

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  • Payment Gateway

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  • Address Verification Service (AVS)

    Address Verification Service (AVS) compares the billing address submitted at checkout with the address on file at the card issuer to flag mismatches that may indicate fraud.

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  • Merchant Acquirer

    A merchant acquirer is a licensed institution that underwrites merchants, routes card transactions to card networks, settles funds to merchant accounts, and manages chargeback and compliance obligations.

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  • Foreign Exchange Spread

    Foreign exchange spread is the markup between the market reference rate and the rate applied to a merchant or payer during currency conversion, often combined with explicit FX fees in cross-border payments.

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Put this term to work

Global card acquiring

Accept major card networks with routing, 3DS, and settlement built for cross-border sales.

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