“Card not present” or CNP refers specifically to any transaction that is not swiped (for magnetic stripe cards), dipped (for EMV chip cards) or tapped (for contactless payment methods like Apple Pay.) If you don’t physically run a card through a machine using one of those methods, the card is considered “card not present.” If […]

We’re also including “CPS Passenger Transport” (such as airlines, cruises, and railways) interchange categories in this article. The reason is that all of these industries fall under “travel and entertainment” and many have the same requirements and rates despite the different business types. These categories only apply to “card present” transactions, but apply to all […]

For the purposes of interchange, “international” cards are credit and debit cards issued by a bank located outside of the United States. Visa also sometimes refers to the cards and interchange as “interregional” instead of international. These categories apply to both international credit and debit cards in a “card not present” (CNP) transaction. They do […]

Interchange fees make up the bulk of total credit card processing costs. The specific interchange category that will apply to any given transaction depends on the card type and other factors. These international card present categories refer to credit cards issued outside the United States, but used in-person at a U.S. business. Many U.S. businesses […]

Providing level 2 / level 3 data can make a business eligible for enhanced data interchange categories, which carry lower rates and fees than non-enhanced categories. Enhanced data is only available for certain types of commercial card transactions, or B2B payments. It does not apply to consumer transactions. B2B processing and enhanced data are specialty […]