In this article, we’re going to focus on Visa and Mastercard interchange categories and their effect on your processing fees. In order to do that, we first need to have a common understanding of the basics. Interchange Basics Refresher In my article on interchange rates and fees, I mention several times that there are many different interchan...

As with many things in credit card processing, it’s complicated. Interchange, as set by Visa and Mastercard, is non-negotiable. It isn’t possible to get lower rates or fees than what Visa and Mastercard publish. But that’s not the full story. Two factors - one malicious, one not - play a role in whether you can lower your interchange. Downgrade...

There are interchange rates for all Discover card types, including debit, credit, international, and commercial cards. The fee varies by entry method (in-person, keyed, or recurring) as well. In this article, we’ll include the interchange rates grouped by card type. What are interchange fees? Interchange fees are the portion of your total cre...

Every time you accept a credit card at your business, you’re charged a fee. Part of that fee comes from interchange, but there are hundreds of interchange categories. Each transaction has a “target” interchange category (and associated cost) that a transaction should qualify for if basic requirements are met. However, if those requirements aren’t m...

SecureCode is Mastercard’s “3D Secure” technology solution. It’s designed to help prevent fraud and unauthorized purchases by adding a layer of customer authentication. Unfortunately, 3D Secure is not very common in the United States. However, properly implementing it can benefit your business not only in terms of reduced fraud, but also by lowerin...

Specifically, Mastercard does not have a restaurant-specific category for basic consumer credit cards. However, it does have restaurant-specific categories for consumer “rewards” cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. In this article, we’ll take a look at the credit card rates for restaurants that accept Mastercard. Looking for a more general ex...

It’s Mastercard’s way of referring to common “card not present” transactions, meaning online and keyed payments. It applies to several possible card types (including credit, debit, and prepaid) and both rewards and non-rewards cards. It does not apply to “card present” transactions where you swipe a card through a terminal and typically receive ...

“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 you run a hotel, ca...

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” transac...

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...