2026 Interchange
Rate Cheat Sheet
The exact rates Visa and Mastercard charge, before your processor marks them up.
Interchange is the fee paid to the card-issuing bank every time a card is used. Visa and Mastercard set it. Your processor does not. Your processor pays interchange and then charges you interchange plus their own markup. On Interchange-Plus (IC+) pricing, those two numbers are shown separately. On flat-rate or tiered pricing, they are blended, and the processor keeps the spread. The rates below are the baseline costs. If your effective rate is materially higher, your processor is keeping the difference.
| Card / Transaction Type | Interchange Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CPS Retail (Chip/Tap) | 1.51% + $0.10 | Card present, PIN or tap |
| CPS Retail (Swiped) | 1.51% + $0.10 | Magnetic stripe, card present |
| CPS Key-Entered | 1.80% + $0.10 | Card present, manually keyed |
| Card-Not-Present | 1.80% + $0.10 | E-commerce, phone orders |
| CPS Hotel / Car Rental | 1.54% + $0.10 | Lodging & auto industry |
| Rewards Card (Retail) | 1.65% + $0.10 | Consumer rewards, card present |
| Rewards Card (CNP) | 1.95% + $0.10 | Consumer rewards, card-not-present |
| Signature Preferred (Retail) | 2.10% + $0.10 | High-tier consumer rewards |
| Signature Preferred (CNP) | 2.40% + $0.10 | High-tier rewards, e-commerce |
| Business Card (Retail) | 2.20% + $0.10 | Commercial/business cards |
| Business Card (CNP) | 2.50% + $0.10 | Business cards, card-not-present |
| Corporate / Purchasing Card | 2.65% + $0.10 | Large B2B purchasing cards |
| Debit (Regulated / PIN) | 0.05% + $0.22 | Banks >$10B assets, PIN debit |
| Debit (Regulated / Sig) | 0.05% + $0.22 | Banks >$10B assets, signature |
| Debit (Unregulated / PIN) | 1.15% + $0.15 | Small bank / credit union debit |
| Card / Transaction Type | Interchange Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Merit I (Card Present) | 1.48% + $0.10 | Basic consumer, chip/swipe |
| Merit III (Retail) | 1.58% + $0.10 | Qualified retail, card present |
| Electronic (CNP) | 1.73% + $0.10 | Standard e-commerce |
| World Card (Retail) | 1.82% + $0.10 | World/World Elite, card present |
| World Card (CNP) | 2.20% + $0.10 | World/World Elite, e-commerce |
| World Elite (Retail) | 2.00% + $0.10 | Top-tier consumer rewards |
| World Elite (CNP) | 2.50% + $0.10 | Top-tier rewards, card-not-present |
| Business Card (Retail) | 2.05% + $0.10 | Commercial cards, card present |
| Business Card (CNP) | 2.65% + $0.10 | Commercial cards, e-commerce |
| Corporate / Purchasing Card | 2.65% + $0.10 | Large B2B / government purchasing |
| Debit (Regulated / PIN) | 0.05% + $0.22 | Banks >$10B assets |
| Debit (Unregulated) | 1.05% + $0.15 | Small bank / credit union debit |
Anything above 2.8% for a mixed card volume is being padded, either with tiered buckets or a fat processor margin.
"2.6% + $0.10 on everything" sounds simple but costs you on debit and cheap consumer cards where true interchange is under 1.6%.
Processors classify cards into buckets and profit on the spread. Rewards and CNP cards get dumped in the expensive Non-Qual tier.
A processor charging a "monthly minimum" is penalizing low-volume months. IC+ has no minimums.
A real processor charges for PCI compliance, not for being out of compliance. Non-compliance fees are made-up revenue.
A $49/month terminal lease over 4 years = $2,352 for a $300 machine. FinTech 5 provides hardware free.
No reputable IC+ processor needs to trap you with a contract penalty. Exit clauses signal a bad deal.
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Rates are approximate. Actual interchange varies by card type, industry, and transaction data quality.