What interchange actually is
Interchange is a fee paid on every card sale. It goes to the bank that gave your customer their card. That bank is called the issuer.
It is paid by the company that handles card sales for your business. That company is called the acquirer. Most of the time, that is your processor or the bank behind it.
Visa’s Canadian rate sheet puts it in one line: these are “fees paid by the Acquirer to the Issuer on purchase transactions.”
Interchange is usually the biggest part of what a card sale costs. But it is not the only part. Your processor adds its own charges on top.
Who gets the money
The money goes to your customer’s bank. Not to Visa. Not to your processor.
Visa is clear that you do not pay interchange as its own bill. Its rate sheet says merchants pay a “merchant discount fee” to their acquirer. That fee covers interchange, and it can also cover other services the acquirer sells you.
So the path looks like this:
- Your customer pays you $100 with a credit card.
- Your processor pays interchange to your customer’s bank.
- Your processor charges you a rate that covers interchange plus its own fees.
Your business pays one card fee on each sale to its processor, also called the acquirer. The processor keeps its own markup. It passes interchange on to the customer's bank, called the issuer, and network fees on to the card network, such as Visa or Mastercard.
Why your rate changes card to card
Interchange is not one number. It changes with four things.
1. The card. Premium rewards cards cost more. Here is Visa Canada’s rate for an in-person consumer credit sale, which Visa calls “Electronic”:
| Visa card | In-person rate | On a $100 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Classic, Gold, Platinum | 1.25% | $1.25 |
| Infinite | 1.57% | $1.57 |
| Infinite+ | 1.60% | $1.60 |
| Infinite Privilege | 2.08% | $2.08 |
Mastercard works the same way. TD’s April 2026 rate sheet lists Mastercard’s in-person chip rate (called “Card Present EMV”) as 0.92% for a Core card and 1.56% for a World Elite card.
2. How you took the card. Online and keyed sales cost more. On Visa’s sheet, a Classic card is 1.25% in person and 1.40% when the card is not present. The “Standard” rate, which Visa calls the default for sales that do not qualify for anything else, is 1.45%.
3. Your type of business. Some industries get their own rates. Visa’s grocery and food retail rate for a Classic card is 0.95%. Utilities pay a flat $0.75 per credit sale. The industry pages list the programs for each kind of business, for example grocery and convenience stores and charities and non-profits.
4. Your size. Visa’s sheet lists a Small Merchant program for businesses with up to $300,000 a year in Visa sales. A Classic card in person is 0.77% under that program. TD’s Fee Change Summary says that on October 22, 2026, Visa raised that limit to $750,000 a year, and the in-person Classic rate went from 0.77% to 0.70%. Visa’s own sheet still showed the earlier limit and rate when checked on October 22, 2026. At the other end, Visa’s Performance program needs at least $2.3 billion a year in Visa sales in Canada.
Debit is different
Debit interchange is much smaller, and it is often a few cents a sale instead of a percentage.
- Visa Debit in Canada. Visa’s sheet lists $0.03 per in-person sale.
- Interac debit in Canada. Interac’s fee page lists a flat amount per contactless sale. It is $0.035 for most businesses on sales up to $100, and $0.055 on sales from $100.01 to $250. The full table is in our Interac debit guide.
- US debit. A federal rule called Regulation II limits debit interchange for card issuers that, with their affiliates, hold $10 billion or more in assets. The limit is 21 cents plus 0.05% of the sale. On top of that, an issuer that meets the rule’s fraud-prevention standards may receive up to 1 cent more per sale. Issuers under $10 billion are exempt from the limit. Visa’s US sheet lists in-person sales on “Regulated” Visa debit cards at 0.05% + $0.21, plus $0.01 for issuers that certify they meet Visa’s interim fraud-prevention standards. The rule is being challenged in court: Cooley reported on August 15, 2025 that a North Dakota federal court set aside (vacated) Regulation II on August 6, 2025, and paused (stayed) that ruling pending appeal. For the latest on the appeal, see US Debit Fees: Regulation II (Durbin).
Which parts are set by the networks and which vary by processor
Your card bill has two kinds of parts.
Set by the networks, the same at any processor:
- Interchange. Visa’s sheet says its published rates apply where the banks involved have not set their own terms. Your processor does not choose it.
- Network fees. On TD’s sample statement these show up as “assessment fees”, a separate line for each card brand.
Set by your processor, different from one to the next:
- The processor’s own rate or markup. On TD’s sample interchange plus statement this is the line called “Visa credit rate”.
- Monthly fees, such as a service fee or a PCI fee. (PCI is the card industry’s data security standard.)
- Equipment rental.
TD’s sample statement also shows where fee changes come from. Each change is marked as coming either from TD or from the card networks.
How interchange shows up on your statement
It depends on your pricing model.
- Interchange plus. You see interchange card type by card type. TD’s guide says that for an interchange plus merchant, the “interchange differential” column on the statement shows the interchange rate for each card type. Then the processor’s markup is listed separately. More on this model in What Is Interchange Plus Pricing?
- Flat rate. You see one rate per card brand. Interchange is inside it, and you cannot see how much.
- Tiered and differential. Some interchange shows up as an extra charge on certain cards. Flat rate vs interchange plus vs tiered explains each model side by side.
Canada and US differences
The idea is the same in both countries. The numbers and the rules are not.
In Canada:
- The networks publish Canadian rate sheets in Canadian dollars. Every rate on this page comes from those sheets.
- Interac debit uses small flat amounts per sale. See card processing in Canada.
In the United States:
-
Regulation II caps debit interchange at 21 cents plus 0.05% of the sale for issuers with $10 billion or more in assets. A fraud-prevention adjustment can add up to 1 cent more per sale. Issuers under that size are exempt. The rule is being challenged in court; see US Debit Fees: Regulation II (Durbin).
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Credit card interchange in the US has its own rate sheets. Visa’s US sheet (rates effective April 18, 2026) lists most rates as a percentage plus a few cents. Some card-present examples, from the row Visa calls “Product 2”:
Visa US consumer credit card In person (“Product 2”) Traditional Rewards 1.65% + $0.10 Visa Signature 1.65% + $0.10 Visa Signature Preferred 2.10% + $0.10 Visa Infinite (spend qualified) 2.30% + $0.10 The same sheet lists “Non-Qualified Consumer Credit” at 3.15% + $0.10, and in-person sales on “Regulated” Visa debit cards at 0.05% + $0.21 (plus $0.01 for issuers that meet Visa’s fraud-prevention standards). “Exempt” Visa debit cards are listed at 0.80% + $0.15 for retail. Visa’s sheet says to ask your financial institution which rates you are eligible for. See card processing in the United States.
Where to go from here
Business, corporate and purchasing cards have their own, mostly higher, rates. See Why Business and Corporate Cards Cost More to Accept. Interchange is one of several parts of the total; see How Much Does It Cost to Accept Credit Cards in Canada?
Some statements have a section that lists card types such as “consumer”, “infinite” or “business”, each with its own rate. That section shows interchange. A statement with only one rate per brand has interchange inside that rate.
Next, How to Read Your Merchant Statement walks through each section. The statement decoder explains individual lines. Visa’s full US rate sheet is set out in Visa Interchange Rates in the US, Explained. Want a partner to review your statement? We will put you in touch. Start the free statement review.