Credit and Debit Card Interchange Fees
Assessed to Merchants in the United States
August 2018 Update‡
Payments System Research§
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
‡ This update includes regular and “premium issuer” interchange fees for different merchant categories and sizes. In 2010 or after, several PIN-debit networks introduced the “premium issuer” fees, which are assessed on transactions where the cards belong to qualifying issuers that typically commit to a specific level of transaction volume on a given network. Fees shown in this document as assessed to merchants are from individual networks’ fee schedules and may not necessarily represent interchange fee revenue issuers actually earn. Some networks also offer lower interchange fees than represented in the fee schedule to some (large) merchants. § Fumiko Hayashi, Payments Policy Advisor and Economist, and Sabrina Minhas, Research Associate, compiled this update. Data sources are: American Banker (various issues); ATM & Debit News (various issues); Credit Card Management (April 1999); Debit Card Directory (various years); EFT Data Book (various years); Pacificisland.publishpath.com; Vantagecard.com; Monerisusa.com; Wells Fargo; MasterCard Worldwide; and Visa Inc. The original charts appeared in Fumiko Hayashi, Richard J. Sullivan, and Stuart E. Weiner. 2003. A Guide to the ATM and Debit Card Industry, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; Fumiko Hayashi, 2006. “A Puzzle of Card Payment Pricing: Why Are Merchants Still Accepting Card Payments?” Review of Network Economic, 5(1): 144-174; Fumiko Hayashi, Richard J. Sullivan, and Stuart E. Weiner, 2006. A Guide to the ATM and Debit Card Industry: 2006 Update, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; and Fumiko Hayashi, 2009. “Do U.S. Consumers Really Benefit from Payment Card Rewards?” Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Review, First Quarter: 37-63.
I-1
I. Consumer credit card interchange fees
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at small supermarkets
Visa Credit Visa Traditional Visa Signature Preferred MC Credit
MC Core MC World Elite Discover Core Discover Premium Plus
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at largest supermarkets
Visa Credit Visa Traditional Visa Signature Preferred MC Credit
MC Core MC World Elite Discover Core Discover Premium Plus
I-2
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cen
ts$40 transaction at small retailers
Visa Credit Visa Traditional Visa Signature Preferred MC Credit
MC Core MC World Elite Discover Core Discover Premium Plus
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at largest retailers
Visa Credit Visa Traditional Visa Signature Preferred MC Credit
MC Core MC World Elite Discover Core Discover Premium Plus
I-3
Notes: * indicates products with volume tiered rates. The base rates are shown.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at gas stations
Visa Credit Visa Traditional Visa Signature Preferred MC Credit
MC Core MC World Elite Discover Core Discover Premium Plus
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Cen
ts
$10 transaction at quick-service restaurants
Visa Credit Visa Traditional Visa Signature Preferred MC Credit
MC Core* MC World Elite* Discover Core Discover Premium Plus
II-1
II. Consumer signature debit card interchange fees
Note: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at small supermarkets
Visa Visa Prepaid MasterCard Discover Regulated IF
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at largest supermarkets
Visa Visa Prepaid MasterCard Discover Regulated IF
II-2
Note: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Cen
ts$40 transaction at small retailers
Visa Visa Prepaid MasterCard Discover Regulated IF
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at largest retailers
Visa Visa Prepaid MasterCard Discover Regulated IF
II-3
Notes: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
* indicates networks with volume tiered rates. The base rates are shown.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at gas stations
Visa Visa Prepaid MasterCard* Discover Regulated IF
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Cen
ts
$10 transaction at quick-service restaurants
Visa Visa Prepaid MasterCard* Discover Regulated IF
III-1
III. Consumer PIN debit card interchange fees
Note: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at small supermarkets
Star Interlink Interlink Prepaid NYCE PulseAccel/Exchange Shazam Jeanie Networks AFFNMaestro Alaska option CU24 Regulated IF
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at small retailers
Star Interlink Interlink Prepaid NYCE PulseAccel/Exchange Shazam Jeanie Networks AFFNMaestro Alaska option CU24 Regulated IF
III-2
Notes: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
* indicates networks with volume tiered rates. The base rates are shown
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70C
ents
$40 transaction at gas stations
Star* Interlink Interlink Prepaid NYCE* Pulse*Accel/Exchange* Shazam* Jeanie Networks AFFNMaestro* Alaska option CU24* Regulated IF
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Cen
ts
$10 transaction at quick-service restaurants
Star Interlink Interlink Prepaid NYCE PulseAccel/Exchange Shazam* Jeanie Networks AFFNMaestro* Alaska option CU24 Regulated IF
III-3
Notes: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
†See footnote ‡ in the title page for the definition of premium issuer rate. + indicates networks with premium issuer rates, which are shown. For other networks, regular rates are shown. * indicates networks with volume tiered rates. The base rates are shown.
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
Cen
ts$40 transaction at small supermarkets (premium rate)†
Star+ Interlink Interlink Prepaid NYCE+ Pulse+Accel/Exchange+ Shazam Jeanie+ Networks AFFNMaestro Alaska option CU24+ Regulated IF
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at small retailers (premium rate)†
Star+ Interlink Interlink Prepaid NYCE+ Pulse+Accel/Exchange+ Shazam Jeanie+ Networks AFFNMaestro Alaska option CU24 Regulated IF
III-4
Notes: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
†See footnote ‡ in the title page for the definition of premium issuer rate. + indicates networks with premium issuer rates, which are shown. For other networks, regular rates are shown. * indicates networks with volume tiered rates. The base rates are shown.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70C
ents
$40 transaction at gas stations (premium rate)†
Star*,+ Interlink Interlink Prepaid NYCE*,+Pulse*,+ Accel/Exchange*,+ Shazam* Jeanie+Networks AFFN Maestro* Alaska optionCU24*,+ Regulated IF
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Cen
ts
Star+ Interlink Interlink Prepaid NYCE+ Pulse+Accel/Exchange+ Shazam* Jeanie+ Networks AFFNMaestro* Alaska option CU24+ Regulated IF
$10 transaction at quick-service restaurants (premium rate)†
IV-1
IV. Consumer signature versus PIN debit interchange fees
Note: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at small supermarkets
Visa Signature Debit MC Signature Debit Star InterlinkNYCE Pulse Maestro Regulated IF
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at small retailers
Visa Signature Debit MC Signature Debit Star InterlinkNYCE Pulse Maestro Regulated IF
IV-2
Notes: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
* indicates networks with volume tiered rates. The base rates are shown.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Cen
ts$40 transaction at gas stations
Visa Signature Debit MC Signature Debit* Star* Interlink
NYCE* Pulse* Maestro* Regulated IF
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Cen
ts
$10 transaction at quick-service restaurants
Visa Signature Debit MC Signature Debit Star InterlinkNYCE Pulse Maestro* Regulated IF
IV-3
Notes: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
†See footnote ‡ in the title page for the definition of premium issuer rate. + indicates networks with premium issuer rates, which are shown. For other networks, regular rates are shown.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50C
ents
$40 transaction at small supermarkets (premium rate)†
Visa Signature Debit MC Signature Debit Star+ Interlink
NYCE+ Pulse+ Maestro Regulated IF
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Cen
ts
$40 transaction at small retailers (premium rate)†
Visa Signature Debit MC Signature Debit Star+ Interlink
NYCE+ Pulse+ Maestro Regulated IF
IV-4
Notes: Exempt interchange fees are shown from October 2011 to 2018.
†See footnote ‡ in the title page for the definition of premium issuer rate. + indicates networks with premium issuer rates, which are shown. For other networks, regular rates are shown. * indicates networks with volume tiered rates. The base rates are shown
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70C
ents
$40 transaction at gas stations (premium rate)†
Visa Signature Debit MC Signature Debit* Star*,+ Interlink
NYCE*,+ Pulse*,+ Maestro* Regulated IF
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Cen
ts
Visa Signature Debit MC Signature Debit* Star+ Interlink
NYCE+ Pulse+ Maestro* Regulated IF
$10 transaction at quick-service restaurant (premium rate)†
V-1
V. Visa, MasterCard, and Discover consumer card interchange fees
Note: (c) indicates credit card.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cen
ts
$40 Visa transaction at small retailers
Visa Credit Visa Traditional Visa Traditional RewardVisa Signature (c) Visa Signature Preferred (c) Visa Signature DebitInterlink Visa Prepaid
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cen
ts
$40 Visa transaction at largest retailers
Visa Credit Visa Traditional Visa Traditional RewardVisa Signature (c) Visa Signature Preferred (c) Visa Signature DebitInterlink Visa Prepaid
V-2
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cen
ts$40 MasterCard transaction at small retailers
MC Credit MC Core MC EnhancedMC World MC World High Value MC World EliteMasterCard Signature Debit Maestro
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cen
ts
$40 MasterCard transaction at largest retailers
MC Credit MC Core MC EnhancedMC World MC World High Value MC World EliteMasterCard Signature Debit Maestro
V-3
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Cen
ts
Discover Core Discover Rewards Discover Premium
Discover Premium Plus Discover Signature Debit Pulse
$40 Discover transaction at small and largest retailers
VI-1
VI. Commercial credit card interchange fees
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Dol
lars
$200 transaction at retailers
Visa Purchasing Visa Business Tier I Visa Business Tier IV MC Purchasing
MC Business MC Business World Elite Discover
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Dol
lars
$1,000 B2B Level II transaction
Visa Purchasing Visa Business Tier I Visa Business Tier IV MC Purchasing
MC Business MC Business World Elite Discover
VI-2
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Dol
lars
$7,500 B2B transaction
Visa Purchasing Visa Business Tier I Visa Business Tier IV MC Purchasing
MC Business MC Business World Elite Discover
VII-1
VII. Consumer versus commercial credit card interchange fees
Note: (c) indicates consumer card.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Cen
ts
$100 Visa transaction at small retailers
Visa Credit (c) Visa Traditional (c) Visa Signature Preferred (c)
Visa Purchasing Visa Business Tier I Visa Business Tier IV
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Cen
ts
$100 Visa transaction at largest retailers
Visa Credit (c) Visa Traditional (c) Visa Signature Preferred (c)
Visa Purchasing Visa Business Tier I Visa Business Tier IV
VII-2
Note: (c) indicates credit card.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300C
ents
$100 MasterCard transaction at small retailers
MC Credit (c) MC Core (c) MC World Elite (c)
MC Purchasing MC Business MC Business World Elite
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Cen
ts
$100 MasterCard transaction at largest retailers
MC Credit (c) MC Core (c) MC World Elite (c)
MC Purchasing MC Business MC Business World Elite
VII-3
Note: (c) indicates consumer card.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Cen
ts$100 Discover transaction at small and largest retailers
Discover Core (c) Discover Premium (c) Discover Premium Plus (c) Discover Business