Across the market, there has been a noticeable increase in higher-cost card types. Commercial cards, which can carry interchange rates above 2%, are now making up a larger share of transactions in many sectors.
At the same time, cross-border transactions continue to attract higher interchange, often 2–3 times domestic rates depending on card origin and classification.
This means that even where volumes remain stable, the underlying cost profile can shift.
For example, a modest increase in international customers or corporate card usage can move overall blended rates by 10-20 basis points.
Interchange itself is fixed and set by the schemes, which means these movements are largely outside of direct control.
If recent cost increases are not immediately clear, it is often worth looking at how interchange composition has changed: https://lnkd.in/ef5kiAcD
Interchange is becoming a more significant driver of payment costs, but it is not always easy to identify
