Over the past year, Visa and Mastercard have introduced a series of scheme fee increases, particularly on international transactions. At the same time, interchange has shifted across several categories, with commercial card rates in some cases now exceeding 2%.
These changes rarely appear as a single increase. Instead, they build gradually within transaction data, which makes them harder to identify.
A well-known high street retailer recently got in touch after noticing a rise in costs without a clear explanation. After reviewing their data, it became clear what was driving the increase. While interchange and scheme fees could not be changed, renegotiating their acquiring margin helped offset part of the impact.
For most businesses, that is the position. Interchange and scheme fees are fixed, but the margin is not.
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