Интерчейндж

What is Интерчейндж (Interchange Fee)?

Interchange is an interbank fee that is deducted from every card payment. The merchant's bank (the acquirer) pays it to the cardholder's bank (the issuer). The merchant does not see it directly, but it is included in the total rate the merchant pays for accepting cards.

## How it works

Payment schemes (Visa, Mastercard and others) set interchange rates and publish their rate tables. The fee usually consists of a percentage of the amount plus a fixed component. The rate depends on the card type (debit, credit, premium, commercial), the merchant category (MCC), the country of the card and of the merchant, the method of data entry, and whether the transaction meets the requirements for a lower rate.

## Where it applies

Interchange matters in card payments across all verticals, but for high-risk merchants, including gambling, crypto exchangers and fintech services, it is often higher because of the merchant category and cross-border activity. Cross-border payments, where the card and the merchant are in different countries, usually cost more than domestic ones.

## What it affects

Interchange makes up the bulk of the MDR, so it determines the acquirer's margin and the price for the merchant. Under an Interchange++ model, the merchant sees the interchange as a separate line item, while the acquirer adds a fixed markup. Under a blended model, all costs are combined into a single rate, which makes the actual structure harder to understand.

## Common mistakes

A typical mistake is comparing acquirer offers only by the total MDR without asking for a breakdown. The second mistake is ignoring the share of expensive cards and cross-border traffic in turnover. The third is failing to check the MCC under which the business operates: an incorrect category can lead to a higher rate or even a refusal of service.