Interchange plus passes the wholesale cost from the card brands (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express), and adds one small markup that you can read on this page.
Every card transaction has a wholesale cost set by the card brands and a markup set by the processor. Most pricing models blend the two together so you cannot tell them apart. Interchange plus keeps them separate on purpose.
Set by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. It varies by card type, how the card was taken and your industry. It costs every processor the same, including us.
The card brands' own fees on top of interchange. Also fixed, also passed through at cost, also identical no matter helps you process your transaction.
One percentage and one per-item fee, banded by your monthly card volume. It is the only line we control, and it is on this page.
Every interchange program that applied, at the rate it applied, line by line. No billback, no bundled buckets, no surprise reclassification a month later.
A flat rate quotes the same number for every card that runs. The card brands do not work that way. A debit card costs a fraction of what a premium rewards card costs, and on a flat rate none of that difference reaches you. It is kept as padding. Below is the same four Visa cards, run card present.
The cheapest card and the most expensive card cost you the same. Nothing on the statement tells you which was which.
The dashed outline is the flat rate. The empty space inside it is what stays with you.
Percentage rates only, per-item fees and network assessments are not shown on either side. The flat rate shown is a common published rate near 3%, our markup is the entry band, and actual savings depend on card mix.
Show us how much you process per month and we can provide a lower markup . A simple-to-understand rate whether the card is taken in person, keyed in, or paid online, so the markup does not change with the way your customers buy.
Bands are based on monthly credit card volume. Send your last 3 months of processing statements so we can show you exactly how this pricing program would be saving you each month.
Interchange plus is not the only way to price a merchant, and it is not right for everyone. Here is where it earns its place, and where one of our other programs would serve you better.
Your most recent three months processing statements. This will give us the clearest picture of how you take payments.
We pull out what the card brands charged and what your current processor added, including the fees that are not labelled clearly.
Your own volume at what your current processor charges you, next to what you would be paying with us. Same transactions, same card mix, different markups.
Interchange plus, traditional processing, dual pricing, or staying where you are. We will help you decide which one will best fit your company.
Because your card mix changes. A month heavy in rewards cards or keyed transactions earns higher interchange than a debit-heavy month at the counter. Our markup does not move. The wholesale cost underneath it does, and on interchange plus you can see exactly which line moved and by how much.
No, and we will say so if it is not. It is usually the most transparent, and for higher-volume accounts it is normally the lowest total cost. At low volume the difference can be small enough that another program suits you better. Your statement settles it, not a sales pitch.
Transactions qualify at whatever interchange level the data earns. Missing address data on a keyed sale or a late batch can land a transaction in a more expensive category. On interchange plus that costs what it costs, in the same month, at cost. There is no billback and nothing gets reclassified into a padded bucket later.
Yes. Your statement shows each interchange program descriptor and the rate that applied, with our markup on its own line. That is the point of the model.
Three most recent monthly processing statements. Not your bank statements, not your tax records. This give us a clear picture of what your business is currently doing and how Emeraldpay can help.
They are published by the card brands, not by us. The card-present figures in the comparison above are taken from the Visa USA Interchange Reimbursement Fee schedule effective April 18, 2026: exempt debit 0.80%, Traditional Rewards 1.47%, Visa Signature 1.65%, Signature Preferred 2.10%. Regulated debit runs lower still under the Durbin cap. Visa updates the schedule twice a year, so treat the figures as typical rather than fixed, and ask us for the current table any time.
Yes. Merchants move between interchange plus, traditional processing and dual pricing as their volume and their customers change. Ask us and we will reprice you against your own numbers rather than guess.
The rate card is above, so you already know what we would add. The only thing left is what the cards themselves cost you, and that is sitting on your last statement.