Mastercard Interchange

Interchange is the fee set by Mastercard that acquiring banks (merchant banks) pay to issuing banks (cardholder banks) for each card-based transaction.

Goal: Maintain balance in the payment ecosystem by:
- Incentivizing card issuance by banks
- Supporting secure and reliable payment networks
- Encouraging broad merchant acceptance

Merchants pay a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) to their acquirer.
The MDR includes:

Interchange (paid to the card issuer)
Network Assessment Fees (paid to Mastercard)
Acquirer’s Markup (processing fees)

What Affects Interchange Rates?

Mastercard interchange varies by several factors:

Factor	Examples
Merchant Category Code (MCC)	Grocery, restaurant, e-commerce, fuel, travel
Card Type	Consumer credit, commercial credit, debit, prepaid
Transaction Method	Card-present (chip, contactless) vs. card-not-present (online)
Transaction Data Level	Enhanced data for B2B Level 2/3 transactions
Settlement Timing	Same-day vs. delayed settlement
Volume Tier	Higher-volume merchants may qualify for reduced tiers

Mastercard’s Published Rate Tables

Mastercard provides detailed U.S. interchange tables, available here:
Mastercard Merchant Interchange Rates – U.S.

Key rate categories include:

Credit Card Programs (Consumer, Commercial, Rewards, Premium)
Debit & Prepaid (Regulated vs. non-regulated)
Industry Programs (Supermarkets, Fuel, Small Ticket, Utilities)

Example (Illustrative Only – Not Current Rates)

Category	Rate %	Per-Transaction Fee
Consumer Credit – Standard	1.58%	$0.10
Debit – Regulated	0.05%	$0.21
Small Ticket Credit	1.65%	$0.04

Helpful Resources

Mastercard Interchange Rates & Fees

Mastercard Rules & Compliance