GLOSSARY
Interchange Fee
Fee paid by the acquirer to the issuer on each card transaction; funds scheme incentives and risk.
An interchange fee is paid by the acquiring bank to the issuing bank for each card transaction. It covers risk, rewards, and network costs. Rates vary by card type (e.g., credit card, debit card), merchant category, and region.
Regulation (e.g., EU caps) and routing choices can reduce interchange. Merchants see interchange passed through in their processing costs; local schemes like giro cards often carry lower interchange for domestic transactions.
Related
Related terms.
-
Acquirer
Bank or payment institution that signs merchants and routes their card transactions into the card networks.
-
Apple Pay
Mobile wallet by Apple that tokenizes cards for contactless and in-app payments.
-
Card Fraud
Unauthorized card use or theft of credentials to initiate transactions.
-
Card Network
Payment network (e.g., Visa/Mastercard) that sets rules and routes card transactions between issuers and acquirers.