Interchange is the part of the fee that goes to the bank that issued the buyer card. It makes up the largest share of the rate, and its size is set by the payment system rather than the payment service: no individual contract can lower it.
How the rate is split
- To the buyer bank — interchange for risk, card servicing and reward programmes.
- To the payment system — a fee for the rules and routing of an operation.
- To the provider — the remainder for accepting payments, support, refunds and reporting.
Why the rate cannot be zero
- Interchange is fixed by system rules and does not depend on your contract.
- It also funds the cashback the bank pays the buyer for shopping with you.
- The final rate can drop only through the provider share — with volume and low risk.
What makes up the final fee is covered separately.
