Interchange is the fee collected by credit card issuers on every transaction. These interchange rates in Canada are set by Visa and MasterCard and are mandatory for all credit card processors.
Changes in Canadian Interchange Fees
Visa and MasterCard are changing their interchange fees starting on July 18, 2020 and August 1, 2020, respectively. The dates are pushed back three months due to the impact of COVID-19. We are seeing the rates for some card types increasing, but overall, the majority of card types for both Visa and MasterCard are decreasing. This is in line with the commitment made by both Visa and MasterCard to the Canadian government in 2018 to lower interchange fees. MasterCard is also introducing a new ultra elite category called Muse MasterCard™.
TRC-Parus Gives Lower Payment Fees
At TRC-Parus, we are the first company in Canada to offer membership pricing to our customers. A decrease in interchange fees, as is the case for most card types, will result in a direct benefit to our customers because we pass on the cost set by Visa and MasterCard directly to our customers with no markup or hidden fees. Similarly, our cost-plus pricing will also result in a net decrease in fees with the decrease in interchange fees. Our mission at TRC-Parus is to drive down the cost of accepting payments in a transparent manner. On the other hand, under a tiered-pricing model offered by other credit card processors, certain card types are grouped together and a rate is determined for that group of cards. When interchange rates decrease, oftentimes, the rates set for that particular tier are not reduced to reflect the decrease in interchange rates.
You can find a complete list of the new rates for Visa and MasterCard. We have summarized below some of the key changes.
Visa Interchange Fees
| Card Type | Current Rate | New Rate | Change |
| Card Present | |||
| Swipe/Chip Consumer | 1.42% | 1.25% | -0.17% |
| Swipe/Chip Infinite/High Spend | 1.61% | 1.57% | -0.04% |
| Swipe/Chip Infinite Privilege/Premium | 2.08% | 2.08% | 0.00% |
| Card not Present (CNP) | |||
| CNP Consumer | 1.52% | 1.40% | -0.12% |
| CNP Infinite/High Spend | 1.71% | 1.65% | -0.06% |
| CNP Infinite Privilege/Premium | 2.45% | 2.40% | -0.05% |
| Recurring | |||
| Recurring Consumer | 1.37% | 1.25% | -0.07% |
| Recurring Infinite/High Spend | 1.56% | 1.53% | -0.03% |
| Recurring Infinite Privilege/Premium | 1.95% | 1.95% | 0.00% |
MasterCard Interchange Fees
| Program Type | Current Rate | New Rate | Change |
| Core | |||
| Card Present EMV | 1.30% | 0.92% | -0.38% |
| Digital Commerce | 1.65% | 1.76% | +0.11% |
| SecureCode | 1.30% | 1.50% | +0.20% |
| Charity | 1.00% | 0.92% | -0.08% |
| World | |||
| Card Present EMV | 1.42% | 1.22% | -0.20% |
| Digital Commerce | 2.29% | 2.00% | -0.29% |
| SecureCode | 1.42% | 1.70% | +0.28% |
| Charity | 1.25% | 1.22% | -0.03% |
| World Elite | |||
| Card Present EMV | 1.86% | 1.56% | -0.30% |
| Digital Commerce | 2.79% | 2.24% | -0.55% |
| SecureCode | 1.86% | 1.90% | +0.04% |
| Charity | 1.50% | 1.56% | +0.06% |
| Muse Mastercard™ (New Category) | |||
| Card Present EMV | N/A | 1.65% | N/A |
| Unsecure Card Present | N/A | 1.95% | N/A |
| Digital Commerce | N/A | 2.39% | N/A |
| Contactless | N/A | 1.57% | N/A |
| SecureCode | N/A | 2.03% | N/A |
| Charity | N/A | 1.65% | N/A |
If you have any questions about the upcoming changes to interchange fees, please feel free to reach out to us at info@trc-parus.ru. We would love to hear from you.
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Mastercard Interchange Glossary
Card Present EMV – EMV Contact transactions. Must have Card Present and Cardholder Present.
Contactless – Transactions initiated with a near-field-communication chip.
Digital Commerce – eCommerce, Credential on File, Recurring Payments and DSRP transactions. Must have Card Not Present and Cardholder Not Present.
SecureCode – MasterCard® SecureCode® / 3DS is a program supporting cardholder authentication and guaranteed payments over the Internet for MasterCard® and Maestro® transactions.
Unsecure Card Present – Mag stripe transactions, Late Presentments of Card Present transactions.
(source: MasterCard)
