Category: Interchange Fees

Standard is the most expensive possible interchange category for consumer cards. It means that you paid the maximum to process that transaction. Seeing a lot of “Standard” or abbreviations like “CONS STND” on your monthly processing statements? That indicates a problem with your transaction process. If you’re a CardFellow member, give us a call for […]

The “CNP” stands for “card not present,” which tells you that these categories do not apply to transactions where you swipe a customer’s card. (It also does not apply to digital wallet payments – like Apple Pay – where a customer “taps” a phone or smart watch to a compatible credit card machine. Those payments […]

Contrary to popular belief, debit cards do not incur flat fees. You’ll be charged a percentage of the total and a per-transaction fee, just like with credit cards. However, card-not-present (CNP) debit has more possible interchange categories. There are technically ten interchange categories for Visa CNP debit, but five of them are simply the “regulated […]

Note that the debit categories only apply to signature debit. (Sometimes called “running as credit.”) PIN debit transactions do not receive interchange fees. Instead, they’re charged PIN debit network fees. If you’re looking for that info, check our article on PIN debit costs. CPS Retail Debit Rates Regulated Debit CPS Retail Prepaid Rates Criteria Cardholder […]

EIRF is a Visa interchange category that indicates a downgrade. Transactions qualify for EIRF when they don’t meet the criteria for categories with lower rates. For example, a transaction that is keyed-in to a terminal without address verification information instead of being swiped may fall into the EIRF category.

CPS Supermarket is an interchange category used to determine the fee for Visa cards used at grocery stores when the card is present and a customer’s signature is obtained.

CPS Restaurant is the Visa interchange category that is used to calculate the interchange cost for card-present transactions that take place at a restaurant, including fast food businesses.

CPS Rewards 1 is a Visa interchange category that is used to calculate the interchange fee for swiped transactions involving a credit card that produces rewards for the cardholder, such as cash back, or airline miles.