CPS Rewards and Signature Preferred refer to Visa interchange fees for consumer credit cards that offer rewards (such as cash back or airline miles) for the cardholder.
Note: As of 2023, Visa’s published interchange table no longer lists the CPS Rewards 1 or Signature Preferred interchange categories. The rates that applied are found in other categories, which have either been renamed or merged with CPS Rewards 1 and Signature Preferred. We’re leaving this article for historical purposes, but it will no longer be updated, as these categories no longer exist.
Typically, cards that provide rewards to the user cost businesses more than cards that don’t provide rewards. However, it’s not as big of a difference as many people think.
You probably already know from your credit card processing statement that there are many different fee categories. CPS Rewards 1 and Signature Preferred are categories you can expect to see when you accept a consumer “rewards” credit card that meets criteria we’ll detail in this article.
You can expect to pay:
- CPS Rewards 1: 1.65% + 10 cents
- Signature Preferred: 2.10 + 10 cents
Other fees will apply on top of these interchange rates. However, your processor does not set the rates for interchange categories, and cannot lower them. You can view all the rates and fees for interchange on Visa’s website.
Rewards Criteria
CPS Rewards and Signature Preferred aren’t technically interchange categories by themselves, meaning they don’t have exclusive criteria. Instead, they’re the categories your transactions will fall under if you meet the criteria for a CPS Retail card present category, but instead of using a basic consumer card, your customer uses a consumer reward card. However, some business types are not eligible.
These two categories only apply to “card present” transactions. That means that you swipe a magnetic stripe card, “dip” a chip card, or “tap” a contactless smart device like a cell phone with Apple Pay enabled. They also only apply to consumer reward cards, not to basic non-rewards consumer cards or corporate / business credit cards.
If you need information on other interchange rates, such as those for card-not-present cards or corporate credit cards, be sure to check out our other articles on interchange fees or use our blog search bar to look for a specific interchange fee.
CPS Criteria
In addition to the requirements above, you’ll also need to meet the criteria for either CPS / Retail or CPS / Small Ticket, which includes:
- Settling the transaction within 1 day
- Settling for the same amount as authorized
- Transaction total under $15 (for CPS / Small Ticket only)
If you don’t meet the criteria, your transaction will “downgrade” to a more expensive interchange category. Read more about CPS Retail criteria.
Ineligible Businesses
Businesses that are not eligible for CPS Rewards 1 or Signature Preferred include restaurants, hotels, car / truck rentals, travel agents, and passenger transportation, including airlines, cruises, and railways. Specific ineligible MCCs include:
- 3351
- 3441
- 3501
- 3833
- 5812
- 5814
- 7001
- 7512
- 7513
This is not a complete list of ineligible MCCs. If you’re unsure about your classification, contact your credit card processor.
Note that some of the businesses that are excluded from these two interchange categories have their own, industry-specific, interchange.
CPS Rewards Interchange Rates
Assuming you meet the criteria noted above and the appropriate CPS Retail category requirements, you can expect to qualify for CPS Rewards interchange categories when you accept a consumer rewards card at your business. In those instances, you could expect to pay the following interchange rates:
| Volume Rate | Per-Transaction Fee | |
| CPS Rewards 1 | 1.65% | $0.10 |
| Signature Preferred | 2.10% | $0.10 |
Remember, these are the interchange fees only. Additional costs, including your processor’s markup, will also apply.
Statement Identification
Different credit card processors call interchange categories by different names. This is not a complete list (your processor may use another alias) but here are names that your processor might use.
CPS Rewards 1
REWARDS 1, VI-CPS/REWARDS 1, CPS REWARDS 1
No tricks here – it’s common to see “rewards 1” somewhere in the descriptor for CPS Rewards 1. It may or may not include a “V” or “VI” to indicate Visa. However, that designation isn’t strictly necessary, as the other card brands use different terms for their rewards interchange categories anyway.
Signature Preferred
VSP RTL
This abbreviation indicates Visa Signature Preferred retail. The processor is differentiating from ecommerce by using the phrase retail, indicating a card-present transaction.
