Visa Inc. is planning some serious changes in the rates U.S. merchants pay to accept its cards. They are hoping to convince more people to abandon checks and adjusting their fees for new businesses such as ride-hailing and app-based services.
“The U.S. credit interchange structure has been largely unchanged for the past 10 years. Based on the most recent review in the U.S., Visa is adjusting its default U.S. interchange rate structure to optimize acceptance and usage and reflect the current value of Visa products.” Visa states.
The Visa’s interchange rates (fees charged every time a consumer uses a card) will go up or down based on the merchant and the way a consumer pays for their purchases. Higher rates will be applied to e-commerce sites, while retailers in f.e. real estate and education, will see fees decline.
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Visa decided not to comment on the changes proposed in the document that presented the information above to the banks. While Mastercard has its own interchange policies, they had no immediate reaction on whether it’s proposing changes of its own.
