Visa updates interchange rates twice a year — April and October. In the last 12 months, they've rolled out a new commercial data program (CEDP), retired Level 2 interchange incentives, increased digital commerce fees, and proposed a settlement that could cap consumer rates at 1.25%. If you accept Visa cards, every one of these changes hits your bottom line. Here's what actually happened and what it means for your processing costs.
Visa's Current Interchange Rate Structure
Visa interchange rates form the bulk of what you pay to accept credit cards — roughly 70–80% of your total processing cost. The exact rate depends on the card type, whether the card is present, and your merchant category code (MCC).
| Visa Card Type | Card-Present (Swiped/Tapped) | Card-Not-Present (Online/Keyed) |
|---|---|---|
| Visa Credit Basic | 1.51% + $0.10 | 1.80% + $0.10 |
| Visa Rewards Traditional | 1.65% + $0.10 | 1.95% + $0.10 |
| Visa Rewards Signature | 2.30% + $0.10 | 2.70% + $0.10 |
| Visa Signature Preferred | 2.10% + $0.10 | 2.40% + $0.10 |
| Visa Business | 2.20% + $0.10 | 2.25% + $0.20 |
| Visa Corporate | 2.50% + $0.10 | 2.70% + $0.10 |
| Visa Debit (small bank) | 0.80% + $0.15 | 1.65% + $0.15 |
| Visa Debit (regulated) | 0.05% + $0.22 | 0.05% + $0.22 |
These are the base interchange rates — the non-negotiable wholesale cost set by Visa. Your processor adds a markup on top. If you're on interchange-plus pricing, this markup is visible. If you're on tiered pricing, the processor bundles interchange into opaque "qualified" and "non-qualified" tiers that usually cost you significantly more. (See our guide on hidden payment processing fees for the full breakdown.)
The Big Changes: What Visa Did in 2025–2026
1. The CEDP Program (Commercial Enhanced Data Program)
This is the most significant Visa change in years, and it directly affects any merchant who processes business or corporate Visa cards.
Visa launched CEDP in April 2025. The program rewards merchants who submit high-quality Level 3 line-item data on commercial card transactions with lower interchange rates — typically 7–10% below standard commercial rates. But there's a catch: a 0.05% participation fee on every qualifying transaction.
Here's the timeline:
- April 2025: CEDP launched. Merchants submitting accurate Level 3 data get reduced interchange on Visa small business and commercial credit products.
- October 2025: Only merchants with verified CEDP status remain eligible for discounted rates. Unverified merchants get the standard (higher) rates regardless of data quality.
- January 2026: Visa increased rates on Product 3 business credits submitted with only Level 2 data by 0.75% — effectively making Level 2 submission more expensive than sending no data at all.
- April 2026: Visa is sunsetting Level 2 interchange incentives entirely. Only Level 3 data qualifies for reduced rates going forward.
If you accept business or corporate Visa cards: Check with your processor immediately to confirm your CEDP verification status. As of April 2026, submitting Level 2 data no longer reduces your interchange — it can actually increase it. You need Level 3 or you're paying premium rates on every commercial transaction.
2. Digital Commerce Service Fee Expansion
Visa introduced a Digital Commerce Service Fee of 0.0075% on all card-not-present settled transactions. This replaced the old AVS (Address Verification) and CVV2 verification fees. In 2026, this fee is expanding to four additional services.
For a merchant processing $50,000/month in online sales, this adds roughly $3.75/month. Not catastrophic individually — but it's yet another fee layered onto your statement that didn't exist two years ago.
3. The Visa/Mastercard Interchange Settlement
In November 2025, Visa and Mastercard proposed a revised settlement to the long-running antitrust litigation (after a previous $30 billion proposal was rejected). The key terms:
- 0.10% reduction in average effective credit interchange for five years
- Standard consumer card rates capped at 1.25% for eight years
- Merchants gain the right to surcharge by card level (standard vs. premium)
- Estimated $200+ billion in merchant savings over the agreement's lifetime
Court approval is expected late 2026 or early 2027. If approved, the rate reductions could take effect as early as late 2026. But don't count on it — the courts have rejected Visa settlements before, and merchant advocacy groups have already criticized this proposal as insufficient.
What This Means for Small Merchants
The average Visa credit card swipe fee in 2024 was 2.35%. But that's the average across all merchant sizes — large retailers negotiate better rates. A typical small business in New England accepting a mix of Visa rewards and signature cards pays an effective rate of 2.5–3.2% on Visa transactions before processor markup.
Add in your processor's margin, and real-world costs look like this:
| Processor | Typical All-In Visa Rate | Monthly Hidden Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Heartland | 3.5–9%+ (tiered) | $30–$130 |
| Square | 2.6–3.5% (flat) | Built into rate |
| Shift4 | 3.0–5% (tiered) | $15–$40 |
| FeeShield / Echelon | 2.5% flat | $0 |
The gap between interchange cost and what you actually pay is where your processor makes their money. Visa's base rate for a standard credit card swipe is 1.51%. If you're paying 3.5%, your processor is taking nearly 2% on every transaction — plus monthly fees on top.
A restaurant processing $30,000/month in Visa credit card sales at a 3.5% effective rate pays $1,050/month in Visa processing fees. At 2.5% flat, that same volume costs $750/month. That's $3,600/year in savings — enough to cover a new POS terminal or a week of payroll.
What You Can Do Right Now
- Check your effective rate. Divide total Visa fees by total Visa volume on your last statement. If it's above 2.5%, you're overpaying. Use our fee calculator for a quick estimate.
- Ask about interchange-plus pricing. If you're on tiered pricing, you can't see what you're actually paying in interchange vs. processor markup. Switch to interchange-plus or find a processor that offers it. (Read our full guide on reducing credit card processing costs.)
- Verify your CEDP status if you accept commercial Visa cards. Your processor should be able to confirm whether you're enrolled and verified.
- Consider a cash discount program. Instead of absorbing 2.5–3.5% on every card transaction, a cash discount or surcharge program can reduce your effective processing cost to near-zero.
- Get a free fee audit. Submit your statement and we'll show you exactly where you're overpaying — line by line.
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Try the Fee CalculatorLooking Ahead: What's Coming Next
The biggest wildcard is the Credit Card Competition Act of 2026. This bipartisan bill would require large banks to offer at least two unaffiliated network routing options for credit card transactions — extending Durbin Amendment-style competition from debit to credit. If passed, it could fundamentally reshape Visa's pricing power by giving merchants alternative routing options with potentially lower interchange.
The settlement approval decision (expected late 2026) will also matter. If the 1.25% cap on standard consumer cards goes into effect, it would be the first meaningful ceiling on Visa interchange in decades.
Either way, Visa's trend is clear: more fees, more complexity, and more data requirements. Merchants who don't audit their statements regularly will keep overpaying. The gap between what Visa charges and what your processor bills you is the most negotiable part of the equation — and the part most merchants never check.
For a comparison of how Visa's changes stack up against Mastercard, read our Visa vs Mastercard fee comparison for 2026.
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