Scheme fees Definition.

Fees that card networks (Visa, Mastercard, CB and others) charge issuers and acquirers for authorization, clearing, brand licensing and optional services. They are a growing and opaque part of the MSC: the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) found that Visa and Mastercard’s average core fees to acquirers rose by at least 25% in real terms between 2017 and 2023, with no matching improvement in service. Interchange++ pricing lets merchants see them line by line.

See also

→ Interchange→ MSC→ Scheme

Where this term appears

GuideThe four-party modelGuideThe role of banksGuideMerchant, acquirer, PSPGuidePayment schemesGuideInterchange and merchant pricing around the worldGuideMerchant agreements and onboardingGuidePayment routing and optimizationGuideRunning payments by the numbers: the KPIs that drive decisionsGuidePSP settlement reportsCourseReconciling multi-country paymentsCoursePayment fundamentalsCourseA CB card transaction, end to end

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