Business Impacts

Merchant portfolios may need be reviewed to prepare profitability models that support these interchange rate changes.

Mastercard

Canada Region

Enhancements to Interregional Interchange Programs

Mastercard is enhancing interregional interchange programs for the Canada region and is reclassifying consumer credit product code MSP-Muse Mastercard to Consumer Super Premium, in addition to expanding Canada acquiring to consumer Super Premium products.

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US Region

New Consumer Debit Product Code

Mastercard is introducing a new consumer debit product code, MCI-Mastercard Select Debit,in the Debit Mastercard (DMC) acceptance brand for the U.S. region and will be adding this new product code to existing interchange programs.

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Expanded Use of Existing Consumer Debit Product Code ACS

Mastercard is expanding the use of existing consumer debit product code ACS-Digital Debit to existing interchange programs where product code MDS-Debit Mastercard Standard exists.

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New Mastercard Enterprise Solution Wholesale Travel Program Product Codes

 

Mastercard is expanding the Wholesale Travel Program by introducing 5 new commercial B2B credit product codes. These new B2B product codes will be added to existing interchange programs. The existing Wholesale Travel Program is being renamed to support the changes as Mastercard B2B Product.

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Discover

New Card Product Type for the Commercial Prepaid-Reloadable for the IIN Range

Discover will implement a new Product Type value, 015, for the Commercial Prepaid-Reloadable for the Issuer Identification Number (IIN) range.

he Next Level in Preventing Credit Card Fraud

In recent years, new headlines involving security breaches of big companies like Target and Uber have placed the methods by which the payments industry protects consumer data under public scrutiny. Merchants and processors have the responsibility to keep cardholder information safe, although it is increasingly hard to do so in today’s world. Enter card tokenization: the next step in protecting customer data and keeping merchant reputations safe. Customers who use mobile wallets already get the extra protection of this technology—making mobile wallets the most secure form of electronic payment.

Card tokenization is a great security measure because…

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What Is A Token and How Does It Work?

A token is a series of randomly generated numbers (or numbers and alphabetic characters, depending on the type of tokenization program). This string of random characters replaces a customer’s actual card data. Then, the customer’s data can be stored and used just as if it were the actual card, however, the token has no value outside of the payment acceptance system and makes no sense to a potential card thief. This means that if there is ever a breach in security, the tokens are unusable to cyber criminals.

PayArc and Card Tokenization

PayArc’s risk management program provides merchants with the option to tokenize their customers’ data, among other security measures. Once the card data is entered into the payment system through any method of payment, that data is tokenized. This works for both card-present and card-not-present transactions. This means that we can give both merchants and customers much-needed peace of mind, and we can help merchants stay PCI-Compliant.

f you run a restaurant, you probably don’t have time to think too much about credit card processing rates. However, understanding them can only help your bottom line. Mastercard has specific categories of interchange for restaurants, depending on what type of consumer credit card is used. Core and Enhanced Value credit cards do not receive these rates, but credit cards that offer rewards, like World, World High Value, and World Elite, do. Debit and prepaid cards also receive restaurant rates. In order to receive these rates, the restaurant must be registered under the MasterCard Codes of 5812 (restaurant) or 5814 (quick-serve merchant).

The rates for consumer credit cards are as follows:

Alternatively, the restaurant rate for a debit card is 1.19% + $0.10, and the rate for a prepaid card is 1.19% + $0.10.

There are other qualifications required to receive these rates as well. For example, the transaction must be a “card present” transaction, you must authorize and settle the transaction within 1 day, obtain 1 valid electronic authorization, and consumer credit cards must have a transaction total of $60.00 or less. If the transaction is over $60.00, then the interchange category changes to travel and entertainment, or T&E.

If you accept credit and debit cards, you most likely accept Visa. Being the most popular card worldwide, you would be remiss not to. Visa’s rates are available here to the public, but since they can be somewhat confusing we’ll go over them in this article.

Visa has eight categories for interchange rates: Consumer Check Card, Consumer Prepaid, Consumer Credit, Corporate and Purchasing, Corporate and Purchasing Prepaid, Business, Other, and International.

Visa USA Consumer Check Card

Visa divides their debit interchange program into two categories: Card present and card not present transactions. Then, it further divides cards into “Exempt” and “Regulated” categories from there. The difference between regulated and exempt debit is the amount of money the issuing bank has in assets. If the issuing bank has more than $10 billion in assets, the debit card is considered “regulated,” and if the issuing bank has less than $10 billion on assets, the debit card “unregulated,” or exempt.

The card-present rates are in the table below:

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Card-not-present rates:

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Visa USA Consumer Prepaid

Similar to the consumer check card, the consumer prepaid is also divided into exempt and regulated cards, and card-present and card-not-present transactions. The following table shows the card-present Visa interchange rates for the consumer prepaid card:

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Additionally, the following table shows the card-not-present rates for the Visa consumer prepaid card:

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Visa USA Consumer Credit

Visa’s Consumer Credit program’s interchange rates are dependent upon the industry in which the purchase is being made and the type of Visa card used. For example, a purchase made in a supermarket with the Visa Signature Preferred card would have an interchange rate of 2.10% + $0.10, while if that same supermarket purchase was made with a Traditional Rewards card the rate would be 1.65% + $0.10.

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Visa USA Corporate and Purchasing

The interchange rate for Visa’s Corporate and Purchasing program is dependent on whether the transaction belongs to the Commercial fee program or Government fee program, as shown in the following table:

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Further, there is also an interchange rate that applies to STP, or Straight Through Processing:

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Lastly, the Large Purchase Advantage Fee Program also applies to the Corporate and Purchasing card:

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Visa USA Corporate and Purchasing Prepaid

The Corporate and Purchasing Prepaid interchange rate is subject to five fee programs and whether the card is an exempt corporate prepaid, an exempt purchasing prepaid, or a regulated commercial prepaid:

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Visa USA Business (Excluding Prepaid)

The Business Credit Fee Program interchange rate is dependent on the spending tier, as shown in the table below:

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The Business Debit Fee Program is dependent on whether or not the card is exempt or regulated:

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Visa USA Other Transactions

Visa has interchange rates for transactions categorized as “other,” such as Credit Voucher transactions, Prepaid Loan Service Network, Money Transfer, Cash Disbursement transactions, and Other ATM Non-Cash Disbursement Transactions. These interchange rates are outlined below:

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Visa USA International Transactions

Finally, Visa has interchange rates for international transactions—rates for Visa cards used at a US merchant but issued outside of the US. These rates are dependent upon the type of card, as shown below:

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n the last few years, we entered a brand-new era in card technology. This new wave of EMV technology propelled us decades ahead of magnetic stripe cards.

The global adoption of chip cards is perhaps the biggest shift in credit cards we have ever seen. Businesses around the world are seeing a dramatic reduction in financial losses due to fraud. Consumers are also benefiting as they can now shop securely and safely.

Yet even with the major strides that have been made with the adoption of chip technology, there are many businesses that are still in the dark when it comes to EMV. In particular, many businesses are unaware of the shifts in liability that EMV technology has created for businesses.

Before we dive into EMV liability shift, let’s quickly recap what EMV means.

What is EMV?

Chargebacks give cardholders the right to dispute transactions.

WEMV stands for Europay, Mastercard, Visa. It represents a set of global standards based on chip card technology.

Chip card technology revolutionized the payment industry, and allows for the secure processing of electronic payments. It has single-handedly given businesses the upper hand in protecting their bottom line and their customers from fraud.

Here’s why:

Magnetic stripe technology can be easily compromised by the sophisticated hackers of today. Thankfully, chip technology is incredibly difficult to hack, which allows for a safer and more secure environment for your business and your customers.

When chip cards were globally adopted in 2015, important changes were also made in how liability is assigned for credit card fraud.

EMV Liability Shift Demystified

EMV liability shift refers to the transfer of responsibility for financial losses due to the fraudulent use of credit cards.

Because fraudsters could easily copy magnetic stripe cards using simple technology, card brands were responsible for the losses incurred due to fraud. These financial losses amounted to a staggering $16 billion in 2014 alone!

To put an end to the devastating losses due to fraud, card brands around the world united to create EMV technology that would fight fraud effectively. In 2015, card brands rolled out chip cards. It has been proven to reduce in-store counterfeit fraud wherever chip card technology has been implemented.

Many businesses don’t fully understand that when chip cards were adopted, the responsibility for financial losses transferred from card brands to businesses.

This liability shift has reduced the costs of counterfeit fraud and has made payments safer for everyone. Yet for a number of reasons, not all businesses have upgraded to the EMV-ready terminals that have the ability to detect a counterfeit chip card.

Protect Your Business from Financial Loss Due to Fraud

Fraudsters target businesses that have not yet adopted EMV-ready terminals. If you have not upgraded your terminal, your business is vulnerable every time a chip card is swiped instead of inserted.

If your business is at risk, get in touch with us so we can help you identify the right solution for your business. Simply click the button below to get started on winning the fight against fraud.