Guide
Interchange is the fee set by card networks and paid to the bank that issued the card. It is not one number; it is a table.
✓ Installed by our team and supported by phone. Rates and equipment are quoted to your business.
Merchant Fund Express explains payments in plain English so owners can make better decisions about equipment and processing.
Interchange is the fee set by card networks and paid to the bank that issued the card. It is not one number; it is a table.
Each card transaction is assigned a category based on the card type, how it was accepted and sometimes the kind of business. Card-present sales in a store usually fall in cheaper categories than keyed sales; premium rewards cards usually cost more than basic debit.
You do not set interchange and your processor does not either, which is why a clear statement separates it from the markup.
Debit, credit and rewards cards fall in different categories.
Chip and tap are typically cheaper than keyed.
Some industries have special categories.
Some categories reward small or large tickets.
A restaurant sees one month where keyed phone orders were a larger share of sales. Interchange rose without any change in rates, which showed in the category breakdown.
Owners tend to run into this when something changes: a new device, a new way of selling, a bigger month. Those are the moments to reread the agreement and ask what, if anything, moves.
None of this needs to be memorized. The practical habit is to know which questions to ask and to keep a recent statement where you can find it, so a call to your processor is short and specific.
The goal of a page like this is not to make you an expert. It is to make the next conversation with a processor or a salesperson shorter, because you know which question to ask and what a straight answer sounds like.
Talk to a person at (305) 384-8391. Describe your counter, your busiest hour and how customers pay, and we will recommend the lightest setup that does the job, with installation and training on site.
You cannot change a category, but you can help transactions land in better ones: take cards with chip or tap, include accurate data such as tax and customer reference on business sales and avoid keying cards when you have the card in hand. Reviewing your category breakdown a few times a year shows whether a change in how you sell moved a share of volume into a different bucket.
As explained by Merchant Fund Express. Updated 2026.
You cannot change it, but entry method and accurate data can move transactions to better categories.
Rewards and premium cards carry higher interchange.
The networks publish tables that apply broadly.
On an interchange-plus or cost-plus statement.
Yes. English and Spanish support are available by phone, on site and during staff training, so the person who opens on Monday can learn it in the language they work in.
Sometimes. We review what you have and tell you what can be reused, what is worth replacing and what you should check in your contract before deciding.
Call Merchant Fund Express. We install it, train your staff and stay on the line after launch. Ask for a free rate review while you are at it.
