Fees and interchange
Visa Europe's income comes from our members –
banks and other payment service providers. It's our members that
pay us fees, not cardholders or retailers.
Visa Europe aims to be more cost-effective than its competitors
while providing the highest quality products and services.
Our fees generally reflect the extent to which each member uses
our products and services.
We use a sliding scale, so cost per unit falls as transaction
volume increases. The main fees are:
- Card service fees: determined by the number of
cards issued and the extent to which they are used
- Data processing fees: determined by each
member's connections to the VisaNet processing system and the
extent to which the system is used
- Multi-currency fees: determined by the extent
to which European Visa cards are used outside the Visa Europe
region
Interchange
Interchange is the fee typically paid by the retailer's bank to
the cardholder's bank every time a Visa card is used.
For credit cards, the fee is generally a small percentage of the
value of the transaction; for debit cards, it is usually a small
flat fee. Interchange fee levels also vary depending on the type of
card, its associated risk and the country where the transaction
takes place.
See current interchange fee levels
Interchange fees lower overall costs by helping banks to share
the costs of issuing Visa cards and signing up retailers to accept
Visa.