Interchange++ (Interchange Plus Plus Pricing)

Interchange++, often written as Interchange+ +, is a transparent pricing model used by acquirers to charge merchants for card transactions.

Under this structure, each transaction cost is broken down into three clear components:

Interchange fee → paid to the issuing bank (set by the card schemes)

Scheme fee → paid to the card scheme (e.g. Visa, Mastercard)

Acquirer markup → the acquirer’s own service fee for processing the payment

This model offers full visibility, allowing merchants to see exactly where their money goes, unlike blended pricing, which rolls all costs into a single, opaque rate.

Example:

A £100 Visa credit card transaction might incur:

Interchange: 0.3% (£0.30)

Scheme fee: 0.1% (£0.10)

Acquirer markup: 0.2% (£0.20)

Total merchant cost = £0.60 (0.6%)

Used in:

Merchant acquiring, payment processing, and pricing transparency for businesses handling card payments.