MasterCard Interchange Rates

MasterCard is the second-most used credit card worldwide, and as a merchant you probably accept it if you accept credit and debit card payments. As of October 19, 2019, MasterCard has updated their interchange rates as outlined below.

US Region MasterCard Consumer Credit Rates

MasterCard’s Consumer Credit Rates separates transactions into different “programs” and then interchange is decided based on both program category and by type of credit card. These credit card “types” encompass five categories:

The rates are displayed in the table below:

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US Region MasterCard Unregulated Consumer Debit and Prepaid Rates

The Durbin Amendment, passed in 2010 as part of the Dodd-Frank law intended to lower debit card interchange fees, differentiated between “regulated” and “unregulated” debit. Unregulated debit refers to debit cards issued by banks with less than $10 billion in assets, as those banks are considered higher risk. As a result, debit card interchange tends to be a little bit higher for unregulated debit as opposed to regulated debit. The following table shows the interchange rates for MasterCard’s unregulated consumer debit and prepaid program:

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US Region MasterCard Regulated Consumer/Commercial Debit and Prepaid Rates

In contrast with unregulated debit, regulated debit means that the issuing bank has more than $10 billion in assets. As they are considered lower risk than banks that do not, these rates are lower than the unregulated debit rates:

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US Region MasterCard Commercial Rates – Small Business Credit

MasterCard has an interchange rate program for small businesses with a company credit card. Some of the credit cards in this category include the Bank of America Business Advantage card, which is a Business Core card; the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage card, which qualifies as a Business World card; and the US Bank Business card, which is considered a Business World Elite card. These rates are determined based on both the program and the level of the credit card:

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US Region MasterCard Commercial Rates – Unregulated Commercial Debit/Prepaid and Large Market Credit

Mastercard commercial cards offer employers options to track employee spending via expense management, reporting, and card controls. These cards also offer integrated travel booking and management and up to 20% off on purchases commercial operations need, like office supplies. Mastercard even makes note on their website that using a commercial debit/prepaid card or large market credit card reduces payment processing expenses. For unregulated commercial debit/prepaid and large market credit cards, the interchange rates are dependent upon the program they are being used for:

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US Region MasterCard PIN Debit Rates

The following image shows MasterCard’s PIN debit rates. PIN debit rates apply instead of the previous debit tables, as they come into play when a business chooses to make customers input their PINs when making a debit transaction:

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US Region MasterCard ATM Rates

The following image shows MasterCard’s ATM Rates. The minimum quarterly transaction threshold is reviewed quarterly based on an issuer’s ATM transactions settled during the prior calendar quarter for the next subsequent quarter. The tier qualifications are effective in the second month of the next subsequent quarter. An issuer that qualifies for a tier based on their first quarter transactions (January-March), they will qualify for the new tiered rate commencing in May.

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