Cross-border interchange
The higher interchange band that applies when the card was issued in a different country from the merchant. It is set by the card scheme, not by the acquirer, which is why a merchant serving overseas visitors genuinely costs more to serve on the card rails than one serving only local cardholders — on identical commercial terms.
Why it matters to a merchant
The line that explains why a shop on a tourist street pays more than an identical shop that is not, at the same quoted rate. It is not a penalty and not something a provider chose — but it does mean a merchant with a heavily foreign customer base should ask how their quote treats foreign-issued cards before signing to it.
Read more: Taking payment from visitors to Singapore
Where this comes up
Pages on this site that deal with this in context:
Related terms
In this section: What it costs, and what gets measured