# Interchange

https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/interchange/

*Last updated: 2026-08-03*

The portion of a card fee that goes from the acquirer to the issuer, set by the scheme rather than by either party. It is the floor under any rate, which is why no provider can price below it and why a rate depends on which cards a merchant actually takes.

## Why it matters to a merchant

The part of the cost no acquirer sets and none can waive, which is why the same merchant is quoted differently for a local debit card and a foreign credit card. Knowing that a floor exists is what makes an implausibly low quote recognisable as implausible.

## Related terms

*What it costs, and what gets measured*

- [MDR (merchant discount rate)](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/mdr/)
- [GMV (gross merchandise value)](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/gmv/)
- [Merchant account](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/merchant-account/)
- [Effective rate](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/effective-rate/)
- [Per-transaction fee](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/per-transaction-fee/)
- [Blended rate](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/blended-rate/)
- [Interchange-plus](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/interchange-plus/)
- [Cross-border interchange](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/cross-border-interchange/)
- [Net settlement](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/net-settlement/)
- [Rolling reserve](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/rolling-reserve/)
- [Surcharge](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/surcharge/)

- [All 74 terms](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/)

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