Payments · Explainer · 4 min read
Card scheme fees: why they rise and what merchants can check
Card scheme fees are charged by the card networks to acquirers and largely passed on to merchants. They are numerous, change periodically and are hard to trace to individual transactions, so increases can go unnoticed on a blended statement.
By Steve Glover ·
- Who this is for
- CFOs, heads of payments and procurement teams at merchants with significant card volumes.
- Why it matters
- Unlike regulated interchange in some markets, scheme fees are set by the networks. Without a line-item view, merchants cannot tell whether they bear fees they did not trigger.
Executive summary
- 1Scheme fees are a separate layer from interchange and acquirer margin.
- 2Behavioural fees may be spread across a merchant base rather than charged to the merchant that triggered them.
- 3Request line-item scheme fee detail and track it over time.
What are card scheme fees?
Scheme fees are charged by card networks for using their systems: assessment, cross-border, processing, behavioural and service fees among them. Acquirers pay them and pass them on, usually labelled as pass-through.
Why are they hard to manage?
- Billing information is complex and difficult to interpret, even for acquirers.
- Behavioural fees can be hard to attribute to the merchant that triggered them.
- Historical billing detail may not be retained or easily accessible.
- Increases are absorbed into a blended figure without explanation.
What can merchants check?
- Ask your acquirer for scheme fees itemised by fee type, not blended.
- Compare scheme fee lines month on month and question unexplained changes.
- Check whether behavioural fees relate to your own transaction behaviour.
- Benchmark your total scheme fee burden against comparable merchants.
Sources and methodology
- Bankhawk practitioner analysis. Regulatory sources to be confirmed before publication.
Want to see your scheme fees line by line?
Tell us your acquirers and card volumes. We will explain what a scheme fee review would examine.
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