Payments

Mastercard, Visa set to raise fees

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March 8, 2022

Visa and Mastercard are getting ready to raise credit card fees for retailers next month, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Most of the increase will be for interchange fees which go to the bank issuing the credit card and are not visible to the consumer. Such charges have increased in recent years and totaled an estimated $55.4 billion for Visa and Mastercard in 2021, doubling the amount paid in 2012, according to the Nilson Report.

The companies, according to a document obtained by The Wall Street Journal, will apply the increases to many online credit card purchases.

The impact on self-service equipment was uncertain at the time of this report, as payment providers had not yet responded to queries from this website.

A spokesperson for Mastercard said the company is reducing costs for transactions below $5 in addition to casual dining, hotels, daycare facilities and other sectors impacted by the pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Visa, according to the document, will lower fees for purchases at some small retailers with $250,000 or less in yearly consumer credit card volume, according to the document. An unnamed source said convenience stores, restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations will be excluded from the increases.