What are card scheme fees?
Card scheme fees are the per-transaction charges Visa and Mastercard levy on acquirers for using their networks. They are separate from interchange, which goes to the card-issuing bank and is capped in the EEA under Regulation (EU) 2015/751; scheme fees are not capped, which is why a merchant should be able to see them.
Updated September 2026 · schedule effective 1 July 2026, next revision expected October 2026
How scheme fees differ from interchange
Three parties take a cut of a card payment. Interchange is paid by the acquirer to the issuing bank and, for consumer cards in the EEA, is capped at 0.2% (debit) and 0.3% (credit), with some national variations. Scheme fees are paid by the acquirer to Visa or Mastercard for the network itself and are set by the schemes, not by regulation. The acquirer or payment provider adds its own margin on top. A blended rate hides all three inside one number; interchange++ shows each.
| Component | Paid by → to | Basis | Typical EEA range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interchange | acquirer → card-issuing bank | percentage of the transaction, capped by Regulation (EU) 2015/751 for consumer cards | 0.2% debit · 0.3% credit |
| Scheme fee | acquirer → Visa / Mastercard | percentage plus a fixed amount; varies with authentication, issuing region and card type | ≈0.11–0.13% + €0.035–0.045 authenticated consumer cards; ≈0.19–0.20% + €0.03–0.06 non-authenticated |
| Provider margin | merchant → acquirer / payment provider | set by contract; the only component a merchant negotiates | Paybyrd: inside 1.25% + €0.08 online, 0.50% in store |
What drives a scheme fee up or down
Authentication is the largest lever: a transaction authenticated with 3-D Secure or paid with a network token carries a lower scheme fee than one that is neither. Where the card was issued matters next — a card issued outside the EEA costs more to accept than a domestic one, and an interregional card more still. Card type (consumer, commercial, debit, credit) and whether the transaction is card-present complete the picture.
How they appear on a merchant statement
On a blended contract the scheme fee never appears: it is inside the single percentage you pay. On an interchange++ contract it appears as its own line, per transaction, next to interchange and the provider's margin. Paybyrd publishes the schedule it passes through either way, so a merchant on a blended rate can still see what part of that rate is the networks'.
A worked example
On a €50 online payment with an EEA-issued consumer Visa card, authenticated with 3-D Secure: the regulated interchange at 0.2% is €0.10 and the scheme fee at 0.113% + €0.035 is about €0.09 — roughly €0.19 that goes to the issuer and the network. Paybyrd's published online rate of 1.25% + €0.08 is €0.71 on that payment and already includes both; the same card without authentication would carry about €0.13 in scheme fees instead.
Why the numbers change
Visa and Mastercard revise their price lists on January, July and October cycles. Paybyrd re-extracts its schedule from the source rate card on each revision, states the effective date and the next expected revision on the page, and keeps the previous PDF available so a merchant can see what changed.
The questions the schedule gets asked.
Are card scheme fees regulated?
No. The Interchange Fee Regulation caps interchange for consumer cards; scheme fees are set by Visa and Mastercard and are not capped. That is why Paybyrd publishes the schedule it passes through.
Can a merchant negotiate scheme fees?
No — they are set by the networks and charged to every acquirer. What a merchant can change is the share of transactions that are authenticated and tokenised, which is the largest driver of the fee, and the provider margin on top.
What is the difference between interchange and scheme fees?
Interchange goes to the bank that issued the card and is regulated in the EEA; scheme fees go to the card network for running it and are not. Both are charged to the acquirer and passed on to the merchant, blended or itemised depending on the contract.
Who pays scheme fees?
The acquirer pays them to the scheme and recovers them from the merchant. On a blended rate they are invisible inside the percentage; on interchange++ they are itemised; on Paybyrd they are published either way.
Where can I see the actual numbers?
On the scheme-fee schedule: bundled all-in rates per region and the itemised price-list charges beneath them, as a page, a PDF, a JSON file and a CSV.