Interchange Fees in the EU: Caps, Types and How They're Calculated
Interchange fees are the fee the issuing bank keeps on every card transaction: they're the largest component of the cost of an electronic payment, and in the EU they're regulated by the IFR Regulation (EU) 2015/751, which sets caps for consumer cards. This hub guide lays out the full picture: who collects what, the caps by card type, the difference with scheme fees and acquiring markup, and how the three components add up in the IC++ calculation.
IFR Regulation: Caps by Card Type
Regulation (EU) 2015/751 (Interchange Fee Regulation) sets the caps for intra-EEA consumer cards:
- Debit consumer: 0.20% of the transaction amount.
- Credit consumer: 0.30% of the transaction amount.
The caps only apply to intra-EEA consumer cards (issued and acquired within the area): commercial cards (Visa Business, Mastercard Business, Amex Business) and extra-EEA transactions are exempt, and their interchange can be much higher. That's exactly why a merchant with B2B volume and international cards should evaluate per-card pricing instead of a flat percentage that covers the cost of the worst cards.
The 3 Components of a Card Transaction's Cost
The total cost borne by the merchant is made up of:
1. Interchange: goes to the issuing bank and compensates the issuer for the risk of guaranteeing the transaction; IFR cap of 0.20% (debit) and 0.30% (credit) for intra-EEA consumer cards. The detailed rate breakdown is in the [EU Visa rates](/en/resources/visa-interchange-fees-eu) and [EU Mastercard rates](/en/resources/mastercard-interchange-fees-eu): the two schemes were aligned to the same cap by the Regulation.
2. Scheme fees: go to the network (Visa, Mastercard) and cover authorization, clearing and settlement fees: they're tiered by transaction type and are the least visible cost on the statement. Learn more in the [scheme fees guide](/en/resources/scheme-fees-hidden-credit-card-costs).
3. Acquiring markup: the margin kept by the acquirer and the provider working alongside the merchant: this is where flat-percentage contracts hit the final price. How it works is explained in the [acquiring markup guide](/en/resources/acquiring-bank-markup-fees).
IC++ in Practice: Why the Price Changes Card by Card
With IC++, every transaction pays its actual real cost: an intra-EEA consumer debit card (0.20% interchange) costs the merchant far less than an extra-EEA business card not covered by the IFR cap.
RoxPay: €0.15 + 0.35% to 0.85% (IC++).
On a mix weighted toward debit cards, the average cost sits near the bottom of that range; with commercial and international cards it climbs toward the top. A flat-rate contract can't capture this difference, because it classifies every card under a single percentage.
For the full step-by-step numeric example, see our [complete IC++ calculation guide](/en/resources/calculating-payment-fees-ic-plus-plus).
Frequently Asked Questions
What are interchange fees and who collects them?
They're the fee collected by the bank that issued the customer's card on every transaction: it compensates the issuer for the risk, fraud and management burden of guaranteeing the operation. In the EU, IFR Regulation 2015/751 sets the cap at 0.20% for debit cards and 0.30% for consumer credit cards issued and acquired intra-EEA.
Do the IFR caps also apply to business cards?
No: the IFR caps only apply to intra-EEA consumer cards. Commercial and corporate cards, and cards issued or acquired outside the EU, are exempt, and their interchange can run significantly higher.
How do interchange, scheme fees and acquiring markup add up?
The merchant's cost is the sum of interchange + scheme fees + acquiring markup. Only an IC++ contract separates the three components: a flat-rate contract bundles them into a single percentage that doesn't distinguish the real cost of each card.
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