Cross-border interchange
Pricing
The interchange rate that applies when the card is issued in a different country than the merchant's acquirer. Cross-border interchange is typically 2-3× domestic interchange (post-EU regulation). Most merchants face it on a meaningful share of volume; routing and local-acquiring strategies can reduce it.
In practice.
When the issuer and the acquirer sit in different regions, interchange jumps well above domestic rates. This is why acquirer geography matters commercially: processing European customers through a non-European acquirer leaves margin on the table on every transaction. Multi-region setups exist largely to keep transactions domestic.
Related terms: Interchange · Regulated interchange · IC++
Pricing