Wholesale rate

The base rate the acquirer pays its sponsor bank or scheme licensee, interchange + scheme fee, before adding markup to charge the merchant. Under IC++ pricing the wholesale rate is itemised on the merchant statement; under blended pricing it's bundled into the all-in rate.

In practice.

The wholesale rate is the true network floor of a transaction: interchange plus scheme fees, before any margin is added. It is the reference point for judging any quote. Once you know your blended wholesale cost by card mix, every pricing proposal becomes a simple markup comparison.

Related terms: Interchange · Scheme fee · IC++ · MDR