Visa and Mastercard interchange settlement reshapes 2026 rates

The 2024 Visa and Mastercard antitrust settlement caps swipe fees and gives U.S. merchants the right to surcharge above the cap. The 2026 ripple is that interchange-plus contracts now exclude the cap from the markup line, which means real comparisons need to read the contract, not the rate sheet.

## What changed Both networks lowered headline interchange and committed to keep it lower for five years. Merchant Maverick and PaymentsDive have both reported that small-ticket retail (sub-$10 transactions) sees the largest relative drop, while CNP rewards-card transactions see less benefit.

## What it means for you If you negotiated a contract before the settlement took effect, your provider may not have passed the savings through. Pull a recent statement and compare the qualified-credit interchange line to the published Visa schedule. If they don't match within 5-10 basis points, you have a renegotiation argument.

Sources: Visa Interchange Schedules, Mastercard Interchange Rates and Criteria, Federal Reserve payments studies.