Interchange Rates in Canada

Canadian interchange rates for Visa and MasterCard in credit card processing

What is interchange?

Interchange is the fee collected by the credit card brand and issuer on every credit card transaction. Merchants pay interchange fees. These interchange rates in Canada are set by Visa and Mastercard and are mandatory for all credit card processors. The tables below have a breakdown of the current Visa and Mastercard interchange rates in Canada. When you work with TCM, we help ensure you get the best interchange rates applied to your business.

See here for USA interchange rates.

Card Present Interchange Rates

A card present (CP) transaction is when you have the credit card and buyer in front of you, in person (i.e. payment terminals). Card present interchange rates tend to be lower because in-person transactions are considered lower risk transactions.

Card Type	Canada Visa Interchange Rates	Canada Mastercard Interchange Rates
Swipe/Chip Consumer	1.250 %	0.920 %
Swipe/Chip Infinite/High-Spend	1.570 %	1.220 %
Swipe/Chip Corporate	1.900 %	2.00 %
Swipe/Chip Infinite Privilege/Premium	2.080 %	1.560 %

Keyed or Card Not Present Interchange Rates

A card not present (CNP) transaction is when you don’t have the buyer or credit card in front of you (i.e. phone, ecommerce, etc). Card not present interchange rates tend to be a little higher because there is slightly more risk of fraud due to sales being over the phone or internet.

Card Type	Canada Visa Interchange Rates	Canada Mastercard Interchange Rates
Keyed Consumer	1.450 %	2.060 %
Keyed Infinite/Premium	1.700 %	2.300 %
Keyed Corporate	2.000 %	2.000 %
Keyed Infinite Privilege/Premium	2.450 %	2.540 %

Recurring Payments Interchange Rates

Recurring payments are automatically scheduled payments through recurring billing software. Recurring billing interchange rates are low because these are consistently repeating transactions that also tend to be lower transaction amounts, therefore are considered lower risk.

Card Type	Canada Visa Interchange Rates	Canada Mastercard Interchange Rates
Recurring Consumer	1.250 %	1.760 %
Recurring Infinite/Premium	1.530 %	2.000 %
Recurring Corporate	1.850 %	2.000 %
Recurring Infinite Privilege/High-Spend	1.950 %	2.240 %

Charity and Social Service Organizations Interchange Rates

There are special interchange rates for charities and social organizations payment processing listed below. Make sure you get set up properly to take advantage of the low payment processing rates.

Card Type	Canada Visa Interchange Rates	Canada Mastercard Interchange Rates
Swipe/Chip/Keyed Consumer	0.980 %	1.000 %
Swipe/Chip/Keyed Infinite/High-Spend	1.170 %	1.250 %
Swipe/Chip/Keyed Corporate	1.800 %	2.000 %
Swipe/Chip/Keyed Infinite Privilege	1.950 %	2.000 %

Assessments and Association Fees

Assessments and association fees are other fees charged by Visa and MasterCard.

Fee Type	Canada Visa Rates	Canada Mastercard Rates
Card-Brand	0.1017 %	0.0904 %
International Cross-Border Card-Present (CAD)	0.6780 %	0.6780 %
International Cross-Border Keyed (CAD)	1.1300 %	0.6780 %
International Cross-Border (USD)	1.1300 %	1.1300 %