Visa is changing its interchange rates for UK Visa debit transactions again in September 2016. The current interchange caps of £0.50 for secure and £0.75 for non-secure consumer transactions, and £1.00 for secure and £1.50 for non-secure business transactions, will be removed. Instead, interchange for all UK Visa debit transactions will be a flat rate of 0.20% of the transaction value, in line with the rest of Europe. Merchants with average transaction values over £250 are most likely to see significant increases in their costs.

1. FACT SHEET: UK VISA DEBIT INTERCHANGE FROM SEPT 2016
June 2016 Edition
ANOTHER CHANGE IS ON THE CARDS!
Following the Visa Debit Interchange amendments that came into effect in March 2015, a further change is now
planned by Visa regarding Visa Debit pricing.
With effect from September 2016, the current interchange caps of £0.50p (secure) £0.75p (non-secure) for Consumer
Visa Debit Transactions are being removed. Similarly, Business Visa Debit transactions where the caps are currently
£1.00 (secure) and £1.50 (non secure) are also being removed. Additionally, the £0.01 and £0.11 item charges for
secure and non secure items are being dropped. Visa Debit interchange will now be a flat 0.20% of transaction value
bringing the UK into line with the remainder of the EA (European Area).
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE RATE – WHO WILL BE AFFECTED?
Merchants with Visa Debit Average Transaction Values (ATV’s) of less than £250.00 and whose Merchant Services
Charge (MSC) is on an “Interchange Plus” pricing arrangement should be largely unaffected by the cap removal. In
fact, these merchants should see a reduction of £0.01 per item for secure and £0.11 per item for non-secure
consumer transactions passed on by their acquirer.
Similarly, merchants whose MSC is priced on a “Blended” basis and who share the same ATV characteristics as above
should also be largely unaffected by the cap removal, although they will not benefit from the £0.01 and £0.11 per item
reductions.
Merchants that are likely to see the most significant increases in their MSC costs are those with Visa Debit ATV’s in
excess of £250.00. These will include businesses operating in the Leisure, Travel, Motor, Education and certain
Financial Service sectors.
ARE YOU SURE IT’S FAIR?
Bank Brokers is aware that some merchants (with low Visa Debit ATV’s) have only recently begun to realise cost
savings as a result of the March 2015 changes. At the same time, through the reviews we have conducted, we have
noted that some acquirers have failed to pass on the scope of the March 2015 savings in full. With another round of
changes planned for September 2016, some merchants will now be bracing themselves for a potentially significant
pricing uplift.
Bank Brokers externally price benchmark, by geography, industry sector, value, volume and card mix. Our market
leverage and experience is such that we can readily identify if the price paid is equitable and fair.
www.bankbrokers.co.uk contact@bankbrokers.co.uk +44 (0) 207 160 0075
HOW TO MINIMISE YOUR RATES?
ABOUT BANK BROKERS
Bank Brokers is a truly independent, European banking consultancy group that has worked with over 1,500 large
companies across Europe benchmarking pricing, creating transparency and ensuring that our clients get the best
possible deal from their acquirers and banks. 90% of our clients stay with their current providers on better terms. We
operate on a “no cure, no fee” basis to remove any financial risk of engaging our services.
We will identify savings and help make these a reality, which could reduce your costs by up to 50%.
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