Does the EU interchange cap apply to every card payment?
No. The EU interchange cap of 0.2% for debit and 0.3% for credit applies to consumer cards issued and used in the EEA. It does not cover commercial cards, three-party schemes such as American Express in most cases, cards issued outside the EEA or cash withdrawals at ATMs.
In detail
No. The EU Interchange Fee Regulation caps interchange at 0.2% for consumer debit cards and 0.3% for consumer credit cards, but only when both the issuer and the acquirer are located in the EEA.
What the cap does not cover
- Commercial cards: cards issued to businesses and charged to a business account.
- Three-party schemes: networks that act as issuer and acquirer themselves, unless they work through licensees or co-brand partners.
- Cards issued outside the EEA: these follow separate inter-regional commitments, with higher caps online.
- ATM cash withdrawals.
Why it matters for the MDR
The cap limits only one layer of the merchant discount rate. Scheme fees and the acquirer’s markup are not capped. A merchant with many business or foreign cards can therefore pay far more than the regulated rates suggest, and Member States may also set lower domestic caps.
Details in interchange fees and in What Is the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)?.