How much are Visa and Mastercard scheme fees?

In the US, assessments are about 0.14% of volume on Visa credit and 0.1275% to 0.1475% on Mastercard, plus per-transaction processing fees, 0.80% and 0.45% international assessments on foreign cards, and integrity fees. European price lists differ by country, with cross-border, settlement currency, 3-D Secure and tokenization fees.

What are scheme fees and how are they different from interchange?

Scheme fees are not one fee. A US acquirer’s price list shows the main families: an assessment of 0.14% of volume on Visa credit and 0.1275% to 0.1475% on Mastercard, per-transaction authorization and clearing fees, an international service assessment of 0.80% plus 0.45% on non-US cards, a fixed monthly network access fee, and integrity fees for misuse of authorization, late settlement or pre-authorizations left open. Europe has its own versions, with cross-border, non-domestic settlement currency, 3-D Secure, account verification and tokenization fees.

How do scheme fees work, line by line?

Cross-border and FX fees: charged when the issuer and the merchant are in different countries or regions, or when settlement is not in the local currency. Mastercard introduced a 0.10% non-local currency settlement fee on October 13, 2025, and Visa raised its non-domestic settlement currency volume fee by 0.05% on April 1, 2026.

More detail in our #PayDecoding episode on Scheme fees.