What is interchange+ (IC+)?
Interchange+ passes interchange through at cost and combines scheme fees and the provider’s margin into a single markup. It sits between interchange++ and blended pricing, and is the common form of cost-plus pricing in the United States, where it is often just called “interchange plus”.
In detail
Interchange+ passes interchange through at cost and combines scheme fees and the provider’s margin into a single markup. It sits between interchange++ and blended pricing, and is the common form of cost-plus pricing in the United States, where it is often just called “interchange plus”.
IC+ among the pricing models
Interchange+ means interchange at cost, with scheme fees and margin combined into one markup. It is common in the United States, where it is often simply called “interchange plus”. Interchange++, by contrast, invoices interchange at cost, scheme fees at cost, and a fixed margin as three lines on every transaction, while blended pricing charges one rate for all cards.
When IC+ makes sense
Cost-plus models such as IC++ and IC+ move the cost risk back to the merchant, and the savings with it. The price is complexity: every change in a scheme fee lands on the invoice, and someone must reconcile the cost layers against the gross payment. Above a few million per year, most merchants and all large platforms move to IC++ or IC+.
More detail in our #PayDecoding episode on Interchange++.