What are Interchange Fees

Interchange fees are the fees charged by credit card issuing banks to other banks and service providers involved in the multi-faceted credit card transaction process. Set by the card networks (i.e. Visa, MasterCard, Discover), interchange rates are determined by various factors, including transaction type and the type of card (e.g. rewards, cash back, airline miles) used by the purchasers. There are hundreds of interchange rates.

As a required part of the transaction process, payment processing organizations (including Riva Payments) automatically pay these fees (and other fees, such as card association fees) on behalf of merchants. The fees are then passed on to merchants, and merchants receive (via direct deposit of funds) payment for the goods or services they sold minus the fees.

How Riva Payments helps Merchants received the Best Interchange Rates

Riva Payments uses sophisticated interchange optimization technology to automatically scan and analyze every transaction before submitting it to the appropriate card network for processing. The interchange optimization engine looks at the various factors associated with the transaction and attempts to match it to the interchange rate that is most favorable (i.e. most inexpensive) to the merchant.

Reduced AMEX Processing Rates

It’s no secret that many merchants have typically avoided accepting American Express payment because of higher transaction fees. However, Riva Payments utilizes American Express’ OptBlue program, which enables smaller merchants to accept American Express payments at rates that are more competitive with larger merchants and other card networks, like Visa and MasterCard.

As a provider of OptBlue processing for American Express cards, Riva Payments eliminates the fear associated with accepting AMEX cards and ensures the merchants keep more of their hard-earned income.