Interchange Fee Review for Acquirers

Many acquirers are paying more interchange than they should — and have no idea how much more.

Interchange rates are governed by a complex matrix of qualification rules, transaction data requirements and scheme-specific fee programmes that very few acquiring teams have the time or expertise to interrogate in depth. A one-off Interchange Fee Review cuts through that complexity, identifying exactly where you're paying more than you need to and giving you a clear, prioritised roadmap to recover the difference — delivering significant cost reductions:

  • Downgrade rate identification — we systematically analyse your clearing files to identify transactions triggering downgrade rates due to missing or incorrect Interchange Rate Designator or Reimbursement Attribute data, quantifying the cost impact and identifying the operational fix

  • Qualification optimisation — we review your merchant and product set-up, BIN classifications and scheme configuration to ensure you're correctly positioned to achieve the best available interchange rates across your entire portfolio

  • MCC reclassification opportunities — we conduct a rigorous, defensible analysis of your merchant base to identify candidates for reclassification into lower-cost industry fee programme categories, with the evidence needed to support the change with schemes

  • Incentive rate analysis — we identify where provision of optional addendum data could unlock lower incentive interchange rates that you are currently not benefiting from, often representing a straightforward and material saving

  • Merchant pass-through accuracy — we compare the interchange costs you are incurring against what you are recovering through merchant billing, identifying under-recovery across both blended and interchange++ pricing methodologies

  • Airline and cross-border optimisation — where applicable, we apply first-leg-of-journey routing logic and transaction geography analysis to increase the proportion of lower-cost domestic versus cross-border interchange volumes across your portfolio

Our Approach

Our approach is rigorous, remote and designed to minimise the burden on your team.

We have developed a proven methodology for interchange fee reviews that delivers results quickly without diverting your internal resources. The entire review is conducted remotely using data you can readily access, and our deep knowledge of scheme qualification rules, fee programmes and billing mechanics means we know exactly where to look:

We request your clearing files and volumetric data — these form the core analytical input and require minimal effort to extract and share

We analyse your interchange exposure using proprietary models — our tools map every transaction against the applicable scheme rate table, flagging qualification failures, downgrade triggers and optimisation opportunities with the specificity needed to act on them

We calibrate findings against your billing files — cross-referencing clearing data analysis with actual billing ensures every opportunity identified is real, quantified and defensible

We deliver a detailed recommendations report — unlike a review that ends with a slide deck, we provide ongoing support to prioritise initiatives, engage with schemes on your behalf where needed, and track the realisation of savings over time

The Results

The outcomes of an Interchange Fee Review are tangible, recurring and typically realised within months.

This is not a theoretical exercise. Every opportunity we identify is grounded in your actual transaction data, quantified in pounds and basis points, and accompanied by a clear implementation path. The benefits go beyond a one-time cost reduction:

Immediate and recurring cost savings — clients typically reduce their interchange cost exposure by 5% or more, with savings that recur every month once the underlying issues are resolved — making the return on a one-off review significant and fast

A stronger foundation for merchant pricing — with a precise understanding of your true interchange cost at merchant, MCC and channel level, your pricing team can set rates that accurately reflect costs, improving both margin protection and commercial competitiveness

Reduced operational and compliance risk — by resolving qualification failures, data gaps and misconfigured scheme set-ups, the review eliminates a class of ongoing operational risk that, left unaddressed, compounds silently over time

A platform for ongoing control — clients who complete a review typically move on to our Interchange Fee Tracking service, ensuring the savings identified are fully realised and sustained, and that new issues are caught as they emerge rather than accumulating until the next review