Network & Scheme Fees

2027 Card Issuer Budget Planning: Network Fee Trends from H1 2026

Planning your 2027 card payments budget? Review the Visa and Mastercard network fee, interchange, compliance, and regulatory changes from H1 2026 that could affect issuer and acquirer profitability.

The Card Network Scale Penalty: Why Smaller Issuers Pay More

Card networks publish one fee schedule, but smaller issuers and acquirers pay more per dollar of volume. Four structural reasons why, and what to do about it in 2026.

Why Network Cost Per Dollar Is Rising Even When Volume Grows

Network fees are growing faster than volume in 2026. The four drivers raising cost per dollar of volume across acquirer and issuer books, and how to track it.

Issuers: if you modeled CEDP like Level 3, your forecast is carrying risk.

CEDP isn't a rebrand of Level 3. The qualification mechanics are different, and small business Product 3 rates moved in January. Both matter for issuer forecasts that carried L3 assumptions forward.

Cross-border fees aren't rising. They're fragmenting into smaller tolls.

The conversation about cross-border economics still tends to start with one number: an effective rate, blended across volume, watched as a trend line. That used to be a reasonable proxy. It isn't...

The Networks Sold You Tokenization. Now They're Raising the Toll.

If you process high-ticket card-not-present (CNP) transactions, two recent scheme fee changes, one already in effect and one taking effect April 1, 2026, may have broken your pricing math. And...

Network Fee Optimization Isn't Optional Anymore. Here's What the Best Issuers and Acquirers Are Doing. (Part 3 of 3)

In Part 1 of this series, I covered the RBA's proposed interchange reforms and what they mean for the Australian market.

Scheme (Network) Fees Are Outpacing Transaction Growth. And It's Not Just Australia. (Part 2 of 3)

In Part 1 of this series, I walked through the RBA's proposed interchange reforms and what they mean for issuers and acquirers in Australia.

Behavior-Based Network (Scheme) Fees: Lessons from Fiserv and Moneris

The 30-Minute Network (Scheme) Fee Review: A Practical Routine for Issuers and Acquirers

If you only have 30 minutes a month to review your network (scheme) fee invoice…

From Invoice to Forecast: How to Build a Card Network (Scheme) Fee Model

If network (scheme) fees keep “surprising” you, you don’t have a fee model.

Card Network (Scheme) Fee Analysis: How Issuers and Acquirers Can Finally See What They’re Paying

Card [network fees](https://www.cardtraq.com/network-fee-explainer#card-network-scheme-fees-explained) are one of the fastest-growing cost lines in the payments ecosystem — and one of the least...

How Issuers Can Reduce Visa and Mastercard Network (Scheme) Fees by Eliminating Optional Services

Visa and Mastercard network fees are rising, and many issuers are feeling growing pressure on margins as 2026 planning begins.

Mastercard Network (Scheme) Fees Are Growing Faster Than Payments Volume. Here’s What That Means for Issuers and Acquirers

Yesterday I posted on Visa. Issuers and acquirers are paying more to the networks - and Mastercard shows it again.

Visa Network (Scheme) Fees Are Growing Faster Than Payments Volume. Here’s What That Means for Issuers and Acquirers

Issuers and acquirers are paying more to the networks - and the gap keeps widening.