These 18 sample case studies show what CardTraq found for card issuers, credit unions, ISOs, acquirers and BIN sponsors in North America and internationally, across network fee reviews, network fee tracking, cost allocation and interchange reviews. Network fee reviews typically identify 7-15% of network fees in potential savings, and clients typically realize 40-80% of what's identified.
What to expect. 7-15% is the range we typically identify, not a guarantee, and some programs land above or below it. Results depend on factors such as the program's size, complexity and age, how recently its fees were reviewed, its share of cross-border transactions and the networks involved. How much of the identified savings a client captures also varies, for example with how it prioritizes implementation of longer-tail opportunities and which optional services it decides are worth keeping. To help with that decision, we benchmark key optional services so clients can see how others have valued them.
A one-time review of Visa and Mastercard network fees, also known as scheme fees. Reviews typically identify 7-15% of network fees in potential savings. Read more about the Network Fee Review service.
Ongoing monitoring of network fees, so identified savings are captured and new or changed fees are caught early. Five of the eight North America clients here use it alongside their review or allocation model. Read more about the Network Fee Tracking platform.
A model that allocates network fees to programs and clients, so issuers see true program costs and BIN sponsors recover the fees their clients generate. Read more about the Cost allocation service.
A review of interchange qualification to find transactions paying more than the best available rate. Read more about the Interchange Review service.
Filter by service, client type or region to find programs like yours.
Case study 01. Card issuer, $50B+ annual card purchase volume, United States
A US card issuer with $50B+ in annual card purchase volume identified up to $8.6M a year in network fee savings in a 4-6 week CardTraq network fee review, even though it had a robust process to review its invoices and its fees were already below industry benchmarks.
Case study 02. Card issuer, $20-30B annual card purchase volume, United States
A US card issuer with $20-30B in annual card purchase volume identified $14.0M in potential network fee savings from a two-week, targeted CardTraq review of its highest-value opportunities.
Case study 03. Card issuer, C$10-20B annual card purchase volume, Canada
A Canadian card issuer with C$10-20B in annual card purchase volume identified C$3.0M a year in recurring Visa and Mastercard network fee savings in a 4-6 week CardTraq review.
Case study 04. Card issuer, under C$2B annual card purchase volume, Canada
A Canadian card issuer with under C$2B in annual card purchase volume identified up to C$1.6M a year in network fee savings, equal to 28% of its network fees and nearly double the typical 7-15% range.
Case study 05. Credit union, $1-2B annual card purchase volume, United States
A US credit union with $1-2B in annual card purchase volume identified up to $183K a year in Visa network fee savings in a 4-6 week CardTraq review.
Case study 06. ISO, $20-30B annual processing volume, United States
A US ISO with $20-30B in annual processing volume identified $4.9M a year in network fee savings and cost recovery in a 4-6 week CardTraq review.
Case study 07. ISO, under $5B annual processing volume, United States
A US ISO with under $5B in annual processing volume had two separate CardTraq reviews.
Case study 08. BIN sponsor, under $1B annual card volume, North America
A North American BIN sponsor with issuing and acquiring programs and under $1B in annual card volume was recovering only 44% of the Visa and Mastercard network fees its program clients generate.
Case study 09. Prepaid card issuer, US, Australia, UK and Ireland
A private-equity-owned issuer of Mastercard prepaid cards operating in the US, Australia, the UK and Ireland identified $4M a year in recurring network fee savings, an 18% reduction and above the typical 7-15% range..
Case study 10. Multi-product card issuer, Multiple continents
A NASDAQ-listed global payments company with card issuing businesses on multiple continents identified $1.5M a year in recurring network fee savings, a 12% reduction..
Case study 11. Commercial card issuer (fintech), Europe, multiple markets
A European issuer of commercial cards across multiple markets identified $1.1M a year in recurring network fee (scheme fee) savings, a 22% reduction and well above the typical 7-15% range..
Case study 12. Acquirer, Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific
A top 10 acquirer operating across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific identified more than $50M a year in recurring network fee savings, an 11% reduction..
Case study 13. Acquiring and issuing group, Europe, multiple markets and subsidiaries
A sizable European group with acquiring and issuing businesses across multiple markets and subsidiaries wanted to cut network fees quickly to improve profitability and enterprise value.
Case study 14. Network fee review client, Multiple markets
After a network fee review, a client wanted to make sure the identified savings were actually captured, and to stay on top of penalties and non-compliance fees, new fees and adverse fee changes.
Case study 15. Network fee tracking client, International
A card network introduced several new reporting fees and automatically opted all clients in at short notice.
Case study 16. BIN sponsor, International
A BIN sponsor was under-recovering network fees from its program clients.
Case study 17. B2B virtual card issuer, International
A B2B issuer of virtual cards wasn't accurately reflecting network fee pass-through pricing in its client billing.
Case study 18. Acquirer, Europe
A leading European acquirer was unsure whether it was following Visa and Mastercard interchange rules closely enough to get the best available rates.
No case studies match all of these filters. Try clearing one.
CardTraq reviews typically identify 7-15% of network fees in potential savings, though results vary by program, depending on factors such as its size, complexity and the networks involved. In these case studies, results ranged from 1-2 bps to 10-20 bps of volume, and up to 28% of fees at a smaller issuer.
A network fee review typically takes 4-6 weeks and needs only network invoices and volume reports.
Clients typically realize 40-80% of the savings identified, depending on things like how they prioritize implementation and which optional services they decide are worth keeping. We benchmark key optional services so clients can see how others have valued them.
Network fees, also known as scheme fees, are what Visa and Mastercard charge for using their networks and services. Interchange is paid to the card issuer on each transaction, at rates set by Visa and Mastercard. Both can come down: network fees by removing unneeded services, adopting best practices and fixing billing errors, and interchange by qualifying transactions for the best available rates.
In these case studies, a US ISO's interchange review identified $3.3M a year, about 8 bps of processing volume, and a European acquirer saved $2.5M a year, 11% lower than before the engagement.
Most programs we review are paying network fees they don't need to. A review takes 4-6 weeks and needs only your network invoices and volume reports.
Get a network fee review