Concept
Members of UnionPay International Co., Ltd. (UPI), instead of cardholders or merchants, remit or receive an interchange reimbursement fee (IRF) every time a UnionPay Card is used. For example, the merchant's bank remits IRF to the cardholder's bank when purchasing goods or services.
UPI's current IRF rate structure includes rates that vary by acceptance region, transaction type, card type, card level and merchant category. The goal of UPI in setting IRF rate is to ensure wide-spread issuance and acceptance of UnionPay Cards.
IRF by Country
Italy
The Intra-EU regional pricing scheme took effect on December 9, 2015. This pricing scheme applies to all payment transactions (POS, E-commerce, Mo/To,recurring,etc.,but excluding ATM-related transactions) conducted in the EU where both issuers and acquirers are located within the EU.
Thus the domestic IRF for Italy shall also follow the intra-EU regional pricing scheme shown below.
IRFs for Intra-EU POS/E-commerce/ MO/TO and Recurring Transactions
| IRF by Card Type | Acquirer Pays Issuer |
|---|---|
| Debit/Prepaid Card | 0.2% |
| Credit Card | 0.3% |
IRFs for Intra-EU ATM Transactions
| Transaction | Acquirer Receives from Issuer |
|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawal | USD 1.375 |
| ATM Inquiry | USD 0.25 |
IRFs for UnionPay cards issued outside of EU and accepted in Italy
POS, Mo/To and Recurring Transactions
| Transaction Types | Acquirer Pays Issuer |
|---|---|
| POS Transactions | 1.1% |
| Mo/To Transactions | 1.5% |
| Recurring Transactions | 1.1% |
E-Commerce transactions
| MCC | Acquirer Pays Issuer |
|---|---|
|
Airport (4511) Education (8211,8220,8241,8244,8249,8299) Insurance (5960,6300) |
1.15% |
|
Other MCCs |
1.2% |
ATM Transactions
| Transaction | Acquirer Receives from Issuer |
|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawal | USD 1.375 |
| ATM Inquiry | USD 0.25 |
Malaysia
The current domestic pricing in Malaysia took effect on April 25, 2017 to meet local compliance requirements.
In 2017, The Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia/BNM) required that all international card schemes adjust their domestic interchange rate for local credit card transactions in Malaysia, which will take effect on April 25, 2017.
Thus, UPI will adjust the domestic pricing scheme in Malaysia as following.
Malaysia
1.Interchange Reimbursement Fees (IRFs)
Table-1: IRFs for Credit Card POS / E-commerce / MOTO / Recurring transactions
| MCCs |
IRFs (Acquirer Pays Issuer) |
|---|---|
| Petroleum (5541, 5542) |
0.90% Max: MYR0.80 |
|
Government Services and Charity (9211, 9222, 9223, 9311, 9399, 9402, 9405, 8398, 8661) |
0 |
| Others | 0.937% (from April 25, 2017 on) |
Table-2: IRFs for Debit/Prepaid Card POS / E-commerce / MOTO / Recurring transactions
| MCCs |
IRFs (Acquirer Pays Issuer) |
|---|---|
| Petroleum (5541, 5542) |
0.21% Max: MYR0.58 |
|
Government Services and Charity (9211, 9222, 9223, 9311, 9399, 9402, 9405, 8398, 8661) |
0 |
| Others |
0.21% or 0.01%+MYR0.70 (whichever is lower) |
2.Service Fees
Table-3: Service Fees for Credit Card transactions
| Issuer pays UPI | |
|---|---|
| Issuer Clearing Fee | 0.048USD |
| Issuer Authorization Fee | 0.066USD |
| Issuer Card Service Fee | 0.020% |
| Issuer License Fee | 0.004% |
| Acquirer pays UPI | |
| Acquirer Clearing Fee | 0.006USD |
| Acquirer Authorization Fee | 0.006USD |
| Acquirer Merchant Service Fee | 0.052% |
| Acquirer License Fee | 0.004% |
Table-4: Service Fees for Debit/Prepaid Card transactions
| Issuer pays UPI (Max: 0.14 USD) | |
|---|---|
| Issuer Clearing Fee | 0.009USD |
| Issuer Authorization Fee | 0.006USD |
| Issuer Card Service Fee | 0.016% |
| Issuer License Fee | 0.004% |
| Acquirer pays UPI | |
| Acquirer Clearing Fee | 0.006USD |
| Acquirer Access Fee | 0.006USD |
| Acquirer Merchant Service Fee | 0.052% |
| Acquirer License Fee | 0.004% |
Switzerland
Since there’s no domestic pricing in Switzerland, the IRF paid by the Swiss Acquirers shall follow the international pricing scheme shown below.
IRF for POS, Mo/To and Recurring Transactions
| Transaction Types | Acquirer Pays Issuer |
|---|---|
| POS Transactions | 1.1% |
| Mo/To Transactions | 1.5% |
| Recurring Transactions | 1.1% |
IRF for E-Commerce transactions
| MCC | Acquirer Pays Issuer |
|---|---|
|
Airport (4511) Education (8211,8220,8241,8244,8249,8299) Insurance (5960,6300) |
1.15% |
|
Other MCCs |
1.2% |
IRF for ATM Transactions
| Transaction | Acquirer Receives from Issuer |
|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawal | USD 1.375 |
| ATM Inquiry | USD 0.25 |
Canada
1. Interchanges
IRF paid by the Canada Acquirers shall follow the international pricing scheme shown below.
IRFs for POS and Recurring Transactions
| Transaction Types | Acquirer Pays Issuer |
|---|---|
| POS Transactions | 1.1% |
| Recurring Transactions | 1.1% |
IRFs for E-Commerce transactions
| MCC | Acquirer Pays Issuer |
|---|---|
| Airport (4511) Education (8211,8220,8241,8244,8249,8299) Insurance (5960,6300) | 1.15% |
| Other MCCs | 1.2% |
2. International Service Fee
SF paid by the Canada Acquirers shall follow the international pricing scheme shown below.
SFs for POS and Recurring Transactions
| Transaction Types | Acquirer Pays UPI |
|---|---|
| POS Transactions | 0.1% |
| Recurring Transactions | 0.1% |
SFs for E-Commerce transactions
| MCC | Acquirer Pays UPI |
|---|---|
| Airport (4511) Education (8211,8220,8241,8244,8249,8299) Insurance (5960,6300) | 0 |
| Other MCCs | 0.2% |