Concept
Interchange reimbursement fees (IRF) are used as a balancing mechanism between the financial institutions involved in a transaction to help grow the payment system for the benefit of all participants. Generally, acquirers reimburse issuers for point-of-sale transactions, and issuers reimburse acquirers for cash and ATM transactions
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
1.The domestic IRFs in Italy are shown below.
IRFs for POS/E-commerce/ MO/TO and Recurring Transactions
| Card Product | MCCs | Category | Acquirer Pays Issuer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Card | Bill Payment and Utilities 4814, 4816, 4899, 4900 Professional Services and Membership Organizations 8062, 8211, 8220, 8241, 8244, 8249, 8299, 8675 Government Services 9211, 9222, 9311, 9399, 9402, 9405 | Debit Card &Prepaid Card | 0.2%
Capped at EUR 0.07 |
| Credit Card | 0.3%
Capped at EUR 0.3 |
||
| Other MCCs | Debit Card &Prepaid Card | 0.2% | |
| Credit Card | 0.3% | ||
| Commercial Card* | Debit Card &Prepaid Card | EUR 0.6 | |
| Credit Card | 1.5% | ||
* The commercial card pricing will take effect on May 7 2018
IRFs for ATM Transactions
| Transaction | Acquirer Receives from Issuer |
|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawal | USD 1.375 |
| ATM Inquiry | USD 0.25 |
2.Cross-border tractions with Unionpay cards issued within EEA (European Economic Area) countries and accepted in Italy will follow the EEA regional pricing shown below.
IRFs for POS/E-commerce/ MO/TO and Recurring Transactions
| IRF by Card Type | Acquirer Pays Issuer | |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer | Debit/Prepaid Card | 0.2% |
| Credit Card | 0.3% | |
| Commercial* | Debit/Prepaid Card | EUR 0.6 |
| Credit Card | 1.5% | |
* The commercial card pricing will take effect on May 7 2018
IRFs for ATM Transactions
| Transaction | Acquirer Receives from Issuer |
|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawal | USD 1.375 |
| ATM Inquiry | USD 0.25 |
3.The IRFs for UnionPay cards issued outside of EEA (European Economic Area) countries and accepted in Italy will follow the international pricing shown below.
IRFs 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% |
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% |
IRFs for ATM Transactions
| Transaction | Acquirer Receives from Issuer |
|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawal | USD 1.375 |
| ATM Inquiry | USD 0.25 |
Poland
1.Interchange Reimbursement Fees(IRFs)
(1)IRFs for cross-border transactions with Unionpay cards issued within EEA (European Economic Area) countries and accepted in Poland will follow the EEA regional pricing shown below.
IRFs for POS/E-commerce/ MO/TO and Recurring Transactions
| IRF by Card Type | Acquirer Pays Issuer | |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer | Debit/Prepaid Card | 0.2% |
| Credit Card | 0.3% | |
| Commercial* | Debit/Prepaid Card | EUR 0.6 |
| Credit Card | 1.5% | |
* The commercial card pricing will take effect on May 7 2018
IRFs for ATM Transactions
| Transaction | Acquirer Receives from Issuer |
|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawal | USD 1.375 |
| ATM Inquiry | USD 0.25 |
(2)IRFs for UnionPay cards issued outside of EEA (European Economic Area) countries and accepted in Poland will follow the international pricing shown below.
IRFs 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% |
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% |
IRFs for ATM Transactions
| Transaction | Acquirer Receives from Issuer |
|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawal | USD 1.375 |
| ATM Inquiry | USD 0.25 |
2.Service Fees(SFs)
(1)Service Fees(SFs) for cross-border transactions with Unionpay cards issued within EEA (European Economic Area) countries and accepted in Poland will follow the EEA regional pricing shown below.
SFs for POS /E-Commerce/ MO/TO and Recurring Transactions
For all UnionPay credit card transactions
| Types | Acquirer Pays UPI |
|---|---|
| Acquirer Clearing Fee | EUR0.004 |
| Acquirer Authorization Fee | EUR0.006 |
| Acquirer Card Service Fee | 0.011% |
| License Fee | 0.001% |
For all UnionPay debit/prepaid card transactions
| Types | Acquirer Pays UPI |
|---|---|
| Acquirer Clearing Fee | EUR0.004 |
| Acquirer Authorization Fee | EUR0.006 |
| Acquirer Card Service Fee | 0.005% |
| License Fee | 0.001% |
SFs for ATM Transactions
| Transaction Type | Acquirer Pays UPI |
|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawal | USD 0.125 |
| ATM Inquiry | USD 0.035 |
(2)SFs for UnionPay cards issued outside of EEA (European Economic Area) countries and accepted in Poland will follow the international pricing shown below.
SFs for POS / MO/TO and Recurring Transactions
| Transaction Type | Acquirer Pays UPI |
|---|---|
| POS Transactions | 0.1% |
| Mo/To Transactions | 0.1% |
| Recurring Transactions | 0.1% |
SFs for ATM Transactions
| Transaction Type | Acquirer Pays UPI |
|---|---|
| ATM Withdrawal | USD 0.125 |
| ATM Inquiry | USD 0.035 |
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% |
Malaysia
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.
The current domestic pricing in Malaysia is shown below.
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% |
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% |