Interchange Pass through credit card processing, also known as cost pass through credit card processing, is a credit card processing pricing program in which the merchant is charged the exact Interchange Rates and Dues and Assessments of the three major card brands: Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. The merchant pays the credit card processor a fixed fee for Processing Services. All other Visa, Mast
erCard, and Discover Interchange Fees are passed through to the merchant at the same cost the merchant services provider is charged by the card brands. Interchange pass through pricing offers benefits to both the merchant and the merchant account provider. The merchant benefits from the lower costs associated with interchange pass through credit card processing, greater transparency in their pricing and reporting, the ability to easily compare the costs and benefits of competing pricing programs, and the capability to identify exact interchange rates and fees, as well as card association dues and assessments. Access to the exact Visa, MasterCard, and Discover interchange fees allows the merchant to work with their payment processor to reduce credit card processing costs by eliminating costly downgrades, and submitting Level II card data and Level III card data to obtain lower interchange rates on Corporate, Commercial, Business, Government, and Purchasing Cards. Credit card processors benefit from cost plus merchant pricing by eliminating the need to re-price merchants to keep up with changes in the Visa, MasterCard, and Discover interchange rates and dues and assessments, obtaining lower rates of merchant attrition by providing highly competitive interchange pass through pricing programs, and using simplified proposals and statement analysis when quoting for cost plus credit card processing services.