Visa Expands Lower Card Fees for More Canadian Small Businesses
A Lower Rate for More Small Businesses
More Canadian small businesses are now paying less to accept Visa credit cards. As of October 24, Visa has widened its reduced interchange program to cover businesses with up to $750,000 in annual Visa sales, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). Interchange is the fee paid to the cardholder's bank each time a card is used, and it is usually the largest part of what a business pays to accept cards. For many owners, this change should show up as a lower cost on their monthly statement.
How the Program Has Grown
The reduced rates started with a 2024 agreement between Visa, Mastercard and the federal government. Under that deal, businesses only qualified for Visa's lower rate if their annual Visa sales were under $300,000. The new threshold more than doubles that limit, bringing a much wider group of growing businesses into the program. Visa says it is aiming for an average interchange rate of 0.95% for eligible merchants on domestic consumer credit card sales made in person.
Mastercard Is Holding Its Line
Not every card brand is moving in the same direction. Mastercard is keeping its program as is, which means only businesses with under $175,000 in annual Mastercard sales qualify for its lower rate. The CFIB has called on Mastercard and other card brands to follow Visa's lead. For now, a business could qualify for reduced rates on one network and not the other, so the real savings will depend on which cards customers use.
New Processor Fees Are Coming
The savings come with a catch. The card networks are adding new fees charged to payment processors, and those costs are typically passed on to merchants. Mastercard has already started charging its new fee, and Visa will add 1.8 cents to every domestic transaction in Canada starting in April 2027. For businesses with high transaction volume and smaller average sales, a per-transaction fee like this can add up quickly.
Why the Full Picture Matters
A lower interchange rate and a new per-transaction fee can partly cancel each other out. Whether a business comes out ahead depends on its sales volume, average ticket size and how its processing agreement is set up. How savings and new costs show up can look very different from one statement to the next. This is why reading the statement line by line matters more than ever.
What Businesses Can Do Now
This is a good time to review recent statements and confirm whether the business now qualifies for Visa's lower rate. Owners should also check that the new rate is actually being applied, and ask how the upcoming network fees will be handled before April. The CFIB has spent two decades pushing for fairer card fees, and this space continues to evolve. Staying informed is the simplest way to make sure the savings reach the business.
More Than a Transaction
Payments don't stop when a transaction is approved. When issues arise, businesses need real support, fast answers, and teams that take ownership.
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Contact our team at sales@kuberapayments.com or 604-484-9278
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