The cost of accepting card payments is driven primarily by the interchange. When you settle your transactions each day; payment network routes them to the respective card associations (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and UnionPay) and debit networks through the interchange. Card associations and debit networks establish the rules and manage the interchange of all transactions; for which they charge fees to offset their costs. Interchange fees are paid at the time the transaction is exchanged.
Although interchange fees are applied to all credit card processors equally, they fluctuate in amount, based on a variety of factors. Card associations quote the lowest rate for a transaction, assuming that a number of requirements (which vary according to the card type, the type of business accepting the card payment, and the transaction channel) are met. Transactions that meet all of the requirements for your industry are charged the “qualified rate.” If one or more of these requirements are not met, the transaction is categorized at a more expensive interchange level, known as a Mid-Qualified Non-Qualified the most common “downgrades”.
Some common causes of downgrades include manually entering or requesting voice authorization for a significant number of transactions rather than use a POS device, or you routinely settle
transactions more than 24 hours after they are authorized.