Every year in April and October, the card brands update processing rates and rules. This is a summary of the rate and rule changes that impacted the broadest number of merchants in 2025.
Visa
Visa Commercial Enhanced Data Program
On April 11, 2025, Visa introduced the Commercial Enhanced Data Program (CEDP) for US Small Business and Commercial Credit card products. The program offers lower interchange rates for merchants who submit high quality Level 2 and Level 3 data. Filler data is not permitted and arithmetic validation is required.
Important Update: Level 2 interchange programs were retired earlier than the originally announced April 2026 deadline. Merchants that relied on Level 2 as an intermediate data standard are now subject to either Product 3 (Level 3) rates or standard commercial rates, depending on their data compliance.
The rollout of the program occurred as follows:
- Starting in April 2025, each transaction processed through CEDP was assessed a 0.05% fee.
- In October 2025, Visa introduced new Level 3 interchange rates which are lower than previous Level 3 interchange rates. Level 2 transactions qualified for the new Level 3 interchange rates as well. These rates were lower than previous Level 2 interchange rates.
- Starting in October 2025, merchants needed to meet enhanced data standards to qualify for Level 2 and Level 3 interchange rates, and merchants needed to include an additional field (merchant verification status) in the outgoing message to Visa for all Level 2 and Level 3 transactions.
- Starting in October 2025, Visa began auditing data accuracy; if it determined that a processed transaction did not meet the CEDP enhanced data standards, Visa sent an adjustment on the transaction, revising the interchange rate from the Level 2 or Level 3 incentive rate to the applicable non-incentive interchange rate.
- In early 2026, Visa retired the Commercial and Small Business Level 2 interchange program earlier than the announced April 2026 deadline.
- The Fleet fuel-only Level 2 programs are excluded from CEDP and continue to operate.
Updates to CPS Programs to Support Unattended Cardholder Activated Terminal Transactions
Effective April 11, 2025, Visa allowed transactions from unattended cardholder activated terminals to qualify for card-present interchange programs.
Changes to Authorization Decline Response Codes
Effective April 11, 2025, Visa introduced two new authorization response decline codes; Transaction not Supported/Blocked by Issuer (5C) and Blocked by Cardholder/Contact Cardholder (9G).
Mastercard
Mastercard Acquirer Credential Continuity Program Fee
Effective April 1, 2025, Mastercard increased the Acquirer Credential Continuity fee from $0.03 to $0.09 per recurring payment transaction processed with an outdated credential.
Mastercard Flex Program Introduced
Effective April 1, 2025, Mastercard introduced a global commercial credit program called the MastercardFlex Program (MFP). The program is intended for non-travel flows on B2B platforms with a flexible interchange structure based on tiers. There is a 0.10% fee assessed on all transactions participating in this program.
Introducing New Decline Response Code Values
In April 2025, Mastercard introduced two new decline response codes to clarify if transaction authorization declines are related to closed accounts or accounts not yet activated. The new decline response code values are Closed Accounts (46) and Account Not Yet Activated (72).
American Express
OptBlue Program Pricing Changes
In April 2025, American Express made revisions to the OptBlue Pricing Program for the Insurance category as follows:
| Previous Fee Program | Previous Threshold | New Threshold | Previous Rate | New Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM Insurance Tier 1 | <= $1,200.00 | <= $2,000.00 | 1.2500% + $0.1000 | 1.5000% + $0.1000 |
| AM Insurance Tier 2 | $1,200.01 - $4,000.00 | $2,000.01 - $7,500.00 | 1.8500% + $0.1000 | 1.9000% + $0.1000 |
| AM Insurance Tier 2 | > $4,000.00 | > $7,500.00 | 2.5000% + $0.1000 | 2.3000% + $0.1000 |
Discover
Updated Debt Repayment Qualification Requirements
In April 2025, Discover updated the qualification requirements for Debt Repayment Interchange programs. The POS Data Special Condition Indicator of "D" must be used. All other qualification criteria remain unchanged.
For official card network resources:
