Visa lowers interchange fees for tens of thousands of small businesses, but new credit card fees are on the horizon

TORONTO, Oct. 14, 2026 /CNW/ -- More small businesses will pay lower credit card processing fees when new Visa interchange rates take effect on October 24, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

Small businesses pay interchange fees every time a customer pays by credit card. These fees go to the bank that issued the customer's card and are levied as a percentage of each sale.

In an agreement with the federal government that took effect in 2024, Visa and Mastercard significantly lowered interchange fees for small businesses with sales under $300,000 for Visa and $175,000 for Mastercard.

Visa is expanding its small merchant interchange rate to firms with up to $750,000 in annual Visa sales and lowering rates for all qualifying businesses. Mastercard is not expanding its small merchant program, and its threshold remains at $175,000.

"This is a big win for many small businesses that will now qualify for Visa's special, lower interchange rate. The additional businesses that now qualify for the small merchant program will save thousands each year," said Dan Kelly, CFIB president.

"Sadly, there are new credit card processing fees on the horizon as well," Kelly added. Visa has announced plans to join Mastercard in assessing a new 1.8-cent USD fee on all domestic transactions. Mastercard will expand this fee to all transactions starting this week and Visa intends to levy the exact same amount starting in April 2027. These fees are first charged to card processors but are routinely passed on to small merchants.

"After reducing credit card interchange fee revenue that goes to the bank, it is disappointing to see Visa and Mastercard increase their own slice of the payment fees that may end up being paid by small businesses," noted Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB's executive vice-president of advocacy.

CFIB continues to put pressure on the government and payments industry to expand the program of lower small business rates to additional credit card providers, regularly review size thresholds, and ensure that the cost savings are fully passed on to merchants.

"For two decades, CFIB has been pushing for fairer credit card fees for small businesses. We're glad to see Visa include more small merchants, and we are calling on Mastercard and other card brands to do the same," said Pohlmann.

For more information on CFIB's work to reduce credit card fees for small businesses, visit cfib.ca/credit-cards.

About CFIB 
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 103,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners' chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.

SOURCE Canadian Federation of Independent Business (Toronto)

For media enquiries or interviews, please contact: Dariya Baiguzhiyeva, CFIB, 647-464-2814, [email protected]