A complete guide to payment processing fees

To manage your card costs, payment service providers package these fees in three main ways: blended and interchange++ (IC++).

Blended pricing

With blended pricing, you pay a single, fixed fee for every transaction of a given type, regardless of the underlying costs. The payment provider absorbs all interchange and scheme fees, adds its markup, and averages them into a single flat rate.

• The benefit: It is simple, predictable, and remarkably easy to reconcile. You always know exactly what you will pay for a transaction before it even happens, which makes business forecasting much easier. Many businesses prefer this because it protects them from sudden increases in card scheme charges or the complexity of tracking hundreds of different interchange rates.

• The trade-off: Less transparency. You see only a single total cost, not a breakdown of what the bank charged versus what the provider retained. In some cases, if your customers use low-cost basic debit cards, you might pay slightly more than the actual cost of that specific transaction.

At Mollie, we offer this to many businesses because it provides uncomplicated pricing. You can see how this works on our Mollie pricing page (under standard pricing).  

Interchange++ (IC++) pricing 

The Interchange++ pricing model is a more granular billing model. It breaks down each charge into three parts: the interchange fee (to the bank), the card scheme fee (to Visa/Mastercard, first +), and the provider’s markup (the processing fee, second +).

• The benefit: Total transparency. You know exactly how much you are paying to each party in the chain. If a transaction has a lower interchange rate, such as a domestic consumer debit card, those savings are passed directly to you. This model allows you to see the impact of different card types on your bottom line. In 2026, this model is useful for capturing new incentives, such as fee reductions for high-quality data (e.g., IP addresses and device IDs).

• The trade-off: It is significantly more complex. Your monthly statements will be lengthy and detailed, making reconciliation more time-consuming. Because interchange rates vary by card type and region, your costs will fluctuate each month, making forecasting more difficult.

Blended pricing vs Interchange++: Which one is suitable for your business?

When to choose blended pricing

• Predictable margins: If you want to know your exact profit on every sale without having to check which card the customer used, blended pricing is for you.

• International sales: If you regularly process cross-border transactions, blended pricing can be more cost-effective, as the provider absorbs the highest interchange fees.

• Low administrative overhead: The predictable rates offered by blended pricing make it easier to estimate monthly costs for payment transactions and to conduct accurate business forecasting. This is more ideal for businesses that don’t have a dedicated finance team to reconcile complex statements.

• No extra fees: Unlike Interchange++, the blended pricing model charges only for successful transactions. For small businesses with limited budgets, this pricing model is ideal. 

When to choose Interchange++ (IC++)

• High domestic volume: If the vast majority of your sales come from local customers using basic consumer cards, IC++ can be cheaper as you benefit directly from the lower capped interchange rates.

• Transparency and data: IC++ makes it easy for businesses to see exactly what they are being charged for. By better understanding individual costs, you can make more informed decisions on pricing policies for specific markets or use marketing to encourage customers to use payment options with lower processing fees.

• Technical maturity: Choose this model only if you have the accounting tools or personnel to manage complex, variable monthly invoices.

To help you decide on the best pricing model, we have compiled the key differences in the table below.