by Matt Rej
October has historically been a busy month in the payment space, and this year was no different. Between network changes, processor increases, court rulings, and new partnerships, there’s plenty that merchants shouldn’t be keeping an eye on.
Here’s my roundup of the October headlines you should be paying attention to:
Network Updates From Visa, Mastercard, and Discover Take Effect
Merchants need to keep a close eye on October statements when they become available in November because several of these updates went into effect at different times during the month. So your breakdown will have a mix of both pre- and post-update interchange fees.
Some of the noteworthy changes include:
- Visa Response Code 57 declines now fall under Issuer Never Approve, meaning retries can trigger System Integrity Fees.
- New interchange programs for Visa Commercial Choice Travel.
- New Visa response codes and dispute conditions.
- Mastercard increased its Decline Service Fee from 3 bps to 6 bps, and updated its Dispute Progressive Handling Fees.
- New Mastercard Wholesale Travel, Variable Interchange, and Mastercard Flex Programs.
- Discover updated its Card Account Verification Service.
For a full breakdown of all the network updates from this, including effective dates and actual fees, check out my October 2026 network updates page.
Visa Lowers Interchange Rates in Canada
Merchants processing domestic Visa cards in Canada are now eligible for lower interchange rates on qualifying transactions.
This is the result of three separate things happening:
- Visa lowered interchange rates on its Small Merchant Consumer Credit program.
- DCAP launched in Canada.
- More merchants are now eligible for Small Merchant Consumer rates (annual Visa threshold increased from $300k to $750k).
You can see all of the new Visa Canada interchange rates affected here.
Fullsteam Increases Processing Rates
Fullsteam increased its rates by 0.03% + $0.03 per transaction in October. They also raised their monthly PCI Non-Compliance Fee to $69.95.
North (American Bancard) Adds New Fees and Increases Pricing
North increased rates in October for merchants on Monthly Discount billing, and announced similar increases to take effect on November 1st for merchants set up with Daily Discount billing. New fees also went into effect for all accounts in October.
Discount Rate Increases:
- 3 bps to 15 bps for merchants on interchange-plus
- 25 bps for merchants on tiered setups
New Fees:
- $0.03 per transaction High Risk Licensing Fee
- $0.03 per transaction increase for Processor Authorization Fees
- $9.95 per month Edge Program Processor Fee
- $249 annual regulatory fee
- $5 increase per device to North’s Monthly Software fees
Fiserv Makes Massive Billing Error
One of the biggest stories this month came from Fiserv, where a software error resulted in merchants getting charged a 43% effective rate, which is the highest I’ve ever seen.
The error incorrectly pulled $350k from a merchant’s bank account.
And while the money was eventually refunded (about a week later), it caused chaos for any business affected.
It seems as though this was contained to Fiserv merchants who boarded through its Omaha platform, and not necessarily every merchant using Fiserv. But it underscores the importance of checking statements carefully, as mistakes do happen (and those mistakes are almost never in the merchant’s favor).
Federal Debit Caps Ruled Unlawful
For the second time, a federal court ruled that the formula used to calculate the existing regulated debit interchange rate of $0.21 + $0.05 is unlawful.
The ruling was initially made back in August 2025, and an appeals court agreed on October 26, 2026.
Current caps will stay as is while this continues to play out in court. But in the coming years, this ruling will likely result in those debit card interchange caps getting reduced.
Lightspeed Announces Small Rate Increase for November
Merchants on a flat-rate pricing plan from Lightspeed will see their rates go up by a modest 1 bps (0.01%) on November 1, 2026.
The announcement came during October, and this is honestly one of the smallest rate hikes you’ll ever see.
Though merchants affected by this increase should be looking to get on an IC+ plan from Lightspeed instead of a flat-rate option. As that’s where you’ll see more significant savings.
Global Payments Rate Increase and Annual System Enhancement Fee
Global’s $529 Annual System Enhancement Fee will hit October statements.
Additionally, merchants using Global need to keep a close eye on their discount rates when October’s statements are released. Because Global announced that a rate increase would go into effect, but didn’t specify the amount.
We’ve seen this happen over the years with Global. And when they use this playbook, it typically means that affected accounts won’t have equal rate increases. Some may just have a slight increase of a few bps, while others could jump a full percentage point.
Fiserv Digital Asset Program Goes Live
Fiserv’s new digital asset platform went live on October 1st, with Bank of North Dakota’s Roughrider Coin as its first use case.
This is a dollar-backed stablecoin allowing over 90+ banks and credit unions throughout North Dakota to move money between each other.
It’s a bank-to-bank tool, so nothing is changing for merchants just yet. But Fiserv says the platform is built to eventually support stablecoin card issuance and cross-border payments.
Clover Continues Sports and Entertainment Expansion
Hard Rock Stadium picked Clover POS as its official POS, rolling out over 1,000 Clover terminals across the venue. This is part of Clover’s broader plan to move from SMB payments into the sports and entertainment category.
And Clover Sport now runs at over 60+ venues for college and pro sports.
Most small businesses won’t feel this directly right now. But as Fiserv continues to chase bigger enterprise deals with Clover, the way your account gets priced may change in the future.
And for larger accounts now being targeted by Fiserv/Clover, it’s important to ensure you actually get enterprise pricing for the volume you’re running through those systems. The VAS fees can quickly creep up on you with a POS like Clover.
Stripe and FedEx Announce Joint Solution for SMBs
Stripe and FedEx Dataworks are teaming up to use FedEx shipping data, including shipment volume and fulfillment performance, to underwrite Stripe Capital loans faster than traditional banks and credit scores allow for.
This is expected to launch in 2027.
Additionally, FedEx will start using Stripe to process some of its own payments, adding over 50+ payment options at checkout.
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