by Matt Rej
Some merchants in Canada can now qualify for lower interchange rates on select Visa transactions. That’s not quite the same as a broad interchange reduction, and an important distinction from the headlines you’re seeing.
Three Canada-specific Visa changes went into effect at once, all on October 24, 2026:
- Small Merchant Interchange Program max annual volume increased to $750,000, up from $300k.
- Several small merchant consumer credit card interchange rates were reduced.
- Digital Commerce Authentication Program (DCAP) launched in Canada.
Collectively, this means that rates did get reduced in certain categories. And more merchants are now eligible for those lower rates. But whether you actually see those savings on your statement depends on how your processor set up your merchant account.
How Much Did Visa Lower Interchange Rates in Canada?
As part of an agreement with the Canadian government, Visa is aiming to provide an annual weighted-average interchange rate of 95 bps (0.95%) for domestic card present transactions. And has also committed to reduce the interchange rate for online transactions by 10 bps (0.10%).
But that doesn’t mean that 0.95% is the new per-transaction interchange rate for in-store transactions. The online rate didn’t just drop by 0.10% either.
Individual rates still vary by card type and transaction category.
For example, Visa’s new small merchant card-present rates are as low as 0.70% for Classic/Gold/Platinum cards. But the same small merchant in-store sale on an Infinite Privilege card costs 1.70%.
So the merchant’s card mix is still a very important factor here.
But what’s different now after the October 24th update is that more merchants are eligible for the small merchant program. And that program also has lower rates.
Additionally, the launch of DCAP in Canada means that online transactions can qualify for lower interchange rates if the merchant captures more data at the time of the sale.
Visa Raised its Small Merchant Threshold to $750,000
Visa increased the annual threshold to qualify for Small Merchant interchange rates by 2.5x the old limit, from $300,000 to $750,000.
The threshold is solely based on how much a merchant runs through Visa. Not its total revenue.
So a business doing $1.2 million per year in card sales could still qualify if less than $750,000 of that revenue comes from Visa cards.
It’s also worth noting that what counts toward the cap is broader than what gets the discount.
Lower rates only apply to domestic consumer credit transactions. But Visa counts domestic, cross-border, credit, debit, and prepaid sales toward the $750,000 threshold.
Newly Eligible Merchants Have the Most to Gain
Businesses that were already qualifying for Small Merchant rates will still see a reduction. But the reduction is far more significant for businesses that just became eligible because of the new $750k threshold.
For example, an in-store sale on a Classic, Gold, or Platinum card that ran at Visa’s standard 1.25% rate now qualifies for 0.70%, which is 55 bps lower on the same transaction.
Not every merchant was paying 1.25% before because restaurants, grocers, and gas stations already qualified for lower industry program categories. But for a typical retailer or service business in Canada that sat between $300k and $750k in Visa volume, this update can lead to serious savings.
Whereas merchants processing less than $300k in Visa cards who were already in the program, they’ll typically see rates fall 7-15 bps depending on the card type.
It’s still cheaper, but nowhere near that 55 bps scenario.
New Visa Canada Small Merchant Interchange Rates
Canadian merchants processing less than $750,000 in Visa cards per year are eligible for the following rates as of October 24, 2026:
Classic, Gold, Platinum
- Electronic Card Present: 0.70%
- Card Not Present: 1.20%
- Card Not Present, Tokenized: 1.15%
Visa Infinite
- Electronic Card Present: 0.89%
- Card Not Present: 1.45%
- Card Not Present, Tokenized: 1.40%
Visa Infinite+
- Card Not Present: 2.05%
- Card Not Present, Tokenized: 2.00%
Visa Infinite Privilege
- Electronic Card Present: 1.70%
- Card Not Present: 2.20%
- Card Not Present, Tokenized: 2.15%
New Visa DCAP Rates in Canada
Visa’s Digital Commerce Authentication Program (DCAP) just launched for the first time in Canada on October 24, 2026. Merchants can qualify for these reduced rates by capturing additional data for qualifying online transactions.
You can read more about Visa’s DCAP qualifications here.
Small Merchant Card Not Present – DCAP
- Classic, Gold, Platinum: 1.10%
- Infinite: 1.35%
- Infinite+: 1.95%
- Infinite Privilege: 2.10%
Small Merchant Card Not Present – DCAP & Tokenized
- Classic, Gold, Platinum: 1.05%
- Infinite: 1.30%
- Infinite+: 1.90%
- Infinite Privilege: 2.05%
Card Not Present – DCAP
- Classic, Gold, Platinum: 1.30%
- Infinite: 1.55%
- Infinite+: 2.05%
- Infinite Privilege: 2.30%
Card Not Present – DCAP & Tokenized
- Classic, Gold, Platinum: 1.25%
- Infinite: 1.50%
- Infinite+: 2.00%
- Infinite Privilege: 2.25%
Performance Program CNP – DCAP
- Classic, Gold, Platinum: 1.25%
- Infinite: 1.50%
- Infinite+: 2.00%
- Infinite Privilege: 2.25%
Performance Program CNP – DCAP & Tokenized
- Classic, Gold, Platinum: 1.20%
- Infinite: 1.45%
- Infinite+: 1.95%
- Infinite Privilege: 2.20%
More Updated Visa Canada Interchange Categories
Visa Infinite Industry Program
- Everyday Needs: 1.10%
- Gas: 1.24%
- Grocery and Food Retail: 1.05%
Visa Infinite Privilege Industry Program
- Everyday Needs: 1.85%
- Gas: 1.85%
- Grocery and Food Retail: 1.85%
Visa Infinite+
- Card Not Present: 2.15%
- Card Not Present, Tokenized: 2.10%
- Performance Program CNP: 2.10%
- Performance Program CNP, Tokenized: 2.05%
- Standard: 2.20%
Visa Business Credit
- Standard: 2.15%
It’s worth noting that Visa’s new Standard Business Credit rate in Canada is the only rate that increased during the October 24, 2026 increase. That rate jumped from 2% to 2.15%.
Watch Out for a New Visa Network Fee in April 2027
According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), Visa is planning to charge a new 1.8 cent fee on all domestic transactions beginning in April 2027.
This will match the amount Mastercard began charging in October 2026.
The difference here is that the new network fees go directly to Visa. Whereas the reduced new and reduced interchange rates are set by Visa but paid to the issuing banks. $0.018 per transaction isn’t anything to lose sleep over but small ticket transactions will feel it more than others.
Is Your Processor Actually Passing the Reduced Rates Through to You?
Just because Visa lowered its interchange rates doesn’t automatically mean Canadian merchants will see those savings on their statements. Even if they think they’re eligible based on their Visa volume.
It all depends on how your processor bills you for their services. If you’re on a flat rate or tiered pricing structure, interchange rates are bundled into rates that your processor sets. So your cost per transaction will likely remain unchanged here. The savings still happen at the interchange level for qualifying transactions. But your processor will pocket the difference.
You need to be on an interchange-plus or cost-plus setup to actually save. Then your processor is supposed to pass through interchange rates at cost, with their markup added separately.
So it depends on your processor and it’s worth confirming directly with them. For example, Moneris says any business who surcharges Visa transactions is not eligible for Small Merchant program savings.
At the end of the day your monthly statements will tell you whether you’re getting these savings passed through to you. October’s breakdown should tell the full story because the change went into effect on the 24th. So you may have some transactions at the old rates and other transactions at the new rates.
If you want an extra set of eyes on this to ensure your processor is charging you correctly, just contact our team here at MCC for a free statement review.