Interchange Fee

Interchange is the main transfer of value inside a card scheme. In a purchase transaction, the acquirer collects the merchant discount rate from the merchant and passes the interchange part to the issuer, which uses it to cover costs of issuing cards, fraud losses, rewards and credit risk. In an ATM transaction at another bank's machine, the flow is reversed: the cardholder's bank pays the ATM owner an interchange (ATM) fee for dispensing cash.

Interchange rates are set by card schemes or national switches and may be regulated. Rates generally differ for debit and credit cards, card-present and card-not-present transactions and domestic and international use.

Because interchange influences how much merchants pay and how attractive card issuing is for banks, regulators in many countries cap it. In Nepal, domestic interchange and switching arrangements are shaped by NRB policy and the National Payment Switch, which aims to keep domestic card transactions inside the country at lower cost.

इन्टरचेन्ज कार्ड स्किमभित्रको मुख्य मूल्य स्थानान्तरण हो। खरिद कारोबारमा प्राप्तकर्ता बैंकले व्यापारीबाट MDR लिई इन्टरचेन्ज भाग जारीकर्तालाई दिन्छ, जसले कार्ड जारी, ठगी नोक्सानी र कर्जा जोखिमको लागत धान्छ। अर्को बैंकको एटिएम प्रयोगमा उल्टो हुन्छ: कार्डधारकको बैंकले एटिएमवाला बैंकलाई शुल्क तिर्छ।

दर कार्ड स्किम वा राष्ट्रिय स्विचले तोक्छन् र नियमन हुन सक्छ; डेबिट/क्रेडिट र स्वदेशी/अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय कारोबारमा फरक हुन्छ। नेपालमा स्वदेशी इन्टरचेन्ज र स्विचिङ व्यवस्था नेपाल राष्ट्र बैंकको नीति र राष्ट्रिय भुक्तानी स्विचले निर्धारण गर्छ।