If your business accepts credit card payments, interchange fees are unavoidable — but they don’t have to be uncontrollable. Through interchange optimization, you can cut unnecessary costs and keep more of your revenue. At Corepay, we specialize in helping businesses, especially in high-risk and B2B sectors, unlock maximum savings through smart routing, Level II/III data, and powerful partnerships.
Let’s break it down.
What Is Interchange Optimization?
Interchange optimization is a strategic process to lower the cost of credit card payments by ensuring transactions qualify for the best possible interchange rates. Since interchange fees account for about 90% of your total card processing costs, optimizing these fees can deliver serious monthly savings.
Every card transaction is categorized by the card network, and each category has its own rate. If a transaction misses required data or benchmarks, it can “downgrade” to a more expensive category. Interchange optimization prevents this by ensuring all data requirements are met, every time.
Who Benefits Most From Interchange Optimization?
While all businesses can benefit, it’s especially powerful for:
- B2B (business-to-business) companies
- B2G (business-to-government) companies
- Card-not-present merchants (eCommerce, SaaS, etc.)
These businesses face a higher risk of downgrades due to complex transactions, larger payment sizes, and missing Level II/III data.
How Does Interchange Optimization Save Money?
Optimizing transactions reduces unnecessary interchange costs by:
- Preventing downgrades: Making sure the right data is sent with each transaction
- Leveraging Level II/III data: Providing extra details like invoice numbers, PO numbers, tax amounts, and shipping details, which qualify for better rates
- Routing transactions smartly: Using multiple processors to route payments through the provider offering the best interchange rates for a given card, region, or risk profile
For example, one platform saved ~20 basis points just by adding zip code checks to every transaction. Combined with Level II/III data, savings jumped to 40-50 basis points overall.
Corepay’s Approach to Interchange Optimization
At Corepay, we don’t just offer generic payment processing. We bring:
- Deep expertise in high-risk and enterprise accounts: From healthcare and telemedicine to subscription billing and B2B SaaS, we understand where businesses leak margin and how to plug the gaps.
- Multiple acquiring bank relationships: With connections across the U.S., UK, and Europe, we can route transactions for maximum efficiency.
- Proprietary gateway technology: Our gateway, combined with NetValve™, delivers real-time transaction intelligence and automated routing.
- Full Level II/III data enablement: We help set up the right configurations so your transactions qualify for the best rates.
Together, this results in lower fees, higher approval rates, and a more profitable payment stack.
Three Key Areas We Evaluate for Savings
- Are any transactions downgraded?
We check if transactions are missing data or failing compliance benchmarks, causing them to fall into higher-cost categories. Fixing these issues immediately reduces interchange costs. - What percentage of your volume is business and corporate cards?
These payments qualify for Level II/III rates, but only if detailed data is passed. We help capture and pass the right fields, unlocking lower rates. - Which merchants qualify for special programs?
Visa SMB and American Express OptBlue offer lower interchange rates for small businesses. We ensure eligible merchants are enrolled and benefitting.
Beyond Interchange: The Power of Multi-Processor Routing
Most payment processors lock you into a single acquiring bank, limiting savings potential. Corepay’s multi-processor approach lets you route transactions strategically, pairing each payment with the processor that offers the best interchange rate based on:
- Card type (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover)
- Region (domestic vs. international)
- Risk profile
Combined with NetValve™, you gain real-time optimization across the board.
Additional Tips for Reducing Processing Fees
Even beyond interchange optimization, there are other strategies to lower costs:
- Negotiate with processors: Larger corporations can often negotiate lower rates based on volume.
- Increase security: Adding authentication methods like PINs or 3D Secure reduces fraud risk and qualifies for better rates.
- Settle batches daily: Clearing transactions within one day of authorization ensures you get the lowest available interchange rates.
Final Thoughts: Why Work With Corepay?
Interchange optimization isn’t just about saving a few pennies on each transaction. For high-volume businesses, it can add up to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
Corepay specializes in:
- Custom routing strategies
- Embedded payment solutions for vertical SaaS platforms
- High-risk merchant support (telemedicine, supplements, adult, etc.)
- Chargeback prevention and management
We don’t just process payments — we optimize them.
Ready to explore how much you could save? Contact Corepay today to request a free interchange audit and let us show you how to make every dollar count.
