Interchange

Definition

The network payment an operator earns from the cardholder's bank, separate from the surcharge.

Why It Matters

It is the second revenue line and the one an operator does not set: the network does, and it changes without notice to the route. That makes it the part of the model a buyer should stress and not project. A route whose economics only work at the current interchange rate is a route with a single point of failure outside its control. Ask for settlement statements, because interchange is visible there and a summary usually leaves it out of the seller's own revenue figure.