Mastercard allows issuance of two distinct card types – Consumer and Business. Depending on your customer demographics, most card-present or “retail” merchants will receive predominantly Consumer cards. Read on to see how different cards qualify for different interchange rates.
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Mastercard Consumer-Issued Cards
Mastercard credit cards are issued to customers not by Mastercard, but by an issuing bank. These credit cards will have varying terms/rewards, as every bank is different. The below guide is a handy reference to see how cards are typically classified. Note that issuing banks have a lot of “leeway” in how they classify a card. So, some cards may have similar benefit structures, yet will fall into different categories. What’s important to keep in mind is that you have NO control over this aspect of card acceptance. You can’t tell what type of card you’re accepting just by looking at it, and most customers won’t even know their card type if you ask them. This process is designed to be “invisible” and in the background.
Mastercard Merit I (Card-Not-Present)
The “Merit I” category is for key-entry and E-Commerce Mastercard sales that meet include AVS and are settled within 1-2 days. Barring a few exceptions, most merchants are able to receive these interchange rates.