IC++
Also known as: Interchange++, Interchange plus plus, Interchange plus plus pricing
IC++ is a pricing model in which the acquirer passes the interchange fee and the card scheme fees through to the merchant at cost, then adds a separate processing fee. The merchant sees each component, so costs move with the card mix.
Last reviewed
Example
Illustrative numbers only. On a €100 consumer debit sale a statement might show €0.20 interchange, a small scheme fee and a processing fee, each on its own line, instead of one blended percentage.
Some merchants want to see every cost. IC++ is the contract that shows them.
The UK Payment Systems Regulator defines it as "interchange fee plus plus pricing, whereby for any given transaction, the acquirer automatically passes through at cost the interchange fee and scheme fees applicable to that transaction". The first plus is the interchange fee. The second plus is the scheme fee. What the acquirer earns is a third, separate line: the processing fee, which the regulator also calls a management fee, applied per transaction.
On the statement it is a table, not a rate. Each payment carries the interchange for that card type, the scheme fee for that brand, and the processing fee on top. Additional fees triggered by events, such as chargebacks, usually come as extra lines. The regulator found these fees may be negotiated with large merchants and that IC++ "tends to be highly bespoke".
IC++ fits the EU's transparency rule well. The European Commission's 2020 review cites "Interchange Fee++" as an example of an unblended, transparent pricing model. It also reports that, among the survey respondents, the fall in the merchant service charge for credit card transactions was stronger for merchants with such a model.
What merchants get wrong is assuming it is always cheaper. The regulator notes that with IC++ the merchant carries the variation: cost per transaction moves with the card type, the brand and how the payment was authenticated. Most UK acquirers told the regulator that it is only available to, or suitable for, large merchants, and around 35% of large merchants used IC+ or IC++. IC+ is the same idea with only the interchange passed through at cost. For a small merchant with a steady card mix, the extra visibility may not be worth the extra complexity.
Pass-through shows you the cost. It does not lower it.
