What is interchange plus for Canadian merchants in 2026?

Interchange plus is a merchant billing model that itemizes wholesale card network costs separately from the processor markup. Wholesale fees set by networks like Visa pass directly to the merchant without hidden margins. The processor then adds an explicit percentage or per-transaction fee. This transparent structure brings full parity between the costs you pay and the actual cost of processing the card.

Wholesale interchange rates vary based on card type and how you accept them. Our data on Canadian Visa rate cards shows interchange fees ranging from 0.77% for Consumer Electronic Small Merchant transactions up to 2.3% for Infinite Privilege CNP cards. On top of this wholesale rate, payment processors add their fee. Moneris Simplified Pricing sets a processor markup of 0.4%. Helcim Interchange Plus charges a markup of 0.4% + CA$0.08 for card-present transactions or 0.5% + CA$0.25 for keyed and online payments.

The Canadian payment ecosystem rewards interchange plus. Regional cost reductions, like Visa small merchant rates and low-cost Interac debit, lower your wholesale interchange fees. When networks publish reduced wholesale rates, such as Visa's 0.77% Consumer Electronic Small Merchant tier, an interchange-plus contract passes those exact savings directly to your bank account.

Flat-rate models charge unified percentages that keep wholesale savings for the provider. Square Standard charges a flat rate of 2.65% + CA$0.10 for in-person card payments and 2.9% + CA$0.30 for online sales, regardless of card category. Some flat-rate plans offer flat per-transaction debit fees. Moneris Flat Rate Pricing charges CA$0.12 in-person and CA$1 online for Interac debit. However, percentage-based flat-rate options pocket massive margins on low-cost credit and debit transactions. Interchange plus guarantees you pay only the exact wholesale network fee plus a fixed processor margin.

Interchange plus passes wholesale card network fees to merchants at cost plus a fixed processor markup. Flat rate pricing charges a fixed structure across all transactions, ignoring underlying network rates. Flat rates provide predictable statement totals for low-volume sellers, but that simplicity carries a steep price premium. Interchange plus exposes true card-acceptance costs, so growing Canadian businesses capture the financial benefit of low-interchange cards.

Evaluating Moneris vs Square benchmarks exposes this structural difference. Square Standard charges a flat 2.65% + CA$0.10 in-person and 2.9% + CA$0.30 online. Moneris Simplified Pricing uses an interchange-plus structure, passing interchange and network assessment fees at cost while charging a 0.4% processor transaction fee. Moneris Flat Rate Pricing sets rates at 2.65% + CA$0.10 for card-present sales, 2.85% + CA$0.30 for card-not-present sales, and flat Interac debit fees of CA$0.12 in-person or CA$1 online. Helcim Interchange Plus charges a margin of 0.4% + CA$0.08 for card-present or 0.5% + CA$0.25 for online sales on top of the wholesale interchange fees.

Switching to interchange plus saves Canadian merchants up to CA$4,680 per year by driving effective processing rates down to 1.94%. Take a merchant processing CA$10,000 per month with a CA$50 average sale (200 transactions, 60% credit / 40% debit mix). Moneris Simplified Pricing card-present costs CA$194 per month. This equals CA$2,328 per year at a 1.94% all-in effective rate, based on tracked average credit interchange of 1.54% plus the 0.4% markup. Evaluating Helcim vs Square at this same volume shows Helcim Interchange Plus card-present costs CA$210 per month or CA$2,520 per year (2.1% effective rate). Helcim online costs CA$254 per month or CA$3,048 per year (2.54% effective rate).

Flat-rate options charge significantly higher costs at the same CA$10,000 monthly volume. Square Standard card-present costs CA$285 per month or CA$3,420 per year (2.85% effective rate). Moneris Flat Rate Pricing online costs CA$287 per month or CA$3,444 per year (2.87% effective rate). Square Standard online costs CA$350 per month or CA$4,200 per year (3.5% effective rate). The spread between the cheapest option (Moneris Simplified Pricing card-present at CA$2,328 per year) and the most expensive (Square Standard online at CA$4,200 per year) reaches CA$1,872 annually.

Scale this to CA$25,000 per month in card volume with a CA$50 average sale (500 transactions, identical mix). Moneris Simplified Pricing card-present costs CA$485 per month or CA$5,820 per year (1.94% effective rate). Helcim Interchange Plus card-present runs CA$525 per month or CA$6,300 per year (2.1% effective rate). Helcim online reaches CA$635 per month or CA$7,620 per year (2.54% effective rate). Square Standard card-present climbs to CA$712.50 per month or CA$8,550 per year (2.85% effective rate). Moneris Flat Rate Pricing online hits CA$717.50 per month or CA$8,610 per year (2.87% effective rate). Square Standard online explodes to CA$875 per month or CA$10,500 per year (3.5% effective rate). Dropping from the most expensive CA$10,500 option to the cheapest CA$5,820 option keeps a direct CA$4,680 in your business each year.

A Canadian merchant with a 60% credit and 40% debit processing mix should switch to interchange plus immediately. It is cheaper than flat-rate alternatives at every volume level. Based on our break-even analysis, Moneris Simplified Pricing card-present beats Square Standard card-present across all transaction volumes for this specific sales mix.

This break-even math works because Moneris Simplified Pricing pushes the marginal processing rate down to an effective 1.94% without adding high fixed monthly subscription costs. Unlike fixed subscription tiers, interchange-plus options deliver immediate per-transaction savings without demanding minimum monthly processing thresholds.