In addition to the CardTraq platforms, we offer tailored card profitability engagements leveraging our expert practitioners. There are 9 core services we offer:

Laptop displaying graphs and charts, illustrating Scheme Fee Review analysis.
01

Scheme Fee Review

For issuers, acquirers, & ISOs

This service involves a comprehensive review of the client's scheme fees over the past year. We analyze invoices, fee structures, and incentives to identify discrepancies, unnecessary costs, and potential billing errors.

Clients gain transparency over their fee structure, enabling them to remove unnecessary costs and challenge inappropriate charges. This assessment improves budgeting accuracy, helps in planning product profitability, and informs strategic decisions like scheme selection or contract negotiations.

Our Scheme Fee Optimization service typically identifies 7%–15% in potential cost savings.
Modern skyscrapers in a cityscape, representing the scale of acquirer interchange portfolios.
02

Interchange Review

For acquirers & ISOs

This review helps clients optimize interchange by analyzing transaction-level data, merchant and product setups, and fee qualification patterns. It identifies revenue leakage, downgrade risks, and misapplied rates to ensure accurate categorization and improve net interchange performance.

Clients typically improve net interchange by increasing revenue or reducing costs, while enhancing pricing accuracy. Greater visibility into interchange drivers helps confirm partner-share allocations, reduce inefficiencies, and improve overall program profitability.

Our Interchange Review typically yields 5%–10% improvement.
Abstract illustration of blue rectangular and square prisms, representing structured cost allocation.
03

Cost Allocation Service

For issuers, acquirers & ISOs

This one-time or ongoing managed service offers a structured approach to allocating scheme fees to merchants or programs. The model ingests fee data, applies customizable allocation rules, and provides transparent calculations for each merchant or volume category.

The cost allocation model maximizes cost recovery, improves profitability, and ensures consistent fee allocation practices. Clients benefit from increased visibility and reduced manual intervention, which enhances operational efficiency and supports defensible pricing for merchants.

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04

Pricing Efficacy Review

For acquirers & ISOs

Our Pricing Efficacy Review helps clients evaluate how effectively they recover scheme and interchange fees from merchants. The review combines granular analysis of past billing and cost data with defensible allocation models to identify under- or over-recovery at the merchant level.

The review pinpoints margin leakage, informs re-pricing strategies, and strengthens pricing transparency. By mapping actual costs to merchant charges, acquirers can optimize profitability, ensure compliance, and reduce manual billing effort.

Row of blue and white storefronts with awnings and shopping bags, representing merchant pricing.
05

Merchant Pricing Model

For acquirers & ISOs

Our Merchant Pricing Model allows clients to price merchants accurately by integrating various pricing structures (e.g., blended, interchange++, etc.) with a robust set of revenue and cost drivers, including scheme fees, interchange, and operational expenses.

This model enables consistent, data-driven pricing decisions by calculating accurate P&L and KPIs for each merchant. The tool's flexibility helps clients adjust assumptions and gain insights into merchant profitability, allowing for competitive and transparent pricing.

Digital credit and debit cards flying into an open box, representing scheme incentive deal evaluation.
06

Scheme Incentive Agreement Support

For issuers

CRG provides expert, end-to-end support for issuers renegotiating incentive agreements or selecting between Visa and Mastercard incentive agreements. We analyze the full net cost of operating with each scheme, including fees, incentives, and interchange, and help clients navigate the commercial, financial, and strategic implications of each option.

Our structured process ensures issuers make informed, data-driven decisions when securing or renewing scheme deals. We deliver custom operating models, benchmark key terms, evaluate trade-offs under different growth and performance scenarios, and support negotiations through to agreement finalization.

Watercolor illustration of an itemized billing statement, credit cards, and a calculator, representing merchant pass-through review.
07

Merchant Pass-through Review

For acquirers & ISOs

A detailed analysis of scheme fees and merchant pricing to determine additional scheme fee recovery. We calculate the appropriate fee allocations with recommendations based on industry best practices, revealing under- and over-recovery against pricing. Output informs back-book re-pricing and acquiring margins.

Watercolor illustration of a magnifying glass over a grid of credit cards with a pie chart visible, representing portfolio profitability analysis.
08

Portfolio Profitability Diagnostic

For issuers, acquirers, & ISOs

A rigorous deconstruction of income and cost drivers across a card portfolio. For issuers we reveal program-, product- and customer-level profitability; for acquirers we compute merchant-level profitability from transaction-level income and costs. Output informs pricing strategy, product redesign, and re-pricing.

Watercolor illustration of gears, toggle switches, and credit cards, representing interchange configuration support.
09

Interchange Configuration Support

For acquirers & ISOs

A one-off engagement that defines interchange fees and application logic so acquirers can correctly configure their processing and billing systems, either via direct guidance or ready-to-deploy configuration tables. The result is optimal interchange rates, fewer scheme overrides, and clearer transaction-level cost for merchant pricing.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

What is a card scheme fee review and why does it matter?

A card scheme fee review is a specialized analysis of the fees charged by Visa and Mastercard across an issuer's or acquirer's portfolio. It helps identify hidden costs, billing inconsistencies, and avoidable charges that are often buried in invoices and fee schedules. For many organizations, it is one of the clearest ways to improve margin without changing core business operations.

How much can issuers and acquirers save with a scheme fee review?

Savings vary based on portfolio size, fee complexity, and how closely scheme costs have been monitored over time. Most reviews identify savings opportunities in the range of 7-15% of total scheme fee spend tied to unnecessary services, governance gaps, or misapplied charges. For larger portfolios, even modest percentage improvements can represent substantial annual financial impact.

What makes CardTraq's scheme fee review different?

CardTraq goes beyond high-level invoice checks by analyzing scheme costs on a line by line basis and also identifying the specific drivers that shape total spend. The review looks at fee structures, program participation, controllability, and pricing logic to show where action can be taken. That means clients receive not just visibility, but practical insight that supports stronger financial decisions.

How does interchange optimization improve profitability?

Interchange optimization improves profitability by helping acquirers qualify more consistently at the appropriate rates and by reducing unnecessary downgrade exposure. It also reveals where merchant setups, product configurations, or processing patterns are limiting performance. The result is better revenue retention, stronger pricing accuracy, and a more informed view of transaction economics. For Issuers, interchange optimization enhances income through optimized product issuance.

Why do bin sponsors and acquirers need a cost allocation model for scheme fees?

Without a clear allocation model, scheme fees are often at least partially absorbed as overhead or distributed using rough assumptions that distort client pricing. A structured model makes it possible to assign costs across clients, merchants, products, or programs in a consistent and defensible way. This improves recovery, pricing transparency, and internal confidence in how scheme costs are managed.

Why should acquirers undertake a merchant pricing efficacy review?

Merchant pricing often drifts out of alignment with actual cost to serve, especially as scheme fees change and portfolios evolve. A pricing efficacy review compares what merchants are paying against the true cost of processing their transactions, including interchange, assessments, and scheme fees. This reveals where margin is being lost to outdated pricing structures, mismatched rate plans, or unrecovered cost increases. The result is a clearer view of portfolio profitability and a foundation for more informed pricing decisions.

Ready to optimize your scheme fees?

Our team of seasoned experts is here to help you gain control of your payment card costs. Let us show you how CardTraq can optimize your compliance and scheme fee management to deliver significant savings.

Book a demo or contact us for a personalized consultation.

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