![]() They charge two fees per foreign transaction: Mastercard’s international fees include both credit and debit cards issued outside of the states as well. Add up a potential currency exchange rate, and you’re looking at up to 1.65% in additional fees. These two fees are charged at the same time and stack on each other, so whenever you see the ISA you’ll see the IAF alongside it, unfortunately. Well… a lot of it is just semantics across cardmember associations, but Visa does charge both two separate fees - the international service assessment fee and the international acquirer fee. International service assessment fees, international service fees, international processing fees, International acquirer fees… what’s the difference anyway? Difference between the ISA fee and the IAF fee The International Acquirer Fee applies under the same circumstances as the International Service Assessment Fee noted above. ![]() When a customer chooses to transact in a foreign currency, Visa tacks on another 0.40%. dollars, there’s no currency exchange element involved and the fee stays at 0.80%. ![]() If the customer chooses to settle in U.S. The International Service Assessment Fee applies to U.S.-acquired transactions paid for with a card issued outside of the U.S, and this fee varies depending on what currency the transaction is settled in.Į.g. International Service Assessment Fee (ISA fee) – 0.80% – 1.20% Visa charges two fees per foreign transaction: If you notice they’ve changed or are higher than normal, the cardmember associations may have upped them in 2019. The percent charged and unique names for ISA fees vary by bank. ![]() There’s no way around this, so preparing for the fee is your best bet. Again, it’s about the bank’s relationship - not the transaction itself. eCommerce transactions are subject to this as well, even if that person uses a foreign card to ship to a U.S.-based address. This isn’t restricted to in-store transactions, either. They pull out their home country’s travel card and swipe/insert away, but you have to pay for that convenience. The most common example of an ISA fee in practice is when out-of-country tourists make a transaction at your business. If a transaction occurs in the U.S., and the customer uses a card issued by a bank registered or based out of a different country - even if the bank has a branch or what have you in the states, then the merchant will be charged an international service fee. International service fees have to do with the relationship between the acquiring bank (the bank the business or merchant account is associated with) and the issuing bank (the card-issuing bank on the customer side. When are international service fees charged? Many processors separate international fees from your normal interchange fees on your statement, but if they don’t you can estimate that any international transaction will cost you between 2-3% plus whatever your payment processor normally charges per transaction. ISA fees are charged when an international transaction occurs, regardless of the circumstances. This isn’t based on a per-country rate, per transaction rate, or per business rate. Visa and other cardmember associations/issuing banks set the rates, and they are the same for everyone. While interchange rates are always charged on international transactions and range between 1-2%, international service fees are additional fees on top of the interchange rates. MasterCard, Discover, and American Express have similar international fees. What is an ISA fee?Īn International service assessment (ISA) fee is a processing fee charged by Visa to merchants whenever a customer chooses to use a credit or debit card issued by a bank outside of the United States. Ranging between under half a percent to over a percent, these fees can really add up - especially when stacked on top of other interchange and processing fees. These fees are also known as international fees or international transaction fees, and the name and rate attached to these fees change according to the card issuer. One of the best things you can do as a business owner is to understand why processing fees are charged and when, and a common fee that often comes as a surprise is what Visa calls an international assessment fee or ISA fee. Where are all these annoying fees coming from? Why are they so high this month compared to last month? What can you do about it? You open up your processing statement for the month, only to find it is much higher than you thought it would be.
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