Card Regions and Fees

In this article, you will learn what Mastercard and Visa mean by domestic, intraregional, and interregional transactions and how these impact merchant fees.

Card networks such as Mastercard and Visa divide the world into various regions. Depending on where the merchant is located and the country in which the customer's credit card was issued, different transaction fees apply.

Generally, the following types of transactions are distinguished:

Domestic

Domestic Transactions: Merchant and credit card in the same country

Fees: $

Intra

Intraregional Transactions: Merchant and credit card in the same region

Fees: $$

Inter

International Transactions: Merchant and credit card in different regions

Fees: $$$

Domestic Transactions (Domestic)

The merchant's country matches the country where the credit card was issued.

Examples:

• A card issued in 🇨🇭 Switzerland is used at a merchant in 🇨🇭 Switzerland.

• A card issued in 🇦🇹 Austria is used at a merchant in 🇦🇹 Austria.

• A card issued in the 🇺🇸 United States is used at a merchant in the 🇺🇸 United States.

Fees:

Domestic transactions generally incur the lowest fees due to lower regulatory and operational costs.

Intraregional Transactions (Intra)

The merchant's country does not match the country where the credit card was issued. Both countries are within the European Economic Area (EEA).

Examples:

• A card issued in 🇦🇹 Austria is used at a merchant in 🇮🇹 Italy.
• A card issued in 🇫🇷 France is used at a merchant in 🇩🇪 Germany.
• A card issued in 🇨🇾 Cyprus is used at a merchant in 🇩🇰 Denmark.

Fees:

The fee amount usually falls between those of domestic and inter-regional transactions.

Interregional Transactions (Inter)

The merchant's country and the country where the credit card was issued are neither in the same country nor in the same region.

Examples:

• A card issued in 🇨🇭 Switzerland is used at a merchant in 🇩🇪 Germany.
• A card issued in 🇦🇹 Austria is used at a merchant in 🇨🇭 Switzerland.
• A card issued in the 🇺🇸 United States is used at a merchant in 🇩🇪 Germany.
• A card issued in the 🇬🇧 United Kingdom is used at a merchant in 🇮🇹 Italy.

Fees:

Interregional transactions incur the highest fees due to additional risks and higher processing requirements.

The European Economic Area

The European Economic Area (EEA) includes the following 30 countries:

🇦🇹 Austria	🇩🇰 Denmark	🇭🇺 Hungary	🇱🇹 Lithuania	🇵🇹 Portugal
🇧🇪 Belgium	🇪🇪 Estonia	🇮🇸 Iceland	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	🇷🇴 Romania
🇧🇬 Bulgaria	🇫🇮 Finland	🇮🇪 Ireland	🇲🇹 Malta	🇸🇰 Slovakia
🇭🇷 Croatia	🇫🇷 France	🇮🇹 Italy	🇳🇱 Netherlands	🇸🇮 Slovenia
🇨🇾 Cyprus	🇩🇪 Germany	🇱🇻 Latvia	🇳🇴 Norway	🇪🇸 Spain
🇨🇿 Czechia	🇬🇷 Greece	🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	🇵🇱 Poland	🇸🇪 Sweden

Since 🇨🇭 Switzerland is not a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), payments made with credit cards issued in these countries are classified as inter-regional transactions.