What are international card transactions? 

International card transactions refer to payments made by your customers using their debit or credit cards from outside your Flutterwave sign-up country. For instance, if you registered as a Nigerian merchant and received a card payment in Kenyan Shillings (KES) from a customer, this payment would be classified as an international card transaction.

What is the new fee for international card transactions? 

The international card transaction fee has been increased from 3.8% to 4.8% per transaction for all international card payments.

Why are we increasing our international card transaction fee? 

We are increasing our international card transaction fee because the card schemes (e.g. Visa, Mastercard) have increased the interchange fees for processing card payments, leading to higher processing costs. We have to review our pricing to reflect these changes while continuing to offer you secure and reliable payment solutions.

What are interchange fees? 

Interchange fees are charges set by card networks (like Visa and Mastercard) that the cardholder’s (your customer) bank applies to process card payments. These fees are paid by the acquiring bank - Flutterwave’s bank partner for card payments and are fixed by the card networks. This is included in Flutterwave’s card processing fees and we reimburse the acquiring bank for these interchange fees.

Card processing fees consist of three main components:

• Card scheme fees: A charge from the card network for using its network

• Acquirer markup: A charge from the acquirer for securing funds from your customer.

• Interchange fee: Levied by the cardholder’s bank

Interchange fees represent the largest portion of overall card processing costs.

Will this fee increase affect all payments? 

No, the change impacts only international card payments. 

No other payment method is impacted. Local transactions and transfers (payouts) will maintain their current pricing.

When will the new fee take effect? 

The new fee will take effect on Monday, 5th November, 2024. 

Can I pass the fee to my customers?

Yes, you can choose to pass the fee to your customers or bear the fee. To pass the fee to your customers, follow these steps: 

• Login to your dashboard

• Navigate to Settings

• Click on Business Preferences

• Go to Fee Settings

• Select "Charge me for this" under International processing fees.