The rate schedule can be accessed at http://www.mastercardmerchant.com, where merchants have been able to access the MasterCard merchant rules manual since August 2005. The comprehensive document includes the interchange rates, as well as key qualifying criteria associated with each rate.

Walt Macnee, president, Americas, MasterCard, said “Although MasterCard’s US interchange rates have generally been available to merchants both through requests to merchant acquirers and independent sales organizations, and on the Internet, the merchant community has asked us for greater transparency, and we are pleased to accommodate their request.

“Just publishing rates alone could lead to confusion among merchants who may be seeing this information for the first time,” Macnee noted. “We are confident that we are providing merchants with the information they need to understand the interchange rates and structure and determine which rates may apply to their transactions. We want to have an ongoing dialogue with merchants, acquirers and other interested parties about the format and content of our rate disclosure, as we plan to update this document regularly.”

MasterCard typically updates interchange rates semi-annually, and going forward will update these rates on the website after each interchange rate announcement to issuers and acquirers.

“MasterCard has been a leader in providing greater transparency in the payments industry,” said Joshua Peirez, Group Executive, Global Public Policy for MasterCard. “We were the first in the industry to publish our merchant rules and procedures on our website, making them available to all interested parties without restriction, and now we are pleased to address this important issue by also making our interchange rates that apply to US merchants available on our website.”