Upcoming changes to Visa Level 2 and CEDP rates for small business cards

Over the past year, Visa has made several adjustments to interchange rates. Visa has added CEDP fees and adjusted interchange rates for commercial and small business cards. The impact of these changes is not uniform, but rather depends on the card type and applicable data rate.

The CEDP program initially produced significant savings over current Level 2 and 3 interchange rate programs on both business and corporate/purchasing cards for merchants who consistently sent CEDP validated data. While savings will continue for corporate and purchasing cards, Visa recently announced that it will be reducing the CEDP savings for small business cards. In January 2026, there will be two significant changes to Visa interchange for small business cards.

1. Product 3 rates will increase by 65 basis points
2. Level 2 rates will increase by 75 basis points, making them equal to Business Product 1 rates

These increases only apply to small business cards. Visa has not indicated any changes to CEDP Product 3 rates for corporate and purchasing cards.

The impact depends on what data you are currently sending on Visa small business card transactions. 

Please note that all numbers and calculations are based on the interchange rates Visa has made available as of December 12th, 2025.

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How these changes will impact you and your merchants

The impact to you and your merchants will depend on which of these scenarios best applies to your Visa payment volume:

1. Not sending Level 2 or Level 3 data
2. Sending Level 3 or unverified CEDP/Level 3 data
3. Sending verified CEDP data

The next three sections will examine each scenario for small business cards and corporate/purchasing cards.

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Not sending Level 2 or Level 3 data

Nothing is changing. Your rates remain the same for both commercial and small business cards.

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Sending Level 2 or unverified CEDP/Level 3 data

Business Cards: If you send Level 2 data or your CEDP/Level 3 data isn’t verified, these transactions are at best qualifying for Level 2 data rates. The CEDP fee of 5 basis points was added in April 2025 and Visa will increase Level 2 rates interchange by 75 basis points in January 2026. This is an overall increase of 80 basis points compared to pre-CEDP Level 2 rates. With these increases, Level 2 data rates are actually 5 basis points more than Business Product 1 rates. If your transactions can’t qualify for CEDP, you will save 5 basis points by sending no data and receiving Business Product 1 rates.

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Corporate / Purchasing Cards: The CEDP fee of 5 basis points was added in April 2025. No other interchange changes have been announced. Until April 2026, when Level 2 rates will sunset, you save 15 basis points compared to sending no data. 

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Sending CEDP verified data

Business Cards: In October 2025, Visa reduced interchange by 15 basis points but added a 5 basis point CEDP fee, resulting in a net savings of 10 basis points. Visa recently announced a 65 basis point interchange increase on the applicable CEDP rate, effective January 2026. However, they also announced a 75 basis point increase to Level 2 interchange. Even with the increased CEDP rates, continuing to send CEDP verified data will yield a savings of 25 basis points vs. L2 and 20 basis points vs. sending no data.

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Corporate / Purchasing Cards: In October 2025 you received a net savings of 10 basis points (15 basis points interchange reduction minus the 5 basis points CEDP fee). No other interchange changes have been announced. Continuing to send CEDP verified data will yield a savings of 75 basis points vs. L2 and 90 basis points vs. sending no data.

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Summary and recommendations

Based on an analysis of recent and upcoming changes, the Rainforest team makes the following recommendations:

1. If possible, sending compliant CEDP (enhanced L3) data provides the greatest savings across both commercial and small business cards.
2. If sending compliant CEDP (enhanced L3) data isn’t possible, don’t send Level 2 / 3 data at all. There is no advantage to sending only Level 2 data for business cards. As of January, Level 2 rates on small business cards will be more expensive than sending no data at all.
3. As a general guideline, platforms should expect an increase of roughly 55 basis points for small business cards compared with pre-October 2025 rates, or about 65 basis points compared with October 2025 and later rates.

Next steps

If you’re a current Rainforest platform client and you have questions about how these changes affect your business or how to optimize data submission to reduce costs, contact your dedicated Platform Success Manager.

If you aren’t a Rainforest platform client and you have questions, contact us to request a free payments strategy review. 

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