Visa's Canadian rate cut is live. Moneris, TD and Square show why it may not reach your bill

Visa's expanded Small Merchant Interchange Program is now in effect in Canada. Merchants with less than C$750,000 a year in Visa volume, up from C$300,000, qualify for lower consumer credit interchange, with the card-present rate on Classic, Gold and Platinum cards down from 0.77% to 0.70%. We covered the change itself in our post on Canada's fall fee changes. The processors' own notices show that a lower interchange rate and a lower bill are not the same thing.

What three processors have published

Processor	What its notice says
Moneris	The new criteria apply from October 24, 2026. Moneris says it is passing the reduced rates through to eligible merchants on simplified pricing, which it describes as "interchange plus" or "cost plus".
TD Merchant Solutions	Interchange-plus merchants get the new Visa rates from October 22. Merchants on other pricing (TD lists DRAF, flat rate and simplified pricing) with C$750,000 or less in annual Visa volume "may qualify for a reduced Visa Credit Rate" effective November 1, 2026, appearing on the November statement delivered in December.
Square Canada	Its payment terms, updated October 23, 2026, carry a notice about the Visa reductions and say sellers may give notice to exit without penalty within 100 calendar days, a window that expires February 1, 2027. Square's published in-person credit rate is still a flat 2.5%, with Interac debit at 0.75% + 7 cents.

Square's standard plan has no fixed term, so its sellers can leave at any time anyway. The broader point is in Square's own terms, which follow the Code of Conduct disclosure format: alongside a fee increase or a new fee, "a reduction in applicable interchange rates that is not fully passed on to the merchant" is listed as an event after which a merchant may cancel without penalty.

Surcharging can cost you the lower rate

Moneris and TD both say merchants that surcharge do not qualify for the Visa small merchant program. Moneris adds that Visa and Mastercard reassess eligibility every year on October 1 to September 30 volume, can remove merchants at any time, and that savings applied to a merchant later found ineligible may be clawed back. Mastercard's own small business threshold stays at C$175,000.

Know which plan you're on. If your statement shows interchange as its own line with a markup on top, the cut should already be visible. If you pay one blended rate, check your November statement, and if the rate didn't move, ask your processor in writing whether the reduction was passed on and what your exit window is. Our guide to the Code of Conduct rights most Canadian merchants never use explains how.

What we'd suggest for Toronto restaurants

Read two statements, not one. Interac's per-transaction fees rise on November 1 while Visa's credit rates fall, so your October and November statements can move in opposite directions on debit and credit.

Work out your real rate. The card-present cut on Classic, Gold and Platinum Visa cards is 7 basis points, or C$70 a year for every C$100,000 you run on those cards. Our ten-minute effective rate guide shows how to see where the rest of your cost sits. Our Toronto restaurant payment processing page covers what GTA operators typically pay, and our cash discount program page explains how a discount for cash and debit differs from a surcharge under the Code of Conduct.

Did the Visa cut reach you?

Send us your October and November statements and we'll show you whether the lower Visa rates were passed through, and your true effective rate for credit and debit, within one business day. No cost and no obligation.

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Sources

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