Visa and Mastercard both say pricing grew their fee revenue. Visa plans as much new pricing again in 2027

The two biggest card networks reported results this week, and both named the same driver. On October 27, 2026, Visa's finance chief told analysts that the network's service and data processing revenue grew faster than card volume "primarily due to pricing." Two days later, Mastercard's third quarter release listed pricing among the drivers of its payment network revenue. Network pricing is part of what processors pay and, one way or another, pass on to merchants.

What Visa said

• Revenue. Net revenue for the quarter to September 30 was $12.1 billion, up 13%. Full fiscal year revenue was about $46 billion, up 15%.
• Pricing. On the earnings call, CFO Chris Suh said service revenue grew 14%, above the 10% growth in payments volume, "primarily due to pricing," and data processing revenue grew 16%, above 10% growth in processed transactions, "primarily due to pricing, higher cross-border transaction mix and value-added services."
• 2027. "We expect the benefits of new pricing to be similar in magnitude and timing as in 2026, with the majority going into effect in the back half even more so than in 2026," Suh said. Visa's fiscal 2027 runs from October 2026 to September 2027, so the back half is roughly April to September 2027.
• The swipe fee case. Visa recorded a $469 million litigation provision for the interchange multidistrict litigation in the quarter, and $1.7 billion for the year for that case and other legal matters. On September 18 it deposited $405 million into its US litigation escrow account.

What Mastercard said

• Revenue. Third quarter net revenue was $9.8 billion, up 14%. Payment network net revenue rose 11%, and the release lists gross dollar volume, cross-border volume, switched transactions and pricing as the drivers.
• Services. Value-added services and solutions revenue rose 19%, which Mastercard attributed to its key drivers, strong demand across several services, and pricing.
• Incentives. Rebates and incentives paid to customers, mostly card-issuing banks, rose 18%, which Mastercard tied to volume growth and new and renewed deals.

What it means for a restaurant

Network fee changes usually arrive as a line in a processor notice rather than a headline. Canada has had two this fall: Mastercard's new Network Access and Brand Usage (NABU) fee replaced its acquirer clearing fees from October 19, and Visa is set to add a similar per-transaction fee from April 2027. Both are covered in Canada's fall card fee changes, and the Code of Conduct gives Canadian merchants a window to exit penalty-free when a network fee increase is passed on. In the US, the Visa and Mastercard swipe fee settlement goes to its final approval hearing on November 16; it deals with interchange and surcharging rules, not with network fees.

Three practical steps:

• Compare the Visa and Mastercard fee lines on your October statement with September's, and keep every processor notice you receive.
• If you are on a flat or tiered rate, work out your effective rate each month; our ten-minute guide shows how.
• If your processor raises your rate and points to network costs, ask which network fee changed, by how much, and from what date.

Our cash discount program page explains how a discount for cash and debit works under Canada's Code of Conduct and US card network and state rules. Restaurants in Toronto and the GTA, Tampa Bay, Miami and Naples can see what operators there typically pay on our area pages.