Interchange Fees in Various Countries: Developments and Determinants

Interchange fees and related issues in payment card markets have been the focus of considerable attention recently. The academic community and public officials have begun to scrutinize these markets. Meanwhile, these markets continue to experience dynamic change as card payments account for an ever-growing share of overall payments. This paper provides an overview of interchange fee developments and issues, and also presents a preliminary analysis of some possible contributing factors. The principal conclusion of the paper is that interchange arrangements vary considerably across countries, and while existing economic theory provides some insight into this market, much remains to be explained.