"IC++" — interchange plus plus — is the most transparent pricing model in card acquiring. Most UK businesses doing more than £20k a month in card volume will save money on IC++ versus a blended rate. But the model isn't right for every business, and the savings depend heavily on your card mix.

How IC++ works

Under IC++ you pay three separate components on every transaction:

  • Interchange — set by Visa and Mastercard, paid to the card-issuing bank. Capped at 0.2% for UK consumer debit and 0.3% for UK consumer credit by FCA rules.
  • Scheme fees — paid to Visa and Mastercard themselves, typically 5–10 bps depending on transaction type.
  • Acquirer margin — what the acquirer (e.g., Monek) keeps. Fair UK margins in 2026 are 20–40 bps plus a small per-transaction fee.

When IC++ saves you money

IC++ is materially cheaper than a blended rate when:

  • You take a healthy proportion of UK consumer debit cards — these clear at 0.2% interchange, well below any blended rate.
  • Your monthly card volume is above ~£20k — the per-transaction fees average out in your favour at scale.
  • You have clean, low-risk transactions — face-to-face contactless, recurring subscriptions, or in-app payments rather than high-risk MOTO.

When blended is fine

If you're a low-volume merchant taking under £5k/month, or your card mix is heavily skewed to corporate and international cards, a blended rate may actually work out better — and the simpler statement is easier to forecast against.

The bottom line

Ask your acquirer (current or prospective) to quote you both. A reputable provider will be happy to run the maths against your last three months of statements. If they refuse, that tells you something about which model is actually cheaper for you.