Visa, Mastercard Prepare For Fee Hike In April

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Brace yourself to potentially pay more when using your Visa or Mastercard.

Both companies are planning to raise their fees on large merchants for the right to accept their credit cards, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The fee increases are set to go into effect in April, according to the report.

The increase was originally set to take place two years ago but were put on hold during the pandemic. Most of the increases will come from higher interchange fees. An interchange fee is the charge a merchant pays to the card-issuing bank every time a consumer swipes their card.

The fees often help build up the companies' rewards programs but are often passed down as higher costs for customers.

Some companies have started charging customers more when they pay with credit cards. Last year Visa and Mastercard made about $55.4 billion in credit card interchange fees.