Visa is making a critical change to its interchange fee structure — and if you’re a merchant that accepts business credit cards, it could impact your bottom line as soon as October 2025.
Starting April 2025, the Commercial Enhanced Data Program (CEDP) will begin enforcing invoice-quality data standards across B2B credit card transactions. Merchants who fail to provide complete, accurate Level 3 data — such as line-item details, item description, item quantity, item unit of measure, item freight/shipping amount, and more — risk higher interchange fees.
Let’s break down what’s happening, why it matters, and how Priority helps you stay compliant and profitable.
Key takeaways
- CEDP enforces new data quality standards for Visa’s interchange incentive programs, which offer lower fees for qualified business card transactions.
- Program participants that fail to meet CEDP standards will incur higher transaction costs.
- Priority’s MX™ Gateway helps merchants comply with CEDP transaction data by allowing merchants to enter custom data.
- Visa will officially sunset its Level 2 interchange programs in April 2026.
What is Visa CEDP?
CEDP replaces Visa’s current Level 2 and Level 3 interchange incentives program. These voluntary programs offer reduced credit card interchange rates for business and government transactions when certain conditions are met.
With CEDP, Visa is restructuring its interchange incentive programs — redefining eligibility criteria, program structure, and applicable rates. Acquirers that opt to participate in CEDP will be charged a fee of 0.05% on each relevant transaction.
Why Visa launched CEDP (and why it matters)
The CEDP consolidates the old Level 2 and Level 3 programs into a single framework and rewards merchants who submit “invoice‑quality” data.
The objectives of CEDP include:
- Promoting high-quality, accurate data for commercial transactions
- Validating transaction data and verify merchants based on data quality
- Providing interchange incentives for acquirers meeting data standards
- Supporting better reporting, analytics, and consumer experience
Visa CEDP credit card processing levels
Credit card processing levels define categories of data merchants provide payment processors to verify the transaction. For Visa customers, these categories will change as CEDP goes into effect.
Level 1 data
- What it is: Level 1 has the highest interchange fees and requires merchants to submit the least data. Most everyday consumer purchases fall into this category.
- Data required: Besides card number and expiration date, Level 1 data requires data points such as transaction amount, transaction date, and AVS data.
- Upcoming changes: Level 1 will remain the same under CEDP.
Level 2 data
- What it is: Level 2 has lower interchange fees than Level 1, and applies only to business, corporate, commercial or government transactions.
- Data required: Level 2 data requires merchants to submit all the information required at Level 1, plus additional data like sales tax amount.
- Upcoming changes: Under the new standards, most Level 2 programs will end by April 2026. Many cards will be eligible for expanded Level 3 programs instead (see below).
Level 3 data
- What it is: Merchants who qualify for Level 2 may opt to include Level 3 for large business card transactions. This level has the lowest interchange fees, and the additional information required boosts transparency and trust for large transactions.
- Data required: Level 3 data requires line item detail, which includes item description, item quantity, item unit of measure, item freight / shipping amount, item commodity code, item discount amount, duty amount, product code, unit cost, discount per line item and line item total.
- October 2025 update: As of October 2025, this program will be replaced with new incentives, with expanded eligibility to include new card types.
- Now live: Visa’s CEDP program is now live and actively examining Level 3 data.
Visa CEDP timeline: 2025 enforcement
Visa is rolling out CEDP over the course of a year. Key milestones include:
| Date | Key milestone |
| October 18, 2025 | Visa replaces its existing Level 3 program with the Commercial Enhanced Data Program (CEDP), introducing lower Product 3 interchange rates for verified merchants. |
| April 18, 2026 | Visa discontinues its Level 2 program. From this date forward, CEDP becomes the new standard for qualifying for U.S. interchange savings. Merchants will still be able to submit tax data, but there will be no incentive for them unless they submit quality Level 3 data. Visa has stated that more program details will be released as implementation progresses. |
How does Visa CEDP business verification work?
Under CEDP, the business verification process may take up to 30 days as Visa analyzes data submitted by each business.
Once the process is complete, verified businesses receive reduced rates. However, if Visa detects ongoing data quality issues, businesses may lose their verified status.
Businesses that are not verified can still receive reduced rates.
- Visa will vet the data quality of each individual transaction.
- Then, Visa will send the acquirer an adjustment equal to the difference between the original qualification and the Level 3 qualification.
According to Visa, common data quality issues businesses should avoid include:
- Leaving fields blank
- Filling out fields with a single letter
- Filling out fields with generic information (e.g., a vague product description)
The risk: Higher fees without Level 3 quality data
Under the new rules, card brands will require Level 3 quality transaction data for commercial card payments to qualify for preferred interchange rates. This means that without required data, your transactions will default to higher-cost rates, and business card payments will cost more. See a full list of new CEDP rates below:
| Visa Interchange Program | Current Rate | New CEDP Rate |
| Commercial Fuel Level 3 | 1.90% + $0.10 | 1.75% + $0.10 |
| Corporate Non-Travel Level 3 | 1.90% + $0.10 | 1.75% + $0.10 |
| Purchasing Non-Travel Level 3 | 1.90% + $0.10 | 1.75% + $0.10 |
| Corporate Large Ticket | 1.45% + $35 | 1.30% + $35 |
| Purchasing Large Ticket | 1.45% + $35 | 1.30% + $35 |
The solution: Ability to submit required data with Priority
At Priority, we’re more than a payment platform. We’re your strategic partner.
Our CEDP-Ready MX™ Gateway provides the ability to enter required data.
- Qualify transactions for Level 3 interchange
- Fill in missing data fields and enter all required data
With Priority:
- Expert support helps you navigate complex interchange rules.
- Full assessment and onboarding ensure you’re ready for CEDP.
Who should pay attention to Visa CEDP?
This change affects a wide range of businesses:
- Wholesalers and distributors
- Professional services firms
- Manufacturers
- Suppliers accepting commercial cards
If you accept business card payments and currently rely on Level 2 or 3 interchange rate incentives, this shift will directly impact your cost of acceptance and margin.
How to prepare: A step‑by‑step guide
- Audit your data flows. Verify that your point‑of‑sale, ERP, and gateway systems can capture all required fields and transmit them accurately.
- Engage your processor. Confirm they support CEDP submissions and ask for your current verification status.
- Test regularly. Continue validating your Level-3 data submissions to ensure accuracy and compliance under Visa’s new CEDP standards as of October 2025.
- Monitor your status. Visa reviews status monthly; stay verified by maintaining high data quality.
- Prepare for Level 2 sunset. Ensure your systems can handle full Level‑3 data before April 2026.
- Educate your team. Train accounting and finance staff on the importance of quality data and how to spot errors.
Protect your margins. Stay CEDP compliant.
CEDP is not just a regulatory update — it’s a revenue-impacting event. The good news? You don’t have to navigate it alone.
Priority delivers the tech, tools, and team to position you to qualify for reduced interchange rates.
Contact Priority today to get started with a CEDP readiness assessment and learn how our MX™ Gateway can help you protect your margins.
