The card-fee cap is law in October. Here's what it actually saves you.
It's not life-changing money - but most providers won't pass it on unless you ask. We did the maths for a typical café.
Parliament capped per-transaction card fees
From October, the fee your payment processor can charge on each card transaction is limited by law. The cap covers the “interchange” portion most small merchants never see itemised on a statement.
A café taking £4,000 a month saves roughly £18
Run the numbers and it's about 0.45% of card turnover for a typical independent. Not transformational - but it's money you weren't getting back before, every month, for the cost of one phone call.
Check your statement before you switch anything
Most providers won't lower your rate automatically - the cap sets a ceiling, not your price. The saving only lands if you ask.
- ✓Find your effective rate on last month's statement (total fees ÷ total card sales)
- ✓Call your provider and ask them to apply the new capped rate
- ✓If they won't, note your switch window and compare two alternatives
Typical card-fee saving as a share of card turnover for an independent café
Source: SBD analysis of published interchange caps, June 2026 (illustrative)
Not directly - the cap targets the main schemes. Amex sets its own rates, so the saving here is on Visa and Mastercard volume.
Self-taught marketer who started selling online at 17 and went on to freelance for brands across Europe before founding Adlarion. He writes The Small Business Digest in plain English - the news he wishes he'd had when he was starting out.
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