As a result of the Walmart Settlement and to compete against PIN-based debit cards (which are processed outside of the Visa and MasterCard networks), Visa and MasterCard lowered the interchange rates for debit cards well below those for credit cards. Some providers can pass on the lower cost of these cards directly to merchants. Consequently, the three tiers programs have added two classifications for debit cards that are processed without a PIN or with a PIN for a total of six rate classifications.
