Skip to main content

B2B and Commercial Card Processing

Last updated . Copy page as text

TL;DR
  • Visa, US: Ask about CEDP and Product 3. Don't use the old general Level 2/3 savings ladder
  • Fuel is an exception. Visa's April 2026 schedule still has a Commercial Level II - Fuel row
  • Mastercard: Level 2/3 programs have their own card and merchant requirements
  • Amex: Confirm enhanced-data support and pricing separately
  • Check your bill. Extra data doesn't guarantee a lower total fee

Sell to businesses? Check which cards you take and which data programs your processor supports. Don't apply one savings percentage to all B2B sales.

What Are Commercial Cards?​

Commercial cards are payment cards issued to businesses, not consumers. They include:

Card TypeIssued ToTypical Use
Corporate cardsEmployeesTravel, expenses
Purchasing cards (P-cards)Procurement teamsSupplies, equipment
Fleet cardsDriversFuel, vehicle expenses
Business cardsSmall business ownersBusiness expenses

Why Commercial Cards Matter​

  • Card mix matters: Business, corporate, purchasing and prepaid cards have different rate rows
  • Qualification matters: Check the exact network program with your processor
  • Your price matters: Ask whether any saving reaches your bill after added fees

Commercial-Card Data​

Tax, order references and line items can help eligible commercial-card sales qualify for a program rate. More fields alone don't guarantee a saving.

Savings Calculation​

What the schedules actually say​

NetworkCurrent guidance
Visa, USUse CEDP/Product 3 guidance. Fuel Level II remains
MastercardCheck Data Rate II or III for the exact commercial card
American ExpressConfirm the supported data service and your agreement

Visa's 18 April 2026 schedule lists Commercial Product 3: 1.75% + $0.10 for purchasing and corporate cards. Business Product 3: 2.40% to 2.75% + $0.10 varies by spend tier. Commercial Level II - Fuel: 2.20% + $0.10 remains. These aren't your all-in processing rates. Visa schedule, section E p. 13 and section G p. 18.

The same schedule lists the rates without it: Commercial Card Present 2.50% + $0.10, Commercial Card Not Present 2.70% + $0.10, and Business Product 1 2.65% to 3.00% + $0.10 by spend tier, before any CEDP fees. Visa, sections E and G.

Business Product 2 is still listed. Don't read its number as a promise that sending Level 2 data earns that rate today.

Work Out Your Net Saving​

Ask your processor to compare the same cards and sales before and after qualification. Include program fees, service fees and later adjustments. Don't multiply all B2B revenue by a generic discount.

Network-Specific Requirements​

Visa Commercial​

Ask about CEDP eligibility, accurate product data, verification and any later rate adjustments. Stripe says unverified businesses can qualify transaction by transaction; verification affects when Product 3 pricing applies. Sending line items doesn't guarantee it. Stripe CEDP guidance.

Stripe also warns that a CEDP scheme fee applies to Visa US sales that send line item data on qualified cards. Ask the amount, and whether you can opt out, before you switch data submission on.

No clean public Visa CEDP program manual was found. Stripe does publish provider-specific qualification, verification and fee guidance. Ask your processor for your exact requirements.

Mastercard Commercial​

Mastercard's 17 April 2026 US schedule lists Data Rate I and II for small-business credit. Its separate commercial debit, prepaid and large-market credit table also lists Data Rate III for large-market credit. Don't treat every commercial card as eligible for every data rate. Mastercard commercial tables, PDF pp. 7-8.

Mastercard still publishes the gap. For small-business credit, Data Rate I runs 2.65% to 3.00% + $0.10 by tier and Data Rate II runs 1.90% to 2.25% + $0.10, a gap of 0.75 points at each tier. On a $500 sale at the lowest tier that's $13.35 against $9.60 before markup. Large-market credit lists Data Rate I at 2.70% + $0.10 and Data Rate III at 1.90% + $0.10. Prepaid lists I and II at the same 2.65% + $0.10 outside petroleum, so extra data buys nothing there. These are interchange rows, not your all-in price, and each sale still has to meet Mastercard's data and category rules. Mastercard commercial tables, PDF pp. 7 to 8.

American Express​

Confirm enhanced-data support with Amex and your processor. Amex documents Level 3 line-item reporting for eligible Amazon Business purchases, with account setup required. That reporting example isn't a general merchant discount promise. Stripe says Amex cost savings require a direct agreement with Amex. Amex example, footnote 1; Stripe restrictions.

Required Data Fields​

Your processor's field list is the one to implement. Don't copy a universal network checklist.

For Stripe's Product 3 path, check accurate product names, product codes, quantities, unit costs, units of measure, tax and an order reference. Confirm current field names and limits in Stripe's line-item documentation.

For Mastercard Level 2 through Stripe PaymentIntents, the minimum is the actual tax total and an order reference. Stripe also applies card, MCC and tax eligibility checks; its usual Mastercard Level 2 tax band is 0.1% to 30%, with listed MCC exceptions. For Mastercard Level 3, use the product-detail fields above and check the separate card and MCC exclusions. Stripe accepts genuine zero tax for Level 3 and Product 3. An accepted API request doesn't prove qualification. Stripe eligibility and minimum fields.

Never invent tax or product detail to fill a field. Stripe's CEDP guidance warns against generic names and incorrect tax amounts.

Implementation Guide​

Step 1: Assess Opportunity​

Pull a processor report. Split Visa, Mastercard and Amex, then identify cards and sales eligible for each program. Ask for a net savings estimate on that volume.

Step 2: Check Processor Support​

  1. "Do you support Visa CEDP, Mastercard Level 2/3 and Amex enhanced data?"
  2. "Which of my cards and merchant categories qualify?"
  3. "Which fields and integration methods do you support?"
  4. "What fees apply, and how will savings or adjustments appear?"

Step 3: Map Your Data​

Map real invoice fields to your processor's current specification. Check tax, product detail and totals.

Step 4: Implement​

Use the supported route for your account. Stripe documents PaymentIntents, Checkout, Billing and Invoicing for CEDP. A custom API checkout isn't always required.

Step 5: Verify and Monitor​

Check qualification and net fees in your processor's reports. For Visa, ask about Product 3 and CEDP status. Don't expect every eligible Visa sale to have a Level II or III label. Stripe publishes CEDP verification and data-quality reports; ask your processor what it provides.

Common Implementation Challenges​

Challenge: Missing Tax Data​

Use the actual tax amount. Ask your processor how to report a genuine zero-tax sale; don't estimate a token tax value for qualification.

Challenge: Missing PO Numbers​

Ask which order reference your processor accepts. Don't invent a customer PO.

Challenge: Product Code Mapping​

Use accurate product codes and descriptions. Avoid generic filler.

Challenge: Line Item Limitations​

Check your processor's field and item limits before submitting an order.

Large Ticket Programs​

Visa and Mastercard publish separate large-ticket programs. They don't share one set of thresholds or data requirements. Ask your processor which program, card and transaction size apply before quoting a saving.

Visa's schedule lists Commercial Product Large Ticket at 1.30% + $35.00. Its Large Purchase Advantage program runs from 0.70% + $49.50 on card-not-present sales over $10,000 down to 0.40% + $58.50 over $500,000. Visa, section E.

Government and GSA​

Check the exact government card and program with your processor. Don't assume every government sale qualifies for Product 3 or needs the same data. Stripe lists additional Visa GSA T&E exclusions in its eligibility table.

Operational Considerations​

Invoice Reconciliation​

B2B customers often need:

  • Detailed invoices matching card transactions
  • PO number on statements
  • Line item detail for AP matching

Returns and Credits​

  • Ask your processor which data to send with full and partial credits. Check the resulting fee treatment separately

Reporting​

Track:

  • Qualification by network and program
  • Downgrade reasons
  • Savings achieved vs. baseline

Scale Callout​

Before you investWhat to check
Find eligible volumeSplit cards by network and program
Get a quoteInclude added fees and implementation cost
Confirm the resultCompare qualified sales and net fees

Where This Breaks​

  1. Consumer-heavy business. Count eligible commercial cards before budgeting a saving. B2B revenue alone isn't eligible card volume

  2. Implementation cost exceeds savings. $5,000 development project for $1,000/year savings = bad ROI. Assess before building.

  3. Data quality issues. Garbage data doesn't qualify. Clean data is prerequisite.

Next Steps​

Assessing opportunity?

  1. Understand commercial cards - Corporate, purchasing, fleet
  2. Check potential savings - Use eligible volume and net fees
  3. Follow assessment steps - Pull 90 days data

Implementing commercial-card data?

  1. Know required fields - Tax, PO, line items
  2. Check processor support - Ask key questions
  3. Map your data - System fields to requirements

Solving common challenges?

  1. Handle missing tax data - Report actual tax
  2. Handle missing PO numbers - Confirm accepted order references
  3. Map product codes - Use accurate product data

Something wrong on this page? Email matt at paymentsandrisk.com and say what needs fixing.