Visa lowers merchant credit fees for small businesses

NEW YORK (AP) — Visa says it will lower its credit card “swipe” fees for online and in-store transactions by 10% for small businesses starting in April.

The move comes as the digital payments sector becomes increasingly competitive.

Visa, one of the world’s largest payment companies, is facing new forms of competition, particularly from tech firms that have debuted alternative forms of payment that go around the traditional Visa and Mastercard networks.

Visa currently charges 1.5% to 2.4% in consumer credit card interchange rates.

The 10% cut takes place in April.