COMMENTARY: Visa’s New Commercial Enhanced Data Program: What Merchants Need to Know

Merchants are no strangers to rising payment-processing costs. Merchant-processing fees often feel unavoidable, driven by interchange rates and card-network rules that are beyond a merchant’s control.

However, in April 2025, Visa introduced a program that could reshape how merchants manage these costs: the Commercial Enhanced Data Program, also known as CEDP. For the right businesses, this represents an opportunity to access automatic rate reductions and improve bottom-line savings. For others, failing to provide correct data—causing them to not qualify for optimized rates—could mean an increased fee of 40%.

With Visa preparing to begin strict internal validation of merchant data starting Oct.17, the window for preparation is narrow. Merchants have just days left to ensure their systems, processes, and data submissions comply—or face higher costs that could be avoided.

In my more than 20 years advising businesses on payment processing, I’ve seen how quickly a small oversight can snowball into a major expense. Visa’s CEDP is one of those moments where diligence pays off. Here’s what every business owner and CFO needs to know now.

At its core, the CEDP is Visa’s initiative to encourage merchants to submit more detailed data with their transactions, especially for Small Business and Commercial Credit products. The program focuses on Level 3 data submission, going beyond basic transaction information to include line-item details like product codes, tax amounts, and shipping data.

When verifiable Level 3 data are submitted, Visa automatically applies a rate reduction on eligible transactions. For qualifying businesses, the result is a lower overall cost of acceptance. For example, a merchant processing $5 million annually in commercial card transactions could save tens of thousands of dollars each year.

Visa launched CEDP in April 2025, but the program enters a critical new phase this fall. Beginning Oct. 17, Visa will start internally validating the data merchants provide, making compliance more important than ever. Merchants with errors, inconsistencies, or incomplete submissions won’t just miss out on rate reductions, they could also face a 40% increase in transaction fees.

Beyond direct penalties, failing to participate in CEDP or submit accurate Level 3 data will default transactions towards higher interchange categories. For example, a $500 commercial transaction that qualifies for Level 3 can cost approximately $9.60, but when downgraded, that same transaction could cost up to $14.85, an increase of more than 50%. In short, October isn’t just a deadline; it’s a turning point. Merchants who act now can lock in savings, while those who delay risk seeing their processing costs climb even higher than before.

For merchants that prepare properly, CEDP offers several tangible benefits. The most obvious is financial. Visa’s lowered interchange rates, which range from 7% to 10%, can translate into meaningful cost reductions, particularly for B2B merchants and those processing high-value transactions.

The program also creates a level playing field, as fees are set at the card-network level and are non-negotiable, giving all merchants, regardless of size, equal access to these savings. Aligning with CEDP also drives operational improvements, as the process encourages businesses to clean up data practices, resulting in more accurate reporting, improved compliance, and better integration between finance and IT teams.

Of course, no program comes without challenges. Merchants need to be aware of several potential pitfalls. Submitting Level 3 data isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Systems must be capable of capturing detailed line-item information and submitting it correctly. Even small errors, like mismatched tax data, can disqualify a transaction from reduced rates.

Awareness is also an issue: many merchants are still unfamiliar with CEDP or misunderstand how it works, and those who delay preparation risk scrambling to comply after October, when fee penalties begin.

Integration costs can be another hurdle, particularly for smaller merchants that may need to invest in updated systems or consult with payment processors to enable accurate Level 3 data submission.

Perhaps the biggest risk is non-compliance itself. Merchants not in compliance could face a 40% increase in fees, turning what should be a savings opportunity into a significant cost burden.

With Oct. 17 looming, businesses should take a proactive approach to ensure verification readiness. Start by auditing recent commercial card transactions to see how often Level 3 data is being submitted and whether reductions are already being applied. Next, validate that your payment gateway, POS system, or ERP software can reliably capture and transmit all the Level 3 data fields required by Visa. Address data errors like missing tax details, incorrect product codes, or inconsistent shipping information.

Educate your accounting and finance teams on how CEDP works and what to monitor in monthly statements. This is crucial in ensuring that the expected savings are being realized.

CEDP signals a broader trend in the payments landscape. Card networks are now demanding more data in exchange for cost relief. This isn’t likely to stop with Visa. As Mastercard and others watch how merchants respond, similar programs may emerge, making detailed data submission the new norm.

For merchants, this underscores the importance of building resilient payment strategies. Payment processing is no longer just about rates and providers—it’s about compliance, data quality, and operational readiness. Those who stay ahead of these shifts will have a competitive edge, while laggards will face escalating costs.

Now is the time to act. Audit your data, confirm your systems, and seek expert guidance if needed.

—Eric Cohen is chief executive of Merchant Advocate.