Posted: October 19, 2026 | Updated: October 19, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Every time a customer pays with their card, the business pays a fee to process the payment. So, across hundreds or even thousands of transactions, businesses lose a decent amount in processing fees.
But what if businesses could save on interchange fees by providing more information about the cardholders? That is the idea behind DCAP, which rewards businesses that provide cardholder and device information with an interchange discount.
For online businesses, it offers an opportunity to lower payment costs while enabling card issuers to make better-informed transaction decisions. Nevertheless, the discount is not given for every online payment, and just providing more information does not ensure that a savings opportunity will arise.
In this article, we will explain what the Visa DCAP is, which transactions it applies to, what online authentication details to provide to Visa, how much you can save under this program, and which questions to ask your payment processor.
The goal of DCAP is to improve payment processing efficiency by encouraging companies to submit all transaction information during authentication.
When a customer makes an online payment, the card issuer has to process the request and authorize the transaction. Unlike in a physical store, the online payment method does not require presenting a card to a terminal at the moment of purchase. It is up to the issuer to evaluate the transaction and its risks based on the data provided.
If important information is missing, the issuer has less information to approve the payment, which can lead to more declined legitimate transactions and a poor checkout experience.
DCAP addresses this challenge by setting requirements for sharing additional information through supported payment authentication solutions.
DCAP is not a standard card verification process but rather a particular Visa program that has technical, informational, and transaction eligibility requirements. Your payment processor or payment gateway should be able to support the relevant integration on behalf of your company.
Not every company or online transaction is eligible for a DCAP discount. Eligibility for DCAP interchange discounts depends on several criteria, including transaction type, card type, payment system, and information shared.
DCAP is only applicable to Visa transactions. If your organization accepts Mastercard, Visa, and other cards, the discount may not apply to every online payment, as different card networks have different fees and rules.
Card-not-present (CNP) transactions are those that occur when a customer pays for goods or services, but the card is not presented during purchase. This includes any transaction that occurs through an online portal, store, or authorized payment gateway.
Based on the payment processor’s terms and conditions for the US program, the discount is only available for eligible payments made by a customer using a Visa consumer credit card. It does not apply to debit cards, business credit cards, certain phone or mail orders, or payments initiated by the merchant.
Your payment system must be able to support the data-sharing requirements of DCAP for eligible customers. This may require an approved integration with the data collection method that allows for the secure sharing of customer data via payment authentication.
Collecting the customer’s email or IP address alone at the point of sale is insufficient. You must collect their information through the appropriate process and meet the program’s requirements, in addition to the requirements above. Consult your payment processor to confirm that your current payment system supports DCAP or whether the system will require any modifications.
Provide all necessary information and fill it out correctly. In case of incorrect or missing billing data or any placeholders, a transaction may be denied a discount. Businesses and their payment processors should also review the program’s requirements.
DCAP uses four different data fields. Each provides additional information about the customer or the device used to make the purchase.
To get eligible for a DCAP interchange discount, businesses must provide specific customer and device data during the online payment transaction so the issuer can see additional purchase information.
• Customer email: The email address the customer provided while making the order will help identify the buyer’s data associated with the transaction.
• Complete address: The customer’s complete billing address is required.
• Device ID: The device ID is necessary to identify the customer’s device, whether it is a mobile phone, laptop, or another type of gadget.
• IP address: The IP address shows the customer’s internet service provider and is used to detect the location of the buyer.
Sending all four fields does not necessarily mean you will receive an interchange discount. Data quality also matters in Visa’s guidelines and the authentication process they support.
For example, a business could collect a customer’s email address and not pass it on to the payment service provider. Another organization might provide a partial billing address, or even give default information. Any of these may disqualify the transaction from the discount.
Before turning on DCAP, make sure checkout, the website, and payment processors collect and pass on the information correctly.
Businesses should also protect customers’ data, provide clear information about data collection in their privacy policies, and comply with applicable privacy and security laws.
A company’s DCAP savings depend on the number of qualifying transactions, discount size, program fees, and the terms set by its payment processor.
According to the “US pricing methodology,” the DCAP interchange discount, less a five-basis-point program fee, leads to a potential net saving of 0.05% of the eligible transaction value after program fees are deducted.
A basis point is a unit of measurement for fees. Five basis points equal 0.05%.
Say a $1,000 payment qualifies for the discount; your business could save $0.50. On a $10,000 payment, the savings could be $5.
For example, your company processes $200,000 in eligible payments each month. If all these payments qualify for a net saving of 0.05%, you could save around $100 per month. But not all online payments are eligible for DCAP. So if only $100,000 of your monthly payment volume is eligible, your potential savings would be $50.
Network tokenization removes the actual card number from a customer’s card information and replaces it with a secure digital token for safer online payments.
In some scenarios, you can combine the benefits of DCAP discounts with network tokenization for even greater savings. Still, the exact implications depend on your payment method and your agreement terms.
Contact your payment processor to determine whether your particular business qualifies for combined benefits and what kinds of discounts you are eligible for.
No. DCAP only reduces interchange costs on eligible transactions. Depending on your pricing plan, you may still be responsible for other fees, such as payment processing fees, gateway fees, and card network fees.
On interchange-plus plans, the discount flows through to you; on flat-rate plans, it may not.
Before enrolling, confirm with your payment processor how the DCAP discount will apply to your fees and appear on your payment statement.
DCAP can help eligible businesses reduce interchange fees for specific digital payments. To participate, businesses must use supported payment systems and provide the required customer and device data.
Savings on each payment may be small, but your business can save significantly with many qualifying payments. Still, savings aren’t guaranteed because they depend on the number of qualifying payments, program fees, and your processor’s rates. To get started, contact your payment processor to check whether your business qualifies, what data you need to send, and how much you could save.
Visa DCAP is a program that allows eligible online payments to receive interchange discounts when businesses send the required customer and device data.
Yes, small online stores may qualify if they meet Visa’s requirements and use a supported payment system.
Ask your payment processor to confirm your eligibility and check your payment statements for the interchange discount.
