Visa has recently made changes to its Level 2 and Level 3 enhanced data programs for commercial credit card transactions. The changes are prompting many B2B merchants to reevaluate how they capture, validate, and transmit transaction data because their fee structure may depend on it. That means taking a closer look at their payment gateway capabilities.
The shift from rate negotiation to data Optimization
Processing rates used to be the primary criteria by which merchants evaluated their payment infrastructure. Visa’s recent changes, including the retirement of legacy Level 2 and Level 3 structures, are shining a spotlight on payment data quality as a bigger factor in determining interchange fees.
Under Visa’s new Commercial Enhanced Data Program (CEDP), the capability of a merchant’s payment gateway to deliver quality data will now have a direct impact on costs.
Historically, merchants focused on negotiating processing rates and managing processor fees. With interchange fees often accounting for 70% to 95% of total processing costs, merchants worked hard to meet processing and optimization guidelines. Those guidelines did not include strict data quality requirements.
Now, that has changed. Merchants are no longer asking, “What rate am I paying?” but rather, “Can my payment infrastructure provide the quality of data required to earn the lowest rates?”
Why the focus on data quality? While Visa does focus on interchange revenue, the broader trend is toward treating payment data as a strategic asset that improves security, reduces friction, and strengthens the payments ecosystem.
In other words, better data means fewer errors, less fraud, smoother payments, lower costs, and better outcomes for merchants, issuers, and payment networks. Overall, the goal is greater sophistication across the payments ecosystem.
In the short term, the new data requirements aim to improve transaction transparency, reduce fraud and dispute risk, standardize commercial payments, improve data quality, and create AI-ready data that can support advanced analytics and risk models.
So how can B2B merchants position themselves to participate in Visa’s CEDP and take advantage of preferred interchange rates? By taking a closer look at their payment infrastructure and gateway provider.
Questions you should be asking your provider
You might be content with your current payment gateway provider, but are they staying current with this shift toward high-quality payment data? Are they ensuring you are well positioned for the future?
Ask the following questions:
- Can your gateway automatically populate required fields?
- Does it validate data before submission?
- Can it identify qualification failures?
- Does it provide downgrade reporting?
- Can it adapt quickly when Visa’s requirements change?
If the answer is no to any of these questions, it may be time to evaluate whether your gateway provider can support your long-term compliance and optimization goals.
Visa’s new rules reflect a larger industry trend
Under Visa’s new CEDP, the changes include:
- Retirement of legacy Level 2 and Level 3 structures
- New Product 1, Product 2, and Product 3 qualification paths
- Participation fees
- Valid transaction data elements that are complete, accurate, and correctly formatted according to Visa’s strict requirements
The focus on payment data has shifted significantly:
| Before CEDP | Post CEDP |
| Submission of required fields | Submission of validated fields |
| Qualification based on data presence | Qualification based on data quality |
| Gateway as a transaction facilitator | Gateway as a data management platform |
| Functional ERP | Optimized ERP supporting quality data |
What do merchants gain from participating in Visa’s commercial enhanced data program?
Visa’s focus on data quality reflects a broader shift toward treating payment data as a network asset. Merchants that provide complete, accurate transaction data are better positioned to qualify for preferred interchange rates, while those submitting incomplete or inaccurate data may face higher costs. This represents a fundamental change in interchange qualification.
For merchants, the primary incentive is straightforward: improved profitability.
Organizations that submit accurate CEDP data may qualify for lower interchange rates, avoid costly qualification failures, and strengthen their competitive position in B2B markets.
CEDP may also help reduce disputes. By requiring detailed invoice-level data, including tax information, item descriptions, quantities, freight charges, and other transaction details, the program improves transparency, buyer reconciliation, and dispute resolution.
Many large corporate buyers that once focused on Level II and Level III data may increasingly expect CEDP-compliant transaction data. Merchants that invest in the systems and processes needed to support these standards may gain access to a larger pool of potential buyers, creating opportunities for revenue growth while strengthening their ability to win and retain business.
Merchants that build CEDP-focused infrastructure today will be better prepared for future industry changes that are likely to place even greater emphasis on data quality, validation, and automation.
Suddenly, your gateway technology matters more
While data quality is emerging as a new KPI, performance against that KPI depends heavily on payment technology and gateway capabilities.
Traditionally, gateways were responsible for authorization, settlement, and security compliance. Today, they must also support data enrichment, validation, qualification, and compliance.
That means a merchant’s ability to remain competitive is increasingly dependent on both its gateway technology and its payment provider.
What constitutes “quality data” under Visa’s new rules?
Before addressing that question, it is important to note that participation in CEDP is not mandatory. However, the program clearly signals the direction Visa is taking regarding commercial payments and data management.
How to comply with Visa’s CEDP
Visa’s new changes primarily affect B2B merchants that accept commercial card payments.
For organizations processing significant commercial transaction volumes, compliance may require improvements in data management, automation, and ERP integration.
The data required to comply with CEDP often resides outside the payment system itself. Examples include purchase order numbers, invoice numbers, tax information, customer identifiers, department codes, contract references, and detailed line-item data.
Without proper integration, this information must be manually entered, uploaded separately, or reconciled later. Each additional step increases the likelihood of qualification failures, data inaccuracies, and operational inefficiencies.
A merchant could lose thousands of dollars annually without realizing that elevated costs stem from incomplete or invalid data rather than processor pricing.
Many organizations may need to invest in gateway enhancements, workflow improvements, and reporting capabilities to fully support these new requirements.
Is your payments provider helping you optimize your gateway?
Many providers are still focused primarily on authorizations, settlement, and pricing models.
If you want to stay ahead of industry changes and maintain a competitive edge through lower payment costs, consider where your payment provider’s focus lies.
If they are not actively discussing data quality, interchange qualification, ERP integration, and long-term payment optimization, it may be worth evaluating whether they are prepared to support your future needs.
What the future holds for qualification requirements
Interchange optimization is likely to become increasingly technology and data driven.
The merchants that benefit most in the future may not be those with the lowest negotiated processing rates, but those with strong integrations, high-quality data practices, and payment infrastructure capable of meeting evolving qualification requirements.
Because of this shift toward treating payment data as a strategic asset, payment infrastructure is now just as important to cost control as processor pricing.
Visa’s CEDP is not simply a new interchange structure. It represents a broader shift in the payments industry.
For B2B merchants, gateway technology, ERP integration, and data governance are becoming essential tools for controlling payment costs and maintaining long-term competitiveness.
If you are looking for a payments provider that understands where the industry is heading, contact a Cartis expert and let’s prepare your payment architecture for the future.