Why network fee visibility is the new fintech superpower.

Running a card programme isn’t just about sleek apps and instant payments. It’s also about the small print, the fees, forms, and financial detail behind every transaction. And when margins are narrow, the difference between profit and pain often lives in the back office. 

Among the most important - and often overlooked - of these details are card network fees. These scheme charges support fraud protection, regulatory compliance, settlement, and global connectivity. In short, many of them are negotiable. But understanding and managing them? That’s where most fintechs fall short. 

Too many fintechs accept network fees as a sunk cost. In reality, they’re a strategic opportunity. With the right level of visibility, these fees become levers for cost optimisation, strategic planning, and operational control. 

The clarity gap. 

Scheme fees are anything but straightforward. They’re influenced by transaction type, geography, merchant category, card product, and more. These variables are then bundled into itemised invoices that can stretch to hundreds of lines but offer little in the way of real explanation. 

The complexity is understandable – payments are complex. But the lack of transparency creates a data void that fintechs can no longer afford to ignore. 

According to McKinsey’s 2023 Global Payments Report, the industry saw a 6% increase in operating costs year-on-year, driven by rising compliance demands, infrastructure upgrades, and growing transaction volumes. For fintechs, that 6% isn’t just a number – it’s a margin-squeeze, an investor red flag, and a scaling challenge rolled into one. 

A data problem disguised as a cost problem. 

Fundamentally, if you can’t see how fees are applied, you can’t control them and challenge anomalies, forecast accurately, or model the cost of product changes or market expansion. 

This isn’t just a financial issue – it’s a strategic blind spot. 

Recapture the overhead. 

 Modern payments platforms, like those used by leading fintechs, can now ingest scheme invoices, map them to service-level data, and surface real-time insights. That means no more hunting through PDFs or running error-prone spreadsheet macros. Just a live view of what you’re paying, why you’re paying it, and where you can take action. 

And that action delivers results. 

The 2023 report by Accenture found that fintechs with automated back-office systems reduced operational costs by up to 30% - by simply using their data more effectively. That’s a third of your overhead, recaptured. Automation also means fewer external consultants and less need to build niche scheme expertise in-house. 

From reactive to proactive. 

With full visibility,  

• finance teams stop firefighting and start forecasting. They can track cost changes over time, drill into high-impact variables, and set triggers for anomalies.  

• Product managers can model the unit economics of new features or geographies. 

• Commercial teams can negotiate pricing and partnerships with confidence.  

• Compliance teams can stay ahead of scheme rule changes before they result in penalties. 

When everyone works from the same dataset, decisions get faster, sharper, and more aligned.  

And the best part? You don’t need to rip out existing systems. The smartest tools work alongside what you already use, surfacing insights from underused data and turning back-office complexity into strategic advantage.  

It’s worth remembering that new fees will continue to emerge, just as compliance requirements will keep shifting. Staying on top means building systems that evolve with your business, not scrambling to catch up once costs or risks have already landed. 

What visibility really delivers. 

This is a gentle wake-up call to fintechs. If you’re not treating scheme fee data as a strategic asset, you’re leaving money - and control - on the table. 

Fee visibility enables better forecasting. It reduces revenue leakage. And it gives your leadership team the confidence that margins aren’t quietly being eroded in the background. 

In a market shifting focus from growth at all costs to profitable scale, these capabilities aren’t optional – they’re essential.  

Because the fintechs that win won’t be the loudest disruptors. They’ll be the ones with clean organized data, controlled costs, and operational muscle built on insights – not intuition.  

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