Check Processing Agreement

• Your processing agreement can affect whether you benefit from lower interchange rates. If you pay a flat processing fee per month, you may not get much of a benefit. The processor passes on the discounted rates to the banks that issue credit and debit cards, not to the merchants who take credit card payments. Your processor may also charge you if you accept non-qualified cards, as these charges are ineligible for the lower interchange rate.
  
  

Request Term Change

• Some card processors are willing to change the terms of your agreement if you ask. If you switch to another processor, your processor will lose money, so he may reason that it's better to change your terms rather than lose you as a customer altogether. Ask your processor to switch to a pass-through plan in which he charges you for each transaction rather than requiring you to pay a monthly fee.
  
  

Promote Debit Card Use

• Merchants may want to encourage their customers to use debit cards for purchases so they can take advantage of low interchange rates. However, some processors prohibit favoritism -- you cannot favor one type of payment or card over another. Thus, Direct Marketing News suggests talking to your processor about acceptable promotion strategies to encourage debit card use without running afoul of the rules.
  
  

Prepaid Cards

• Selling prepaid cards is one way to make extra money based on lower debit card interchange rates. Due to the lower exchange rates, banks may not issue free debit cards to consumers, according to Payments Journal. Thus, prepaid cards may be the only option for consumers who don't qualify for credit cards. If you can make arrangements with a bank to sell prepaid cards, you might be able to make a significant amount of money selling the cards to customers.