When merchants accept debit or credit card, they receive payment even if the customer doesn't pay his or her bill.

The card issuer accepts the risk of nonpayment on the merchant's behalf.

Interchange helps in part to cover these losses for the card issuer.

According to the Federal Reserve, credit card charge-off rates – which reflect what card issuers lose when a customer doesn’t pay – reached 7.74% in January 2009.

The average interchange rate of 1.6% doesn’t even come close to covering those losses.

During these tough economic times, credit losses are expected to rise even higher.

Read about a recent report by Moody’s Investor Services that predicts double-digit charge-off rates by the end of year »

Now more than ever, merchants need the protection that debit and credit cards provide – and for which interchange helps to pay.