Commercial interchange fees are an often-overlooked area of expense, but for dental industry manufacturers and suppliers, they will be a critical budget consideration in 2026. Clinics and labs increasingly pay invoices with business credit cards, so if you lead a finance team in any sector of the dental industry that processes business-to-business (B2B) transactions, Visa’s new Commercial Enhanced Data Program (CEDP) will have a significant impact on your bottom line. In fact, you may already be seeing increased costs.
Emily Edwards.
Visa’s CEDP is one of the most significant overhauls in commercial credit card processing in over two decades, and for industries like dental supply and manufacturing, the financial implications are substantial.
A quick primer: What’s changing
Visa’s CEDP, introduced in early 2025, with the most impactful updates going into effect on October 17, 2025, has changed the way commercial interchange discounts are granted. It also adds a 0.05% participation fee (five basis points) to every participating commercial transaction.
The biggest challenge comes in the form of strict data requirements. In the past, businesses like yours could significantly reduce their processing fees by passing Level 2 and Level 3 data along with commercial credit card transactions. This data included transaction details such as the tax amount, invoice numbers, and purchase order numbers, to name just a few. Now, Level 2 and Level 3 programs are gone.
In their place, Visa has rolled out Product 3 processing, and the data requirements are much stricter and subject to an AI-assisted audit. The reason: It was relatively simple to achieve Level 2 and Level 3 discounts by autofilling the required data. Now, legitimate and accurate data is required, and few businesses have the capabilities to provide this data seamlessly with every transaction.
For many dental suppliers and manufacturers who process high B2B card volumes, this is a double hit in the form of:
Increased costs: If you were achieving Level 2 and Level 3 rates in the past, your costs have very likely increased.
Infrastructure updates: To reduce your interchange costs to previous levels, you may need to update your infrastructure to meet the new requirements, and this is not easy.
Why it matters for dental suppliers
Dental suppliers and manufacturers sit at the intersection of healthcare and B2B commerce. You sell to thousands of small practices that increasingly use business credit cards for convenience and rewards.
Until now, that’s worked to your advantage. Level 2 and Level 3 interchange programs offered reduced processing rates in exchange for providing extra transaction data.
But with CEDP, that system is changing in that:
- Visa is tightening enforcement to ensure all data is accurate and complete.
- Incomplete or incorrect data will no longer qualify for lower rates.
- Your enterprise resource planning (ERP) or payment system must now be fully integrated with your gateway to remain compliant.
If your current setup (often involving manual entry or legacy ERP integrations) can’t meet Visa’s standards, you will be listed as an unverified merchant and your costs could rise significantly annually.
How this impacts 2026 budgets
Here’s how CEDP could ripple through your 2026 financials.
Higher processing costs
Every Product 3 transaction will now carry the new CEDP participation fee regardless of whether you qualify for lower rates. For dental suppliers with millions in annual card volume, this adds up quickly.
Lost discounts
If your Product 3 transaction data fails audits, you’ll lose rate qualifications retroactively, meaning Visa can claw back those savings the following month. That creates budget unpredictability and complicates financial forecasting.
System integration costs
Meeting CEDP standards may require upgrades to your ERP-to-gateway integrations or the use of middleware solutions to ensure compliant data transmission. Budgeting for system development or consulting will be essential.
Cash flow impacts
With card payments costing more to process, your net margins on common dental supply sales (often low margin to begin with) could shrink even further.
Two paths forward
By the first quarter of 2026, finance leaders in dental supply and manufacturing companies will face two clear options.
Option 1: Budget for the hit
Accept the increased costs as a cost of doing business. Adjust your 2026 budget to absorb:
- The 0.05% CEDP fee
- Loss of the Level 2 and Level 3 discounts you had achieved in prior years
- Increased reconciliation complexity
This is the easier but more expensive route.
Option 2: Get compliant and keep your savings
Proactively align your systems and data to meet Visa CEDP requirements. That means:
- Eliminating autofill data or any templated “dummy data” that is currently being passed with your commercial transactions (likely in place to satisfy previous Level 2 and Level 3 requirements)
- Integrating ERP and payment gateways for automated data capture
- Avoiding procedurally generated data programs: Many third-party providers are offering this as a solution, believing randomly generated invoice numbers, purchase order numbers, etc., will appear legitimate to Visa’s audits, but they will very likely be caught.
Achieving full compliance may take work, but it will achieve Visa Verified Merchant status and could preserve tens of basis points in savings across every participating B2B transaction. For large dental supply distributors, that could translate to six or seven-figure annual savings.
What you can do now
Visa’s enforcement begins in 2026, but the groundwork must be laid in 2025. Here’s how to prepare:
- Audit your 2025 interchange rates. Have you been achieving Level 2 and Level 3 discounts?
- Review your ERP-gateway connection. Can your current system provide real-time transaction data to the gateway, and does it meet Visa’s audit requirements?
- Model the impact. Quantify what losing Level 2 and Level 3 rates would cost your company over 12 months.
- Seek expert support. Because every gateway and ERP handles data differently, achieving compliance often requires custom integration and deep payments expertise.
That’s where specialized firms like Verisave come in -- not as a replacement for your processor, but as an optimizer. Like mechanics for your payments stack, Verisave can ensure your systems run efficiently and meet Visa’s evolving standards.
Final thought
Visa’s CEDP represents a new era of accountability in B2B payments. For dental supply and manufacturing companies, it’s both a threat and an opportunity. Those who act now to modernize their payment data infrastructure can protect or even improve their profit margins. Those who wait will face higher costs and tighter budgets in 2026. The choice is clear: Plan to pay more, or pursue CEDP compliance.
Emily Edwards is the director of strategic growth at Verisave, a cost reduction firm that specializes in payment optimization. Her work focuses on client education and strategic industry partnerships, particularly in the dental sector.
The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.
