How a cash disbursement works
The cardholder presents the card at a cash machine or to a teller, and the institution providing the cash sends an authorisation request through the scheme to the issuer. If the issuer approves, the cash is paid out, and the issuer reimburses the institution in settlement and debits the cardholder.
The schemes separate the two channels. The Mastercard Rules of 2 June 2026 identify a manual cash disbursement, made by a teller of a member financial institution, with merchant category code 6010, and a withdrawal at an ATM with 6011.
Fees run the other way from a purchase. The Visa Core Rules define a cash disbursement fee as a fee the issuer pays the acquirer for performing the disbursement.
Cash disbursements and the EU interchange caps
The interchange caps in the EU's Interchange Fee Regulation do not apply to cash withdrawals at automatic teller machines or at the counter of a payment service provider (Regulation (EU) 2015/751, Article 1).
What a card programme decides about cash
An issuer chooses whether a card may withdraw cash at all, sets limits and fees, and watches cash activity closely, because cash is a common exit for stolen cards and laundered funds. On a credit card, cash usually costs the cardholder more than a purchase: a fee, and interest from the day of the withdrawal.
Cash disbursement, cash-back or quasi-cash?
- Cash-back
- Cash obtained from a merchant together with a purchase and processed as a retail transaction. The Visa definition of a cash disbursement leaves it out.
- Quasi-cash
- In the Visa Core Rules, a sale of items directly convertible to cash, such as gaming chips, money orders or foreign currency.
Where a cash disbursement shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- Card issuingVirtual and physical cards, wallets and controls, on the issuer processor you choose.
- Fraud & riskReal-time fraud scoring, limits and case management, with the risk engines you already trust.
- LedgerThe double-entry book of record behind every balance, fee and transfer.
Platforms that need it
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
- Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, 18 April 2026: glossary, Cash Disbursement, Cash-Back, Quasi-Cash Transaction (Visa)
- Mastercard Rules, 2 June 2026: definitions, Manual Cash Disbursement Transaction and ATM Transaction (Mastercard)
- Regulation (EU) 2015/751, the Interchange Fee Regulation, Article 1 (EUR-Lex)
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.