1. A method for determining a least cost transaction scheme for a merchant, wherein the merchant is associated with a standard industrial classification (SIC) code, the method comprising: receiving a transaction amount; calculating a processing cost for each of a plurality of transaction schemes, wherein each processing cost is based at least in part on the transaction amount, the SIC code and the transaction scheme; determining the least cost transaction scheme from the plurality of transaction schemes; and prompting a consumer to use the least cost transaction scheme.