What is Surcharging?

Surcharging is the act of adding a fee to a consumer’s credit card, with the intention of offsetting the processing costs. Surcharging has historically been frowned upon by the card associations, but that has recently changed with the outcome of several recent Supreme Court rulings. Now, surcharging is only prohibited in a few states (see here) based on individual state laws. The vast majority of the country is fully allowed to surcharge credit card transactions as of 2017. But wait! Before you start adding a fee onto your sales, make sure you’re aware of how it works:
 

• You can only surcharge credit cards in particular. You may not add a surcharge to debit or prepaid cards.
   

• You must post signage that clearly informs your customers prior to the sale taking place.
   

• You may only surcharge a maximum of 4% of the value of the sale.
   

• You must register with the card associations to inform them of your intentions.
   

As you can see, it’s important that you work with a provider who is trained in the nuances of surcharging. In addition to surcharging, AND also offers cash-discounting and non-cash adjustment programs, to ensure that your business is setup properly with our zero-cost processing options. Don’t worry about the terminology – let our payment professionals guide your business through an easy setup, so that you can start reducing your processing fees by up to 90% or more!