ARTICLE
Yes, if you meet certain requirements. REQUIREMENTS Notification A business must notify the card issuing companies (Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express) and their merchant acquirer (processor) at least 30 days before the surcharge kicks in. Disclosure The business must disclose their surcharge policy at the point of entry and at the point of sale before the transaction is completed. If you offer online payment options, the disclosure must appear on the first page that references credit card brands. The disclosure must include: a statement that your business is imposing the surcharge the amount of surcharge a statement indicating the surcharge is not greater than the cost of acceptance The surcharge amount must be itemized separately and printed on every transaction receipt. Amount A surcharge can’t exceed the merchant’s cost of acceptance for the credit card. Regardless of the merchant’s costs, any surcharge is capped at 3%. Credit Card vs Debit Card Transactions Surcharging can only apply to credit card transactions. Debit card and prepaid card transactions cannot be subject to a surcharge, even if the consumer chooses “credit” on the point of sale. Uniformity If a business imposes a surcharge on one brand of card, they may be required to surcharge other brands on the same terms and conditions depending on each brand’s policies and restrictions. Penalties for non-compliance If a card brand finds out – through secret shoppers, customer complaints or other means - that you’re not following the rules, you can be assessed a per-incident financial penalty. The penalty jumps to $25,000 a month for failure to comply after notification. You could also potentially lose your ability to accept credit cards.
Yes, if you meet certain requirements.
REQUIREMENTS
Notification
A business must notify the card issuing companies (Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express) and their merchant acquirer (processor) at least 30 days before the surcharge kicks in.
The business must disclose their surcharge policy at the point of entry and at the point of sale before the transaction is completed. If you offer online payment options, the disclosure must appear on the first page that references credit card brands.
The disclosure must include:
The surcharge amount must be itemized separately and printed on every transaction receipt.
A surcharge can’t exceed the merchant’s cost of acceptance for the credit card. Regardless of the merchant’s costs, any surcharge is capped at 3%.
Surcharging can only apply to credit card transactions. Debit card and prepaid card transactions cannot be subject to a surcharge, even if the consumer chooses “credit” on the point of sale.
If a business imposes a surcharge on one brand of card, they may be required to surcharge other brands on the same terms and conditions depending on each brand’s policies and restrictions.
Penalties for non-compliance
If a card brand finds out – through secret shoppers, customer complaints or other means - that you’re not following the rules, you can be assessed a per-incident financial penalty. The penalty jumps to $25,000 a month for failure to comply after notification. You could also potentially lose your ability to accept credit cards.