Surcharge Compliance
We are committed to transparency in all aspects of our payment processing. Please review the following details about our credit card surcharge program, which applies to certain transactions as permitted by Visa and Mastercard rules and applicable laws.
Surcharge Application: Visa and Mastercard state a surcharge may be applied to credit card transactions only. This does not apply to debit cards, prepaid cards, or debit cards processed as credit.
Surcharge Amount: To improve the customer experience, Visa has reduced the surcharge cap to 3%, effective April 15, 2023. Earlier, the surcharge cap used to be 4%. Of course, these limits can also vary by state—Colorado caps surcharges at 2%. As such, Visa’s directive to businesses is to limit the surcharge to either their merchant discount rate (MDR) for the credit card or 3%, whichever is lower.
Transparency: The surcharge will appear as a separate line item on your receipt, clearly labeled for your convenience.
State Compliance: Our surcharge program adheres to all applicable state laws, which vary by location. Currently the 4 states that do not allow surcharging are: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York
Compliance Penalties: Non-compliance with Visa and Mastercard surcharging rules may result in fines starting at $1,000 per violation, with repeated offenses up to $25,000-$50,000, and could lead to loss of card processing privileges.
If you have any concerns or need clarification LET’S TALK!