Compliant Surcharging
How it Works
Compliant Surcharging
Eliminate the cost of accepting credit card payments, by accessing a compliant surcharge fee. Available in all US states except Connecticut, Massachusetts and the territory of Puerto Rico.
Technology Driven
Surcharging is only legal for credit card payments, not debit or prepaid cards. Our technology automatically determines the type of card and applies the surcharge to credit cards only.
Customer Friendly
Since the surcharge fee is accessed on credit cards only, customers will still have a no-fee option, by paying using debit or prepaid cards as well as cash.
Compliance
A cornerstone of successful surcharging is being compliant with state laws as well as card brand rules and regulations.
State Laws
Surcharging is legal in all US states except Connecticut and Massachusetts. Additional rules may apply per jurisdiction with regard to signage and customer disclosure.
Card Brand Rules
Merchant who implement surcharging to recoup credit card acceptance costs have to comply with card brand rules stipulated by Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Discover.
* Krossroads does not provide legal advice. Before you implement surcharging, all merchants should consult with their legal counsel to ensure that they are compliant with applicable state laws as well as card brand rules.
3%
The maximum surcharge fee you can access on credit card transactions in the US, as per payment network rules and regulations. Additional state specific rules may apply.
$1,500
Assuming your process $50,000 in credit card payments in a month, you would stand to recoup $1,500 via a 3% surcharge, assuming a 3% cost of acquisition.
Have questions about compliant surcharging?
Frequently Asked Questions
This content is for information purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Please review your circumstances, including applicable state law, with your independent legal adivisors.
Each time a merchant accepts a credit card payment, they incur a processing fee that is accessed by the payment processing institutions. A surcharge is a fee implemented by the merchant to recoup the cost of credit card payment processing. Surcharge fees can only apply to credit cards, and never to debit or prepaid card, even when a debit card is run like a credit card.
Yes. A federal class action lawsuit settlement arrived at in 2013 permitted US merchants to access surcharge fees on credit card transactions.
No. In the US, credit card surcharging can only be applied to credit card payments. Payments made using debit and prepaid cards cannot be surcharged.
No. For card present transactions, you can only surcharge credit card payments. Convenience fees are always a flat dollar amount and cannot be charged for card-present transactions. Unlike surcharges, convenience fees aren’t tied to the actual cost of processing a credit card transaction.
Government and education institutions are eligible for the “service fee” program, which permits the fee to be applied to both credit and debit cards. In addition, this program requires that the fee be processed as a second, separate transaction.
Yes, please see this page. All merchants should always consult with their legal advisor to ascertain compliance with local laws and card brand rules.
When processing in person payments, you can use any Stripe card reader that is available in the US. When the payment is being processed, Krossroads POS for Stripe will determine the nature of the card, and only apply a surcharge on credit cards.
Yes, if you input the card number manually while processing a phone order, Krossroads POS for Stripe will automatically determine whether the card is a credit or debit card and only apply a surcharge if the card is a credit card.
In the US, credit card surcharge fees must not exceed 3%, and you cannot surcharge more than your cost of acceptance. Merchants must not profit from the surcharge fee.
A merchant can impose a minimum transaction amount for credit card transactions, which can be no more than a $10 minimum. Minimum purchase requirements can only apply to credit card transactions.