Done right, a cash discount or surcharge program can nearly eliminate what you pay to accept cards. Done wrong, it invites fines and still leaks money. Here's the plain-English version of both.
You post card prices, and customers who pay cash get a discount off that price. Legal in all 50 states because discounting for cash is always allowed.
You post cash prices and add a fee when someone pays by credit card. Heavily regulated: it requires card-brand registration, is capped at your actual cost of acceptance, and can never apply to debit.
If you surcharge today, these are where programs most often go wrong — usually because the processor who set it up never mentioned them.
Card network rules require 30 days' written notice to your processor before surcharging begins. Skipping registration is the most common violation — and the one most likely to trigger a fine.
Debit can never be surcharged — even when a customer runs the card as "credit" at the terminal. If your fee applies to every card regardless of type, it's almost certainly hitting debit, which is prohibited nationwide.
You may only recover what you actually pay to process the card. A flat markup that exceeds your real cost violates card network rules even if no customer ever complains.
Debit transactions are still 100% your cost — no offset. And the surcharge only covers the card fee itself: your underlying processing rate and monthly fees are separate, and often inflated. A compliant program on top of a bad base rate is still a bad deal.
This information is for general purposes only and is not legal advice. Surcharge laws vary by state and change frequently — some states cap or prohibit surcharging entirely. Consult an attorney or your processor to confirm compliance for your specific business and location.
A program rate of 2.5%* with card-brand registration handled for you, correct debit treatment built into the equipment, and signage and receipt formatting that meet the disclosure rules. Your exact rate is confirmed in writing before you sign anything.
Nothing. Run the anonymous calculator to see what your current program actually keeps, or get a full quote — emailed instantly, no call required. If your setup is already fair and compliant, your proposal says so.
* 2.5% is the average program rate. Actual rates vary by business type and average ticket size.
Thirty seconds, fully anonymous — or get your exact program rate in writing.