Surcharging · Cash discounting · Dual pricing

Stop paying for your customers' card choice. Keep the customers.

Every “zero-fee” program moves the cost of cards to the customer. The good ones do it in the open, before the customer decides how to pay. We set up only that kind, after checking your state and confirming your equipment can show and apply the fee correctly.

  • Free fit check: which program, the monthly math, and a sample sign, in writing
  • State rules checked and the acquirer notice filed for you
  • A plain no if we think it would cost you regulars

Free fee-program fit check

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Three programs

Same goal, three different rules. Pick the one your customers won't mind.

Surcharging

A fee added to credit card sales only, never on debit or prepaid. Capped at 3% under Visa's rules and never more than your own cost of acceptance. Posted at your entrance and at the register, and printed on the receipt as its own line.

Best for large tickets and business-to-business invoices. Your acquirer needs 30 days' written notice; a few states ban or cap it (state-by-state guide), and we check yours first.

Cash discounting

Your posted price is the card price, and customers who pay cash get a discount. Every card, debit included, pays the posted price. No cap and no notice period under the card-network rules; a few states set their own discount rules, and Puerto Rico bans it (state guide).

Best where cash is still common. The version that adds a fee at the register instead is a surcharge with the wrong name and violates the card-network rules. We don't set those up.

Dual pricing

Both prices shown side by side, the card price first and the cash price beside it, and the customer chooses. Every card, debit included, pays the card price; only cash pays the cash price.

Best for restaurants, fuel, auto repair, salons, and anyone with a menu or price board, because both prices are in front of the customer before they choose.

What your customer sees

No surprises at the end. That's the whole trick.

Customers accept a fee they saw coming and walk away from one that appears at the last step. The rules require the disclosures; we make them the first thing people see.

At the door and at the register

We add a 3% surcharge to credit card purchases.

This surcharge is assessed by the merchant and applies only to credit card transactions. It is not greater than our cost of acceptance. No surcharge on debit or prepaid cards, even if run as credit, or on cash.

On the receipt

YOUR SHOP

Brake service$420.00

Credit card surcharge (3%)$12.60

Sales tax$33.60

CREDIT CARD ****4021$466.20

Surcharge applies to credit cards only. Not applied to debit, prepaid, or cash. Whether sales tax applies to a surcharge varies by state.

Dual pricing on a menu or board

ItemCard priceCash price (3% off)

Oil change$61.00$59.17

Tire rotation$30.00$29.10

Alignment$102.00$98.94

Prices shown are our regular card prices, for credit and debit cards. Pay with cash and get 3% off.

Sample figures for illustration only. Your rate, wording, and eligibility are set during the fit check and depend on your state and payment types. Surcharging is not allowed in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts or Puerto Rico; New York requires the full credit card price to be posted; Colorado and Oklahoma cap it at 2%. Other states, including New Jersey, Texas, California and Louisiana, add their own rules; see the state-by-state guide.

What we set up

Everything the rules require, done before you flip the switch.

  • The state check: whether your state allows it, caps it, or adds a disclosure rule.
  • The 30-day notice to your acquirer, the bank behind your merchant account, filed for you when you surcharge.
  • Your equipment checked before you start: that it applies the fee only where the rules allow it, shows the disclosure, and prints the fee as its own line. If it can't, we tell you what it needs.
  • Entrance and register signage sized for customers to see, and a one-page staff script.
  • A plain answer if we think it will cost you customers.

Who it's for

Restaurants, auto and fuel, trades, salons, wholesalers, and anyone invoicing big tickets by card.

If your average sale is under $10, or you'd surcharge and most of your customers pay by debit, a fee program may not be worth the friction. We'll tell you that too.

Get my fit check

FAQ

Straight answers.

Will I lose customers?
Some do, and no one can promise otherwise. What we control is how the price is shown: every program we set up puts the fee or the two prices in front of the customer before they decide how to pay. If your customers are price-sensitive on small tickets, we'll say so before you start.
Can I surcharge debit cards?
No. Card-network rules bar surcharges on debit and prepaid cards, even when the customer presses "credit" on the terminal. Before a surcharge starts, we confirm in writing that your equipment applies it to credit cards only.
Is this legal in my state?
Surcharging is banned or capped in a few states and carries extra disclosure rules in others; card-network rules allow a discount off your regular card price for paying cash, and dual pricing shows that discount next to each price; both are allowed in most states when disclosed properly, though a few states set their own discount rules and Puerto Rico bans all three. We check your state before anything changes, and we confirm it in writing.
What does the program cost me?
You still pay for the equipment and any fees your merchant agreement lists, all quoted in writing before you sign. What changes is who pays for card acceptance on each sale. The fit check shows your monthly numbers under each program.
What's the difference between a cash discount and a surcharge?
Direction. A cash discount starts from the card price and takes money off for cash. A surcharge starts from the cash price and adds a fee for credit. The networks treat a "cash discount" that is really a fee added at the register as a surcharge, with surcharge rules and fines. We only set up programs that are what they say they are.

Surcharge, cash discount, and dual-pricing programs are governed by card-network rules and by state and local law, which differ by state and change over time. Availability, caps, and disclosure requirements depend on where you operate and what you sell. Cardeva confirms eligibility for your state and your payment types before any program starts, and program setup is subject to your acquirer's approval. This page is general information, not legal advice. See our Terms of Use.