What has changed is the rules about surcharges or payment fees. Payment fees have always been defined as fees charged to consumers who use credit cards that would not have been charged if the consumer had paid in cash or by cheque. Visa and MasterCard have always prohibited these fees as part of their agreements with merchants; Discover and American Express have allowed them, but prohibit companies from topping up their cards differently than any other brand. So if a company didn`t just accept Discover and American Express, the payment fee was off the table. Hi Lisa, I can`t really advise on the legality of this situation as we are not lawyers and because I don`t know what the service fee is for (if it was charged by the doctor as a different service fee or if it was explicitly a credit card surcharge, etc.). It is best to consult a lawyer or contact your Attorney General. Good luck! We are a small business and have credit and cheque sales. Mass is listed as one of the states for which you cannot charge extra. Most of our operations are outside of Mass, some in Maine and others in the NH. Our current office is outside of NH and cards are processed in our office environment, mostly by phone. For bulk businesses, we are not allowed to charge extra, even though our office is located in NH, which allows us to do so? Hi Jason, convenience fees and supplements are similar things but have different rules. Supplements are not allowed in Connecticut, while convenience fees may be in the right circumstances. I would suggest reviewing our article on convenience fees (www.cardfellow.com/blog/charging-customers-a-credit-card-convenience-fee-at-check-out/) and reviewing it with a business lawyer.
I sell terminals to dealers in my state of New Jersey. I just lost 3 merchant accounts to another company because that company charged a 4% service fee for all its credit card transactions. Is collecting a 4% surcharge for New Jersey customers legal or illegal? I would appreciate an answer from you. Thank you very much for your cooperation. I highly recommend you read CardFellow`s free quote comparison tool. You`ll be able to get fully disclosed quotes from multiple processors to review privately, and you`ll have the chance to see what prices are available for your business. You may find that you might be overcharged – the average company that selects a processor through us saves 40% of processing costs. It only takes a few minutes.
Click here to register or watch our video statement explaining what we do. „The store and I are in Florida, so they seem to be illegal here, but they could offer 2.75% off as an alternative, yes? And if they did, would disclosure signage still be required? A 2013 class action lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard led to a settlement that allows businesses to charge their customers fees for using credit cards — commonly known as „merchant surcharges“ or „payment fees.“ Payment fees, also known as merchant supplements, are the additional fees added by stores and merchants for credit card transactions. These fees are typically used to cover the merchant`s own processing fee, which is charged for processing credit card payments. Adding a fee to something that was previously free is often the fastest way to upset a loyal customer. For this reason, it seems unlikely that wherever we shop, we will pay payment fees, even if they are now legal. Hi Charlie, you never have to accept credit cards, so yes, you can tell customers that you do not accept credit cards and that you require payment by check or other methods. However, as a pure online business, you may find that many customers prefer to pay by card. You have to ask yourself if not taking charge encourages customers to go elsewhere.
If your orders are B2B, this may not be such a big problem, as companies often still write checks to suppliers. Merchants also have the option to not charge a separate payment fee and simply increase the prices of the goods or services they sell. An interesting fact is that the reason many merchants don`t accept exclusive credit cards collected is that their processing fees tend to be higher than other large card companies. If they charged illegal fees, is a lawsuit necessary? Resident Class Action? Or do I go to the HOA processing company and not to my apartment complex? I am a civil engineer in CT. Typically, I charge clients for professional services. Their main payment channel by far is checks. On my bill, I have a statement that says, „For your convenience, we now accept most major credit cards.“ I use the square to process the cards. I rarely have someone who uses a card, and when they do, it`s almost always on the phone. I would like to add to my statement above that „convenience fees apply“. This fee can be several thousand dollars.
1) Can I charge a convenience fee that is a fixed amount per $1000, say $50, not an actual percentage of total sales or 2) should I set a predetermined amount for the entire sale – say $150? Thank you. It`s probably legal because Georgia doesn`t have rules for indictment, but we`re not able to give specific legal advice. It can potentially violate visa and MasterCard agreements as they prohibit surcharges on direct debits. However, convenience fees are subject to different rules than surcharges, and telephone orders may incur convenience charges. You can contact your attorney general for help in Georgia.