Surcharging / Dual Pricing
Pay $0 in Card Fees.
Stay Fully Compliant.
Keep Every Dollar.
Surcharging and dual pricing both move the cost of accepting cards off your books. They differ in what the customer sees, which cards they cover and where they’re allowed.
Surcharging: up to 3% on credit·
Dual pricing: all cards, 3.5% card price
Takes 60 seconds • No obligation
Automatic Card Detectiondebit and prepaid cards are never surcharged
Works on Everythingterminals, Clover, Exatouch, gateway and invoicing
Compliance Handledstate check, card-brand notice, signage and receipts
Switch Anytimechange programs or go back to Cost-Plus at no charge
Recognized By
Get My Free Savings Analysis
Takes 60 seconds • No obligation
Recognized By
Surcharging adds a fee to credit cards only. Dual pricing shows a cash price and a card price just 3.5% higher.
Two programs, one free setup
Compare the two ↓A compliant program moves your card fees from your statement to the price your card customers pay. On $50,000 a month, that is about $1,475 back every month.
Up to 100% of your card fees
Run the numbers ↓We check your state, file the card-brand notice, program your equipment and ship compliant signage. Dual pricing can be live in days.
Free setup and signage
See the setup ↓Two Programs, Side by Side.
Both take card fees off your books. Here is what the customer sees, which cards each one covers, and the rules that come with it.
Surcharging
Credit cards only
Up to 3% on credit cards
- Customer sees
- A separate fee line at checkout
- Cards
- Credit only, never debit or prepaid
- Cap
- Your cost of acceptance, up to 3%, the same on every card brand
- Notice
- 30 days to the card brands, filed by us
- Signage
- Entrance, register and a line on the receipt
- Not allowed
- CT, MA, ME and PR; CO and OK cap it at 2%
Best for
Service businesses and B2B with credit-heavy customers
Dual Pricing
All cards
A cash price and a card price on every item
- Customer sees
- Two prices, cash and card, before they pay
- Cards
- All cards, credit and debit
- Cap
- No card-brand cap; our card price is 3.5%
- Notice
- None required
- Signage
- Both prices on tags, menus and screens
- Allowed
- All 50 states
Best for
Retail, mobile businesses, restaurants and quick service
Dual pricing only works when both prices are shown before the customer pays. We set up both programs the compliant way.
Your Card Fees, Off Your Statement.
Pick a program and set your monthly card volume to see what it covers, and what your customer sees on a $100 sale.
Pick a program
Monthly card sales
$50,000
Share paid by credit card
70%
Card fees on $50,000 a month in card sales
Today, on a typical rate (2.5%)
With dual pricing
How the number is calculated
You keep
$1,250 / month
$15,000 per year • 100% of your card fees
A $100 Sale With Dual Pricing
Both prices are posted on every tag, menu and screen, so the customer chooses before paying. No fee line appears anywhere.
Price tag
Receipt shows whichever price the customer paid.
Card price is just 3.5% above the cash price
Applies to every card type, credit and debit
Both prices on every tag, menu and customer-facing screen
Optional sign (not required)
“We accept all forms of payment. Each item is labeled with two prices, a card price and a cash price. Customers are charged the price based on the method of payment used.”
Your cost on this sale
$0.00
On every card, credit or debit
Example assumes a typical rate on all cards today of 2.95% for surcharging (B2B) or 2.5% for dual pricing (retail), and a 1.25% Cost-Plus effective rate on debit. The surcharge example uses 3%, the card-brand ceiling, and the dual pricing example uses our 3.5% card price. A surcharge is set from your actual cost of acceptance, and your free analysis gives your exact numbers.
Compliant and Live in 3 Simple Steps
Dual pricing can be live within days. Surcharging goes live once the 30-day card-brand notice has run.
01
Submit Your Free Savings Analysis Request
Takes 60 secondsUpload a recent statement. We show what each program would cover, confirm what your state allows, and recommend the one that fits how your customers pay.
02
We Confirm Your State & File Notices
Within 1 business dayWe check state law and card-brand rules for your location. For surcharging, we set the fee at your true cost of acceptance and file the 30-day notice with the card brands. For dual pricing, your card price is set 3.5% above cash.
03
Equipment, Signage and Go-Live
1–2 business daysWe program your terminal, Clover, Exatouch, gateway or invoicing to detect the card type and apply the surcharge or card price automatically, send your signage and receipt wording, and give your staff a one-line script.
Then, As the Rules Change
Ongoing, freeCard-brand and state rules change. We track them, update your settings and signage when they do, and review your statement so every transaction stays compliant.
Where Each Program Is Allowed
Dual pricing is allowed in all 50 states. Surcharging is allowed in most, with a few exceptions:
Surcharging not allowed
Surcharge capped at 2%
Full card price must be displayed
Rules as of October 2026. We confirm your state before anything goes live.
Why Programs Get Shut Down
Four mistakes are behind almost every fine or shutdown. All four are avoidable:
- 1Debit cards got surchargedEquipment that can’t tell debit from credit.
- 2Only the cash price was postedDual pricing needs both prices shown before the sale.
- 3The surcharge was higher than the costA penny over 3%, or over your cost, is a violation.
- 4No signage, no receipt line, no noticeEach one is required before the first surcharge.
No obligation • Response within 1 business day
Read the Guides
One guide for each program, written in plain English for business owners.
ZERO RISK
Our Meet or Beat Guarantee
If you receive a lower written quote from another provider while you’re our client, send it to us. Once we verify it’s a genuine offer and not a teaser rate, we’ll meet it or beat it. Guaranteed.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FAQs
No. Surcharges are allowed on credit cards only. Debit and prepaid cards are exempt under card-brand rules and federal law, even when the customer runs a debit card as credit. Our equipment reads the card type on every sale and never adds a surcharge to debit. If you want every card to carry the cost, dual pricing is the program to use.
Surcharging isn’t allowed in those states or in Puerto Rico, but dual pricing is. Colorado and Oklahoma allow surcharging but cap it at 2%, and New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and California require the full card price to be displayed. We confirm your state’s rules before anything goes live.
Some ask about it at first. These programs are now common in most retail and service settings, so most customers don’t object, and done compliantly, cash (and debit, with surcharging) still gets the lower price. If you decide the program isn’t for you, we move you back to Cost-Plus pricing anytime, at no charge.
3.5%. Your prices show two amounts: the cash price and a card price 3.5% higher. When customers pay by card, the card price covers the processing fees, so you pay $0. Many dual pricing programs set the card price 4% above cash. Ours is just 3.5% above, so your card customers pay less.
Yes. Clover, Exatouch and our Valor, Dejavoo and PAX terminals all run dual pricing, and surcharging runs on our terminals and through the gateway and virtual terminal for invoices and phone orders. We enable and test the program during setup, so the surcharge or card price calculates automatically on every sale.
No. Setup, equipment programming, signage and the card-brand notice are free, and there’s no contract. If you want to change programs later, or go back to Cost-Plus, we reconfigure your equipment at no charge.
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Trusted since 2000
STOP PAYING TO GET PAID
Move Card Fees Off Your Books
Send us a recent statement and we’ll show you what each program covers, which one fits your business and your state, and exactly what you’d keep.
No obligation. Response within 1 business day.