Surcharging, Cash Discounting, Dual Pricing, What’s the Difference?
Surcharging
“Surcharging” for a card payment is prohibited by New York State under section 518 of the New York General Business Law.
To add a fee for a card transaction, a business must utilize cash discounting or dual pricing.
A popular workaround is to add an ‘Administrative Fee’ to ALL purchases, regardless of payment method.
Cash Discounting
Cash discounting adds a non cash adjustment to the customers total bill. The amount ranges from 3.50% – 3.99%.
The additional amount charged and collected when a customer pays with a card is used to offset any processing fees the merchant would have paid.
The program has been very popular across USA for many years but ruled illegal in NY. This led to a long running lawsuit, which was settled in January of 2019. The ruling allowed merchants to add a fee to the final sale price.
Dual Pricing
The Dual Pricing program is the most compliant method based on a bulletin issued by VISA in April of 2022.
Our terminal shows the customer a card price, and a discounted cash price. This removes any math or guesswork from the customer.
Dual pricing is our preferred method for no cost processing.
Client Feedback
By offering dual pricing to our customers, we were able to save a substantial amount of money each year. Our customers have been understanding of this policy.
The service provided by Scott and the staff has been consistent and professional. The majority of our customers have seen the program we use, and understand it costs us money to accept cards.
When a family comes in to plan their funeral, we are upfront and transparent about our pricing. Offering dual pricing helps us keep our company overhead down; which benefits everyone.
We appreciate the local, in person support that Scott provides us. By offering a cash / card price, we have lowered our costs to operate. As a small business owner, this has been very helpful.
Common Questions & Concerns
What if my customers don’t like it?
It’s possible that a customer will not be happy seeing the card price is higher than cash. However, our merchants have told us that most customers are understanding and do not object.
Your account can be setup to bypass the card price if you prefer. This gives you the option to shift the fee for that transaction back to your business instead of the customer.
Do I have to buy new equipment?
No. We provide a free terminal that uses the latest technology. It’s fast and efficient, we install this for you. We also have advanced Point of Sale systems for larger volume businesses.
How do I settle & reconcile my daily sales?
When the terminal settles your daily batch, it will separate the additional fees collected from your total sales. If your gross sales for the day are $1,000 you will receive $1,000 on the next business day, if your business is approved for next day funding. Most clients are automatically approved for next day funding.
What is my monthly fee?
Monthly account fee $29.00 (waived if you process more than $10,000 per month).
Annual IRS reporting fee $79.00 per year.
Monthly minimum discount $20.00 (Applies if you process less than $1,000 in a month).
Can I use my existing Point of Sale system?
Yes – you can continue to use your existing point of sale system. We will provide a stand alone terminal for you to run payments through. Instead of processing the payments through your Point of Sale, they will need to be entered into our terminal. Several of our existing customers are doing this now.
We understand this is a big decision for your business. If you’re not ready to try no cost processing, we would be happy to review your existing rates for traditional processing.
Ready To Start? Here’s Our Offer
Free Terminal
We will provide one free terminal for your business. A customer facing pin pad is optional and costs $194.00
What Fees Will my Business Pay?
A monthly account fee of $29.00 will be billed each month. An annual fee of $29.00 is billed once per year to cover the cost of PCI compliance.
*To qualify for a free terminal your business must process at least $5,000 per month.
What We Need
To get started please send your most recent processing statement and a voided check to scott@scottgibbens.com you can also fax 315 295 2539.
Once we have your information, we will prepare & email you an electronic agreement to complete. Accounts are normally approved within 1-2 business days.
We will contact you within a week to schedule a time to install your new terminal.
Please call (315) 203-1697 with questions.