Surcharge or Cash Discount
Card Brand Compliance is the Name of the Game
Turn card fees into savings, not exposure. Compliant fee shift programs safeguard both your bottom line and your business.
Surcharge
A surcharge is a small percentage fee added to the transaction only when a customer pays with a credit card, to help the merchant offset the cost of accepting that credit card.
Cash Discount
A cash discount is a reduced price given to customers who pay with cash or other low cost methods, instead of paying the regular (higher cost) price with a card.
Benefits of implementing a surcharge or cash discount program
Lower processing costs
Shifts some or all of your card fees from your P&L, improving net margin on every affected transaction
Improved profitability
Protects margin where card fees have been chipping away
Resilience against future rate hikes
Shifts the impact of future interchange and card brand increases away from your bottom line
Price control without across the board increases
Lets you keep base prices competitive while only adding costs where the expense actually occurs (card use)
Customer choice and transparency
Customer can avoid the fee by choosing cash/debit/ACH and the pricing difference is clear and upfront