Dual Pricing vs Surcharge fees

Discover how you can save on card processing fees by applying a surcharge on credit card sales, or by offering a discount price to cash payment customers. But what is dual pricing vs surcharging?

What is Credit Card Surcharging?

A credit card surcharge is a fee added to the credit card transaction to cover processing costs.

What is Dual Pricing?

Dual pricing gives customers one price for card payments and a discounted price for paying with cash.

Comparison of Dual Pricing vs Surcharge Fees

Dual Pricing

Customers are offered a card payment price vs a discounted cash payment price.
- All cards (excluding PIN debit transactions) pay the full listed price.
Cash payments receive a lower price, encouraging non-card payment.
In-store customers are presented with both card and cash payment prices.
Ideal for businesses in areas where surcharge pricing is prohibited.
Helpful for retailers looking to include processing fees within the card price, while offering cash payment customers a lower price.
Signage: Stores must display both the card payment price and discounted cash price alongside the product and/or service offered.
Receipts: Card payments must not display a surcharge fee, only the full price as presented. Cash payment receipts must show a discount being applied to the full price of the item.
Typically, merchant billing for PIN debit transactions, are charged separately from other card sales.

Surcharge Fees

Customers pay up to a 3% surcharge on credit card sales.
- Surcharge fees are excluded on PIN Debit and Check Cards (aka Signature Debit) sales.
No discount is offered to cash payment customers.
PIN debit and check cards pay the same as the cash price.
Credit card payment customers must be informed that a surcharge fee will be applied to their purchase.
Ideal for businesses with well-defined prices and want to apply a surcharge fee to offset against credit card processing fees.
Helpful for retailers that primarily process credit cards and want to offset fees without offering discounts.
Signage: Stores must display a surcharge fee notice at the entrance and at the place of checkout. The notice must show that a surcharge fee will be applied on all credit card sales.
Receipts: Must list the surcharge as a separate line item on credit card sales.
Surcharging must be applied on all credit card sales and cannot vary by individual product or brand.