Card companies and government entities have created a variety of rules and regulations to protect the customer being surcharged.
Certification
This surcharge is
InterPayments Certified
Every InterPayments Certified surcharge is guaranteed to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including that this merchant will not profit from the surcharge.
The Certification Process
Prevention of non-compliant surcharges
Continuous Auditing
Certified surcharges are audited and recorded in real time. Merchant’s surcharge disclosures must also be audited throughout each year. In the event there is an alleged non-compliant surcharge, InterPayments will step in to resolve the allegation as part of the certification guarantee.
Indemnification
In the unlikely event that certified surcharge process failed to adhere to surcharge rules, InterPayments indemnifies merchants for those errors.
Frequent Re-certification
InterPayments certification must be renewed in accordance with the following schedule:
One year from the previous certification
If the merchant adds new payment channels or accepts new forms of payment
If a merchant’s terms of card processing have changed
What Makes A Surcharge Compliant?
InterPayments delivers continuous compliance across state, provincial, federal, and card brand rules with full indemnification behind every transaction.
Surcharges must be disclosed to the payer at the time of payment.
Payers must be able to avoid a surcharge by either choosing a different payment method (such as a debit or prepaid card) or terminating a surcharged transaction, as is required by various card brand and state rules.
Surcharges cannot be greater than the merchant’s cost of processing costs, ensuring the merchant isn’t profiting from the surcharge.
In most states and territories, surcharges cannot exceed 3% of the invoiced total, even if that is less than the merchant’s actual cost of accepting the payment method.
The surcharging merchant must be compliant with state laws and network regulations, with laws taking precedence over network rules wherever they conflict. Some states and territories do not allow surcharging. Surcharges will be set to $0 surcharges for cardholders based in those states.
The surcharge rate must be set equally across all card networks. Merchants must treat all card networks equally with respect to surcharges.
Work With the Surcharging Leader
Partner, prospect, or merchant: wherever you're starting from, InterPayments is here to help. Share what you're working on, and the right solution is a conversation away.