Why Should a Business Choose InterPayments for Surcharging?
Payment acceptance is an essential part of doing business, but the cost of accepting payments can put increasing pressure on margins. Surcharging can help offset payment acceptance costs. However, integrating it into the existing payments ecosystem while maintaining compliance can be complex.
That’s where a managed approach can make a difference.
Managed surcharging gives merchants a way to recover significant payment acceptance costs while maintaining control over how, where, and when surcharges are applied. By working with a Managed Surcharge Provider, merchants can implement surcharging as part of their existing payments environment while relying on specialized expertise to manage evolving compliance requirements. Merchants can then use these recovered costs to improve cash flow, reinvest in the business, and support broader business objectives.
The key advantages of managed surcharging include:
Confident Compliance Management
Surcharging is governed by requirements across more than 60 government jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada. There are also more than 350,000 distinct card types, each of which can affect surcharge compliance and calculation. These requirements can change over time, making compliance an ongoing responsibility. Noncompliance with state surcharging rules can result in fines of up to $20,000 per violation. Maintaining federal and state compliance requires investment in multi-jurisdiction legal review, along with ongoing monthly counsel support to interpret rule changes and exceptions.
A Managed Surcharge Provider brings specialized expertise to this process. Instead of asking internal teams to monitor requirements, interpret rules, and update systems, merchants can rely on a provider whose role is to manage these complexities. This gives businesses greater confidence that their surcharge program is following all rules and regulations while reducing operational complexity.
A Seamless Customer Experience
Cost recovery does not have to come at the expense of customer experience.
A well-designed surcharge program makes the policy clear before payment and gives customers the option to choose a lower-cost payment method.
It should also reflect the way each business operates. Not every business has the same customers or payment patterns, so a one-size-fits-all approach to surcharging may not be the right fit. Managed surcharging gives merchants the flexibility to build a program around their specific needs. Merchants can use selective surcharging to target fee recovery based on customer type and payment timing, encouraging earlier payments while discouraging higher-cost payment methods. This approach can help reduce DSO and improve cash flow predictability.
Surcharging Integrated Into Your Existing Payment Stack
The right managed surcharge solution should integrate seamlessly into the existing payment stack, including the payment systems and ERPs merchants already use.
This allows surcharging to become part of the existing payment workflow rather than another system for employees to manage. For merchants operating across multiple locations or channels, this integration helps reduce unnecessary manual processes.
The result is a more transparent approach to cost recovery that works within the payment experience customers already know.
A Smarter Way to Manage Costs with InterPayments
InterPayments helps merchants maximize payment fee recovery through automated, fully compliant surcharging backed by contractual indemnification.
The InterPayments managed surcharge solution integrates surcharging into existing workflows without disrupting the customer experience. InterPayments handles program setup, compliance management, surcharge calculations, and reporting, so merchants can focus on running and growing their business.
InterPayments also gives merchants the flexibility to tailor their surcharge strategy through selective surcharging. Merchants can target fee recovery across specific customer types, product lines, and more. When applied strategically, selective surcharging can encourage lower-cost payment methods, build customer loyalty, and improve both margins and cash flow.
InterPayments leverages a comprehensive BIN database to accurately determine surcharge eligibility and calculate every surcharge. With in-house consultative support and 24/7/365 transaction reporting, InterPayments eliminates the need for costly external legal services.
By putting in this effort, InterPayments creates the best possible experience for merchants and their customers by minimizing compliance risk and maximizing surcharging returns.
Beyond Cost Recovery
With managed surcharging, merchants gain greater control over one of their most persistent payment costs. InterPayments takes on the complexity behind the program, with end-to-end compliance management that helps merchants stay compliant as surcharge requirements evolve. By embedding surcharging into the existing payment stack, merchants can maximize fee recovery while simplifying program management. They can then reinvest those savings into business initiatives that drive growth and strengthen their bottom line.
The value of managed surcharging goes beyond fee recovery. It can help merchants streamline payment management, reduce operational complexity, and protect the customer experience as they scale.
Ready to take control of your payment processing costs? Talk to an InterPayments expert about building a compliant surcharging program that works with the systems you already use.