EFFECTIVE DATE: July 20, 2026
Surcharge Defined:
A credit card surcharge is an additional fee added to a transaction when a customer elects to pay with a credit card. The purpose is to offset some or all of the merchant's credit card acceptance costs (interchange, assessments, and processing fees).
A surcharge is generally expressed as a percentage of the transaction amount and appears as a separate line item on the receipt.
Surcharges cannot be applied to debit card transactions, including debit cards processed as "credit."
Merchants must create and post clear and prominent disclosures at the point-of-entry, point-of-interface and point-of-sale.
Healthcare Provider merchants must also consider Government Program participation rules, provider agreement requirements, managed care contract restrictions, and beneficiary notice obligations before electing to surcharge a credit card transaction.
NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS PAYING WITH CREDIT CARD:
We impose a surcharge of _% when paying with a credit card, which is not greater than our cost of acceptance. The adjustment will appear on your receipt. We do not surcharge debit cards. Any purchases made with a debit card or cash will not include a surcharge.
There may be other disclosure requirements related to surcharging depending on your type of business and where you are located. Please review the Card Brand rules and any state laws to determine what applies to your business. You are solely responsible for preparing disclosures that comply with applicable laws.
Understanding credit card surcharges and required customer disclosures
Merchant Considerations
Healthcare Industry Considerations
HSA, FSA and other benefit cards are typically debit or prepaid and are not eligible for surcharge
Healthcare providers accepting Medicare, Medicaid, VA, or other federal healthcare program beneficiaries should carefully evaluate credit card surcharge practices to ensure they do not result in charges beyond permitted patient financial responsibility amounts or conflict with provider participation requirements.
State Restrictions
Merchant locations in CT, MA and PR are not eligible to surcharge
CNP transactions from cardholders whose billing address is CT, MA, PR are not eligible for surcharge
Customer Sensitivity
Understand potential impact to customer experience
Determine if surcharging is right for their business
AMEX Considerations
Available only to OptBlue clients
AMEX Direct clients must reach an agreement with AMEX on intent to surcharge prior to discussing surcharge with Fiserv. Inquiries for Surcharge must be directed to their AMEX RM.
Credit Cards Only
Surcharge can only be applied to eligible Credit Card transactions. Surcharge cannot be applied to any Debit transactions (Signature, PIN, PINless and Prepaid)
Surcharge by MID
Surcharge can be applied at location level (by MID), but must apply on all devices or solutions per registered location
Merchants will need to decide if Surcharging is the right choice for their business
