Optional Card Brand Fees. CONVENIENCE FEE: A fee charged to the Cardholder by the Merchant for a true convenience for accepting a credit or debit card. Examples of a “true convenience” are payment through the internet, mail order or phone order. All Card Schemes allow Merchants to charge a convenience fee. All Card Schemes must be charged equally. The Merchant is required to disclose the fee to the Cardholder and provide the Cardholder with the opportunity to cancel the Transaction, if the Cardholder does not want to pay the convenience fee. In addition to the foregoing, (i) Visa requires Merchants to have a brick and mortar location in order to be allowed to charge a convenience fee; (ii) MasterCard requires processors to register any Government or Education merchant. SURCHARGE: A charge in addition to the initial amount of the sale on a credit card to cover the Merchant’s cost of acceptance. All Card Schemes allow surcharging. Visa, MasterCard and Discover require Merchants to register with the Card Schemes. The Merchant is required to disclose the fee at the entry of their establishment and at the point of sale. The cardholder must be given the opportunity to cancel the Transaction if they do not want to pay the surcharge fee. The amount of the charge cannot exceed the amount of the Merchant’s discount fee on Visa, MasterCard and Discover and is capped at 4%. The surcharge must appear on the sales receipt separately from the sales amount. All Card Schemes must be charged equally. Currently there are several states that prohibit surcharging. Merchants should check their state and local laws prior to initiating a surcharge. SERVICE FEE: Visa allows government and education Merchants to charge a different type of fee called a “service fee”. This fee is assessed for accepting payments for taxes, fees and fines for government MCCs and for tuition, room and board, lunch programs, etc. for education MCC Merchants. The service fee can be charged on credit and debit Transactions, in a face-to-face or card not present environment. The service fee must appear separate from the sales amount on the receipt. Merchants must be registered through Visa. Service fee must be disclosed prior to completion of the transaction, allowing the cardholder to cancel the Transaction if they do not wish to accept the service fee. MasterCard allows government and education merchants to charge “convenience fees” and has no separate “service fee” for these MCCs.
Optional Card Brand Fees. Convenience Fee: A fee charged to the Cardholder by the Merchant for a true convenience for accepting a credit or debit card. Examples of a “true convenience” are payment through the internet, mail order or phone order. All Card Schemes allow merchants to charge a convenience fee. All Card Schemes must be charged equally. Merchant is required to disclose the fee to the Cardholder and provide the Cardholder with the opportunity to cancel the Transaction, if the Cardholder does not want to pay the convenience fee. In addition to the foregoing, (i) Visa requires Merchants to have a brick and mortar location in order to be allowed to charge a convenience fee;
