Visa Takes Stricter Stance on Non-Compliant Surcharges

Apr 22nd, 2024

Payment ProcessingAscentZeroCost

In the wake of the recent lawsuit settlement involving MasterCard and Visa, merchants are gaining greater latitude to impose fees on consumers paying with credit cards. This settlement also brings about a degree of simplification regarding surcharge regulations. However, Visa is now intensifying its efforts to enforce compliance among merchants from the outset.

The card brands are adamant about ensuring adherence to their regulations, employing methods such as monitoring through "secret shoppers" and imposing fines as necessary. Merchants found surcharging in violation of card brand regulations could face substantial penalties, including daily fines reaching up to $10,000.

Key regulations remain unchanged:

• Debit and prepaid cards cannot be subject to surcharges.
• Surcharges must be refunded upon request.
• The surcharge cap stands at 3% and must not exceed the cost of credit card acceptance.
• Merchants must transparently disclose surcharges to consumers using specific language and provide alternative payment options for those unwilling to pay the surcharge.
• Merchants intending to surcharge must register their intent.

Settlement-related modifications include:

• Merchants can now levy a surcharge of up to 1% on consumers paying with Visa credit cards, regardless of whether surcharges are applied to other card brands (e.g., Amex).
• A surcharge of up to 3% on credit card transactions is permissible, provided the cost of acceptance remains below 3%, and the same surcharge is applied uniformly across all card brands accepted.

At Ascent, we offer a card-brand compliant and competitive surcharge program. For further information on our compliant surcharge program, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team.