What is a Surcharge Program?

Many people nowadays prefer to pay with a credit or debit card rather than carry cash.

Why? Partly because fumbling around with cash and change at the counter can be inconvenient. Simply put, cards are more convenient.

That convenience, however, comes at a cost to the merchant in the form of credit card fees for each credit card transaction.

There's a lot of buzz in the payments industry right now about cash discount and surcharge programs that can help merchants offset credit card processing fees.

People are confused about which is better, how the programs work, and whether they are even legal.

Allow us to clear the air.