What is a card surcharge?
A card surcharge is a percentage fee added to credit card sales to help cover the cost of card processing.
Every card payment costs the merchant a processing fee, often a percentage of the sale. A surcharge passes some of that cost to customers who pay by credit card. It is shown as its own line on the receipt, not hidden in item prices, and it applies to credit cards only, not to cash or, in most rule sets, debit.
Surcharging is regulated by card brand rules and, in some places, by law. In Canada, Visa and Mastercard have allowed credit card surcharges since late 2022, capped at a few percent, with notice to your processor beforehand and clear signs for customers; Quebec does not allow them. In the US the card brands cap surcharges and some states restrict or ban them. Rules change, so check with your processor before you switch it on.
Disclosure is the part merchants most often get wrong. Customers should be told before they pay: at the entrance, at the counter and on the receipt. The surcharge should never be more than your actual cost of acceptance, and it should not apply to debit or prepaid cards. A surcharge is different from a convenience fee (a flat fee for a particular way of paying) and from cash discount pricing.
In SeroPOS, Card Surcharge is a switch in the app's Settings with a gear for the Surcharge Percentage, from 0 to 2.00%. It applies to credit card payments only, is set per location and syncs across tills. The surcharge prints on the receipt and shows as Card Surcharge on the DSR. SeroPOS has no cash discount or dual pricing mode.
A retailer sets a 1.5% surcharge. A $200.00 purchase plus 5% GST comes to $210.00. Paid by debit or cash, the customer pays $210.00. Paid by credit, the POS adds a $3.15 surcharge (1.5% of $210.00) for a total of $213.15, and the receipt shows the surcharge on its own line. Whether tax applies to the surcharge itself depends on local rules.