Almost every business accepts credit cards and every business owner has complained about credit card processing fees and rates. As a business owner, all you want to do is lower your credit card processing fees. But how do you successfully go about doing that? 

You could spend endless phone calls, emails, statement comparisons, and discussions trying to negotiate a better rate and lower fees, which might be impossible. Even with interchange pricing, business owners still pay approximately 3% for every transaction.  

Are there other options to lower credit card processing fees?

You could take advantage of a surcharging program and virtually eliminate your credit card processing fees.

A surcharge is an additional service fee that a merchant adds to a consumer's bill when he or she uses a credit card for payment. 

How does surcharging work? 

Through a surcharging program, you have the ability to add a small service fee to each credit card transaction. A fixed percentage is added to every credit card sale and is clearly noted on your customer's receipt. When a business implements a surcharging program, the service fee applied helps to supplement the cost of acceptance. 

For example, let's say your customer's credit card transaction is $50. A typical surcharging fee is 3.25%. Your customer would pay $51.62 with their receipt showing a $1.62 service fee. As a business owner, that $1.62 will help to cover your credit card processing fees. 

Are there any surcharging rules? 

There are some rules when you decide to take part in a surcharging program.

• Cash, debit, EBT, and PayPal transactions are ineligible for surcharging programs. 
• You must inform you customers that you surcharge prior to the purchase with signage at both the point of entry and the point of purchase. 
• Surcharging is allowed in 40 states throughout the U.S., excluding Maine, Florida, California, Colorado, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas. 
• The fee cannot exceed 4%, must be the same for all accepted brands, and cannot be greater than the fees you pay to your processor. 

How do I implement a surcharging program? 

Inform the card brands (example: Visa and MasterCard) as well as your merchant services provider that you want to implement a surcharging program. You need to give written notice at a minimum of 30 days before you begin to surcharge. 

You should reach out to your merchant services provider first. They may be able to reach out to the card brands on your behalf. Your merchant services provider may also provide you with the correct surcharging equipment, as well as the required signage you need to provide at the point of entry and point of acceptance. 

Also, you need to remember when implementing a surcharging program, it is only for credit card - not cash or debit card - transactions.

To review, surcharging virtually eliminates credit card processing fees by saving you money on every credit card transaction.

Luckily, International Bancard has a surcharging program, called InBalance, that lets businesses supplement the cost of acceptance and lower their credit card processing fees. InBalance, takes the heavy lifting off of the business owner and makes the transition to surcharging effortless. InBalance even provides the mandatory signage at no cost to the business owner. 

If you are looking to lower your credit card processing fees, InBalance may be the right program for you!

Schedule a call with one of International Bancard's Certified Payment Professionals to learn how InBalance can benefit your business and lower your credit.