Credit card surcharge sign: what it must say and where

A credit card surcharge sign tells customers, before they pay, that you add a fee when they use a credit card and how much that fee is. Visa and Mastercard both want one notice at the point of entry (your front door, or for online sales the first page that mentions card brands) and another where the customer actually pays, and both want the surcharge amount printed on the receipt. Visa's sample wording also says the fee is "not greater than our cost of acceptance." Several states add their own placement or wording rules on top.

There's a catch worth knowing up front: a sign never makes a surcharge legal where the surcharge itself isn't. Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts ban credit card surcharges, so the sign you need there is a cash discount sign. Our guide to whether it's legal to charge a credit card fee covers that question state by state. This one covers the sign: what it says, where it goes, and example wording you can adapt with your processor.

What does a credit card surcharge sign have to say?

Four things: that you add a surcharge, how much it is, that it applies to credit cards, and that it's no more than what accepting those cards costs you. Both networks spell this out.

Visa publishes sample signage. Its entrance example reads "We impose a surcharge on credit cards that is not greater than our cost of acceptance," and its point-of-sale examples fill in a percentage or a dollar amount: "We impose a surcharge of ___% on the transaction amount on Visa credit card products, which is not greater than our cost of acceptance." Visa says merchants are free to design their own signs that meet the requirements, and can combine brand messages when they surcharge more than one brand, such as Visa and Mastercard (Visa sample signage).

Mastercard's rules ask for the same pieces at the point of sale: the surcharge percentage applied to Mastercard credit card transactions, a statement that the merchant is imposing it, and a statement that it isn't greater than the merchant discount rate for Mastercard credit. The disclosure also can't disparage the brand, the network, the issuer, or the card product (Mastercard Rules 5.11.2).

South Dakota's consumer protection office describes the same checklist from the consumer side: the disclosure should state the amount, that the merchant is charging it, and that it doesn't exceed the merchant's cost, with the dollar amount on the receipt (South Dakota Consumer Protection). A shop in Sioux Falls that follows the network wording covers all of it.

What the sign shouldn't say matters just as much. Leave out anything that blames a card brand or bank for the fee, anything that suggests debit cards pay it too, and any percentage higher than your actual cost.

Where does a surcharge sign have to go?

At the point of entry and at the point of sale, with the amount on every receipt. Visa requires notices in both places and the surcharge on the receipt (Visa). Mastercard's rules put the first notice at the point of store entry or, for ecommerce, on the first page that references credit card brands.

Here's how that plays out by channel:

The phone and invoice rows apply the same idea to channels without a front door, and several states write them into law. If you take payments through a virtual terminal, put the surcharge line on the invoice itself, not only on the confirmation.

Which states have their own surcharge sign rules?

Six states that allow surcharges add their own disclosure rules, and Colorado goes as far as writing the sign for you. Where a state rule and a network rule both apply, follow both.

New York's rule changes what the sign is. Under General Business Law Sec. 518, you post the total price for paying by card, and the Department of State's guide lists a percentage notice on a price tag or menu, and a fee that first appears on the receipt, as non-compliant. A deli in New York City needs the card price on the menu board, either alone or next to the cash price.

New Jersey's statute covers placement, and its Division of Consumer Affairs says stating the surcharge as a percentage is fine as long as it's disclosed before the customer incurs any charge (NJ Consumer Affairs FAQ). Minnesota's Sec. 325G.051 is the one that requires you to say it out loud at the counter as well as post it, and a violation carries a civil penalty of up to $500 plus a refund of the surcharge to each buyer. Oklahoma's rules come from Section 2-211, and a business in Oklahoma City needs the notice on its home page too, not just at checkout. Kansas's K.S.A. 16a-2-403 asks for the least of the six.

Colorado's required wording

If you use Colorado's 2% cap rather than the merchant discount fee option, C.R.S. 5-2-212 supplies the sign. Post this text where customers can see it, or online before checkout:

That's long for a register sign, so print it at a size people can read. Our Denver page covers the city's tax rules that sit alongside it.

States where no surcharge sign works

In Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts, the surcharge is banned, so posting a notice doesn't help. The sign to post is a cash discount sign. Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection gives an example: a sign stating that all listed prices are discounted by 3% if you pay in cash (CT DCP). Our cash discount program guide shows how to post prices so the discount stays a discount.

Canada has the same split. Outside Quebec, Visa wants the surcharge disclosed clearly and prominently at the point of entry and the point of transaction (Visa Canada). In Quebec, the Office de la protection du consommateur says telling the customer about a card fee in advance does not make it legal (OPC).

Example credit card surcharge sign wording

Entrance sign:

Register or terminal sign:

Online checkout, shown before the Pay button:

Phone script, read before taking the card number:

Receipt line:

In New York, swap the percentage notice for prices: a menu line such as "Cash $40.00 / Card $41.00" does the job the sign can't. In Colorado on the 2% option, use the statutory text above instead of your own entrance wording.

How do you set the number on the sign?

Start from your cost, not from 3%. The percentage on the sign has to be at or below what each card brand actually costs you, and at or below any state cap.

Say a furniture store in Nashville pulls three months of statements and finds that Visa credit costs it 2.6% on average and Mastercard credit 2.7%. Those figures are assumptions for the example; your statement has your own. Visa's cap is the lower of 2.6% or 3%, so 2.6%. Mastercard's is 2.7%. One combined sign for both brands is simplest, so the store uses 2.5%.

On a $1,200 sofa, that's a $30.00 surcharge. A sign that said 3% would put $36.00 on the same sofa, more than the store's cost on either brand and outside both networks' rules. Move the same store to Denver and the 2% statutory option caps the fee at $24.00. In Oklahoma City, the state cap of 2% or actual cost also lands at $24.00.

Costs move, so the sign has to move with them. If a better rate drops your Visa cost to 1.9%, a 2.5% sign is now too high. Our guide to reading a merchant statement shows where the per-brand numbers sit.

Common surcharge sign mistakes

• A notice at the register but nothing at the entrance or on the first page of the website.
• "3% fee on all card payments," which takes in debit and prepaid cards.
• A percentage above your real cost, often copied from a competitor's sign.
• A "service fee" or "non-cash adjustment" that first shows up on the receipt.
• An online fee added after the customer clicks Pay.
• A sign that blames a card brand or bank for the fee.
• An old sign left up after your rate, and so your cap, went down.
• Any surcharge sign at all in Connecticut, Maine, or Massachusetts.

If you're unsure whether a "fee" on your checkout is really a surcharge, our guides to the convenience fee and the debit card surcharge cover the labels that cause trouble.

Surcharge sign checklist

1. Confirm your state allows credit card surcharges and note any cap or wording rule.
2. Work out your cost for each card brand from recent statements.
3. Set one rate at or below the lowest limit that applies.
4. Give your acquirer at least 30 days' written notice, as Visa requires. Mastercard's rules also call for advance notice, though its surcharge form page says it isn't currently requiring merchants to register while it revises its rules (Mastercard). Ask your processor what it files.
5. Print an entrance sign and a point-of-sale sign, and add the notice to your website's checkout.
6. Write the phone script and put the surcharge line on invoices and payment pages.
7. Set your POS terminals and online checkout to apply the fee to credit cards only, then test a debit card and check the receipt.
8. Put a quarterly review on the calendar, and change the sign whenever your cost changes.

Our credit card surcharging program covers compliance, disclosure, and setup, including the signs.

Your next step

The number on your sign can't be higher than your cost, so start there. Send a recent statement for a free statement review and we'll work out your cost by card brand, which tells you the highest rate your sign can show, or whether a lower processing rate beats a surcharge altogether. If you'd rather talk it through, contact us.