Payments12 min readUpdated October 14, 2026

Credit Card Surcharges: What You Can Charge, and Where

Credit card surcharge rules: Visa's 3% cap, the 30-day notice, no debit cards, US state bans, EU and UK bans, and surcharge vs convenience fee.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 10 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

A credit card surcharge is a fee a merchant adds when the customer pays by credit card, to recover the cost of card acceptance. In the US, Visa caps it at your processing cost and 3%, requires 30 days' notice to your acquirer, and bans it on debit cards. Some states, the EU and the UK ban it on consumer cards.

A surcharge is only for credit cards. Debit and prepaid cards are excluded by Visa and Mastercard, even when the customer presses "credit".
In the US, the cap is your own average processing cost on credit cards, and never more than 3% on Visa or 4% on Mastercard.
Tell your acquirer, and Mastercard, at least 30 days before you start. Disclose the fee on your site and at checkout, and refund it with the order.
Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine ban surcharges. New York allows them only if the card price is the price you post.
In the EU, surcharges on consumer cards are banned. In the UK, they're banned on consumer cards when both payment providers are in the UK.

Want to go further? Ask

On this page

A credit card surcharge is an extra line added to the order when the customer pays by credit card. It recovers what the card costs you to accept. In the US it's allowed in most states, but Visa and Mastercard set the cap, the notice and the wording, and a few states, the EU and the UK ban it outright.

Maximum Visa credit card surcharge in the US, and never above your own cost

Maximum Mastercard surcharge in the US, same cost limit

30 days

Notice to your acquirer before you announce or charge it

Credit only

Debit and prepaid cards can never be surcharged

What is a credit card surcharge?

A surcharge is a fee you add to the price when the customer pays with a particular payment method, almost always a credit card. The customer who pays another way doesn't pay it. That's the test: if the fee disappears when the customer switches to debit or bank transfer, it's a surcharge, whatever you call it on the receipt.

You charge it, not Visa or Mastercard. The card networks only set the conditions, and Visa forbids presenting the fee as a Visa charge.1 The amount is part of the card payment: it's included in the transaction amount, not collected separately.

Why merchants do it: every card payment costs a merchant discount rate, made of interchange, network fees and your processor's margin. Credit cards, especially rewards and commercial cards, usually cost more to accept than debit cards. A surcharge passes that difference to the customer who chose the card. For the cost levels themselves, see our guides to credit card interchange fees and what a transaction fee is made of.

Surcharge vs convenience fee vs service fee vs cash discount

Four ways to recover card costs. They aren't interchangeable: each one has its own trigger and its own rules, and calling a surcharge a "service fee" doesn't change what it is.1

	Surcharge	Convenience fee	Service fee	Cash discount
Triggered by	Paying by credit card	Paying through a non-standard channel	Paying a bill in an eligible category	Paying by cash, debit or another cheaper method
Who can use it	Most US merchants, where state law allows	Merchants whose usual channel is in person	Government, utilities, schools only (US)	Any merchant
Amount	Up to your cost, 3% max on Visa	A flat amount, the same for every payment method	Reflects your card costs	Your choice
Debit cards	Never	Same fee for every method in the channel	Set by the category rules	Not concerned
Pure online store	Conditional	No	No	Yes
On recurring payments	Not banned by Visa's rules	Not allowed	Under conditions	Yes

Verdict

For an online store, there are only two real options: a credit card surcharge within the network and state rules, or a cash discount from a price that already includes card costs. A "convenience fee" or "service fee" on an ecommerce checkout is a surcharge under another name.

Under Visa's US rules, a convenience fee is only for a "bona fide convenience" outside your usual payment channels. It has to apply to every payment method in that channel, it's a flat amount, it can't be added to a surcharge or to a recurring or installment payment, and it can't be charged by a merchant that operates only in a card-absent environment.1 A service fee is limited, in the US, to utilities (MCC 4900), schools and universities, courts, fines, taxes and government services.1

A discount is the other way around. Visa lets US merchants offer a discount from the standard price, a rebate or another benefit to customers who pay another way, express a preference for a payment method, and tell customers what each method costs the merchant.1 On dual pricing, where the card price and the cash price are posted side by side, state law decides: Connecticut accepts it, New York requires the card price to be the one you post.

The US rules: what Visa and Mastercard require

Surcharges on credit cards have been allowed in the US since January 27, 2013, after the settlement of the merchant class action against the networks.2 Before you charge the first customer:

Check your state. The network rules apply "subject to applicable laws or regulations". A state ban wins.1
Notify in writing, 30 days ahead. Tell your acquirer at least 30 calendar days before you announce the surcharge or first charge it, whichever comes first (Visa). Mastercard asks for notice to both Mastercard and your acquirer at least 30 days before, through its online form.2
Pick brand level or product level. One rate on all Visa credit cards, or one rate per Visa credit product. Not both at once.
Set the rate at or below your cost. Your average credit card discount rate, never above 3% on Visa or 4% on Mastercard.
Disclose it twice. On the first page that shows the card brands you accept, and on the checkout page, with the exact rate.
Show it on the receipt. As a separate line, on the front, in the same font as the rest.
Refund it. In full with the order, in proportion for a partial refund.

Visa Core Rules, April 2026, sections 1.5.4, 5.5.1 and 11.12.4; Mastercard merchant surcharge rules.

In the US Region or a US Territory: The Credit Card Surcharge maximum amount is 3.00%.

Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, April 18, 2026, section 5.5.1.8, p. 392

If you also accept American Express or Discover

Visa adds a "similar treatment" rule. If another credit card brand restricts how you can surcharge it in a channel, you can't surcharge Visa on stricter terms than that brand in the same channel, with a few exceptions (the other brand costs you less, or you surcharge it anyway).1 Mastercard has the same principle: the conditions depend on the costs and surcharge rules of the other brands you accept.2 In practice, ask your acquirer before surcharging only one brand.

How much can you surcharge?

The surcharge can't be higher than what accepting credit cards actually costs you. Visa defines the limit as your average merchant discount rate on credit cards, calculated over the previous 1 or 12 months at your choice, and in no case above the 3% maximum.1 Mastercard uses the same rule with a 4% ceiling.2

Brand level
One rate for every Visa credit card, whatever the issuer or the card type. Cap: your average credit card discount rate, 3% at most.
Product level
One rate per Visa credit product, such as rewards cards. Cap: your cost for that product, minus what a debit card costs you.
The disclosure
At checkout, state that the surcharge isn't greater than your discount rate on Visa credit cards.

A worked example. Your statements show an average of 2.4% on credit cards over the last 12 months. Your maximum surcharge is 2.4%, not 3%. On a $100 order, the customer pays $102.40. If your cost is 3.4%, you're capped at 3% on Visa. Your discount rate is on your processor statement; our transaction fee guide shows how to read it.

Debit cards: never

Visa and Mastercard both exclude debit and prepaid cards.1 2 On a terminal with "credit" and "debit" buttons, Visa requires that a debit card is never surcharged, even if the customer presses "credit", and that the customer is told so.1 Online, your checkout has to detect the card type from the card number before showing the fee.

What the checkout has to show

Visa's rules spell out the disclosure for each channel. For an online store, it's two places, in at least 10-point Arial and never smaller or less visible than the text around it: the first page that lists the card brands you accept, and the checkout page.1

Fig. 1A compliant surcharge line

Checkout · Order totalVisa credit card detected

Order: $100.00
Credit card surcharge: 2.4% · $2.40
Notice: We add 2.4% on credit cards. Not applied to debit cards. Not greater than our cost of accepting Visa credit cards.
Total: $102.40
Option: Change card or cancel without paying

Illustrative record.

Disclose, then let them cancel

Illustrative example, built from the requirements of Visa Core Rules section 5.5.1.9.

The checkout notice must include three things: the exact amount or rate, a statement that the surcharge is charged by you and only applies to credit cards, and, in the US, a statement that it isn't greater than your discount rate on Visa credit cards. For online, phone and mail orders, the customer must be able to cancel after seeing the surcharge.1 In the transaction data, the surcharge is identified as such, and on the receipt it appears on its own line.

Where surcharges are banned or restricted

The network rules are a ceiling, not a permission. Local law can be stricter, and only the states below were checked against their official text for this article. Others have their own caps or notice rules: check yours before you switch the fee on.

Where	Credit card surcharge	What the law says
Connecticut	Prohibited	Any fee that raises the total because of the payment method is banned. A cash discount from the posted price is allowed. A "non-cash adjustment" on the receipt often signals an illegal surcharge6
Massachusetts	Prohibited	"No seller" may surcharge a customer who pays by credit card instead of cash or check. A cash discount is allowed if offered to all buyers and clearly disclosed5
Maine	Prohibited	Sellers can't surcharge credit or debit cards. Discounts are not surcharges. Government bodies have an exception7
New York	Restricted	Since February 11, 2024: post the highest total price including the surcharge, no more than what the card company charges you, and no separate processing or service fee line on the receipt8
Rest of the US	Allowed	Within Visa and Mastercard rules, unless your state sets its own cap, notice or ban
European Union	Prohibited	Consumer debit and credit cards, SEPA transfers and direct debits: no charge at all. Other methods: no more than your direct cost, and each country can go further3
United Kingdom	Prohibited	Consumer cards and other consumer payment methods: no fee when both payment providers are in the UK. Any other fee: no more than your cost4
Canada	Restricted	Visa credit cards only, with 30 days' notice, capped at your cost and at 1% plus Visa's average credit interchange in Canada1
Other countries	Restricted	Visa forbids adding any amount to the normal price unless local law expressly says merchants must be allowed to surcharge. Australia and New Zealand have their own rules1

Selling online into several states

The state lists above don't say which law applies when a store in one state ships to a customer in another. Many merchants turn the surcharge off for addresses in the strict states. Ask counsel for your setup.

The EU ban in detail

Article 62 of the Payment Services Directive works in layers. Your payment provider can't stop you from charging, offering a discount or steering customers to a payment method, but any charge stays below your direct cost (62(3)). Member states must ban charges on cards whose interchange is capped by the Interchange Fee Regulation, which means consumer debit and credit cards, and on SEPA credit transfers and direct debits (62(4)). And each country may ban or limit the rest (62(5)).3 What's left is mostly commercial cards. Visa adds that in Europe, the customer must be told the amount and agree to it before the payment.1

The UK ban in detail

Since January 13, 2018, a payee must not charge any fee for consumer cards, other consumer payment methods, or euro SEPA payments (regulation 6A). The ban applies when both your payment provider and the customer's are in the UK. If only one is, the fee is allowed but can't exceed your cost.4 A UK store taking a card issued abroad, through a UK acquirer, falls in that second case.

What happens if you get it wrong

A debit or prepaid card is surchargedThe customer's bank can file a Visa compliance case for the surchargeDetect the card type before showing the fee
The rate is above your costSame compliance case, for the surcharge amountRecalculate from your last 1 or 12 months of statements
No line on the receipt or no notice at checkoutA compliance case, even if the rate is rightShow the rate before payment and on the receipt
Refund issued without the surchargeThe customer's bank can recover itRefund the surcharge with the order, pro rata if partial
A customer in a ban state is surchargedState enforcement, on top of network rulesTurn the fee off for those addresses

Visa lets the customer's bank open a compliance case when a surcharge is too high, charged where it isn't allowed, charged by a third party, not disclosed, missing from the receipt, not refunded, or combined with a convenience or service fee. The bank recovers the surcharge amount and credits the customer.1 A compliance case is a dispute: see what chargeback fees cost when you contest one.

Should you surcharge?

Why it can make sense

You recover the cost of the most expensive cards without raising every price.
It works best with large orders and B2B invoices, where buyers are used to itemized costs.
Customers who don't want to pay it can choose debit or bank transfer.

What it costs you

A new line at the last step of checkout, where buyers leave.
Setup: card type detection, notice, receipts, refunds, state rules.
Not usable in the EU, the UK or several US states, so two checkouts to run.

There are other ways to deal with card costs. Build them into your prices and offer a discount for cheaper methods, which Visa explicitly allows in the US.1 Or lower the cost itself: route payments to the processor that costs you less for each card type and country, and push lower-cost methods like ACH for large orders.

The rules may move. Visa and Mastercard's settlement with US merchants has preliminary court approval and awaits final approval. According to Visa, it would give merchants more options to surcharge, including when they don't surcharge other credit networks, and let them choose whether to accept commercial, premium and standard credit cards.9 Until it's final, the April 2026 rules above apply.

How Tagada helps

Payments that follow the card network rules

Tagada follows Visa and Mastercard rules and the laws that apply to payments. TagadaPay runs native 3DS2, device intelligence and a rules engine, and payments route across Stripe, Adyen and TagadaPay with one logic. See pricing for plans.

Updated on October 14, 2026

Nick Bonnassies

CMO at Tagada

CMO at Tagada. Before Tagada, Nick built direct-to-consumer brands that generated over $115M in sales, raised over $25M in crowdfunding and sold two of them. He also works as a fractional CMO on marketing operations and AI systems.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to charge a credit card surcharge?

In most of the US, yes, within the card network rules: credit cards only, capped at your processing cost and 3% on Visa, with 30 days' notice and clear disclosure. Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine ban it, and New York requires the card price to be the posted price. The EU bans it on consumer cards, and the UK does too for domestic payments.

Can you charge a surcharge on debit cards?

No. Visa and Mastercard only allow surcharges on credit cards. Debit and prepaid cards are excluded, including a debit card run through the "credit" button. Your checkout has to read the card type from the card number before adding the fee, and your notice has to say the fee applies to credit cards only.

How much can a merchant surcharge?

No more than what you pay to accept credit cards. Under Visa's US rules, the cap is your average merchant discount rate on credit cards, over the last 1 or 12 months, and never more than 3%. Mastercard uses the same logic with a 4% ceiling. If your cost is 2.4%, your maximum is 2.4%. Some state laws set lower caps.

What is the difference between a surcharge and a convenience fee?

A surcharge depends on the payment method: the customer pays it because they used a credit card. A convenience fee depends on the channel: a flat fee for paying through a non-standard channel, like phone payments for a business that usually takes payments in person, whatever the payment method. Under Visa's rules, a merchant that only sells online can't charge one.

Do you have to refund the surcharge when you refund an order?

Yes. Visa requires merchants in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand to refund the surcharge with the order. For a partial refund, the surcharge is refunded in proportion. If you don't, the customer's bank can recover the surcharge from you through a Visa compliance case.

Can I surcharge customers in Europe or the UK?

Not on consumer cards. EU law bans charges for paying with consumer debit and credit cards and with SEPA transfers and direct debits. The UK bans fees on consumer cards and other consumer payment methods when both payment providers are in the UK. Commercial cards can be surcharged, but never above your actual cost.