Dual pricing vs cash discount vs surcharge: what's the difference?
TL;DR: All three let a business pass along card fees instead of eating them. All three are legal in Washington, NWPB's home market. Dual pricing posts two prices up front and covers every card, debit included. “Cash discount” is the older name for that same idea. We install it as dual pricing, so it gets the same coverage. Surcharging keeps one price and adds a disclosed, capped fee, but only on credit cards, never debit. Rules vary by state and can change, so check your own state first if you're outside Washington (Washington's rules are here for reference).
Dual pricing: two prices, every card
Dual pricing posts a cash price and a card price on the shelf, the menu, or the invoice, before the customer pays. The customer picks. The two prices are posted, not added at the register. That means the program covers every card, debit included. Surcharging can never touch debit at all. Dual pricing fits well for businesses with a lot of debit traffic or mixed-card counters, like retail and food service.
The tradeoff is visibility. Both prices stay on display, all the time. That means signage and menu design matter more than they do with a surcharge.
Cash discount: the same goal, installed as dual pricing
“Cash discount” is the older name for this idea. Post the card price, then knock off a discount for cash. Done that way, it's a fair, legal setup. Some providers used to sell a different version: post the lower cash price instead, then add a fee for cards at the register. That surprises the customer at checkout, and card networks watch for programs built that way.
We install a cash discount request as dual pricing. There's no ambiguity that way: both prices, cash and card, posted before the sale. It's the same savings a customer searches for under “cash discount,” just built the way the networks accept.
Surcharging: one price, a capped fee on credit only
Surcharging keeps a single posted price. It adds a disclosed fee only when the customer pays with credit. The fee can never be more than the real cost of accepting the card. It's also capped at the network limit no matter what: Visa caps a credit surcharge at 3%, Mastercard at 4%. Debit and prepaid cards can never be surcharged, full stop, even if the terminal reads the card as credit.
Surcharging has strict rules the other two don't: you have to give the card networks advance notice before the fee goes live, cap it, disclose it, and apply it to credit cards only. The details are specific and they change, and getting them wrong can bring penalties. That's why we handle the compliant setup for you. Surcharging fits best where credit is most of the volume, like B2B and professional services. See the Washington surcharge rules for the current rules.
Side by side
Here's the same comparison, laid out row by row.
Which one fits your business
Heavy debit or retail counter traffic
Dual pricing is the only one of the three that reaches debit, so it's the fit whenever debit is a real share of your volume.
You searched for “cash discount” specifically
That's dual pricing under a different name. We set it up the same compliant way, so you get the savings you were looking for without the version that gets flagged.
Mostly credit-card volume, B2B or professional services
Surcharging usually fits better here, since there's no debit traffic to lose and a straight fee on credit keeps pricing simple.
Not sure what your card mix actually is
That's the most common starting point. A statement tells us the real split between debit and credit in about a day.
The compliance basics, and where the full list lives
A short list here would leave gaps. A gap on surcharging is exactly what gets a business in trouble. Debit is protected on every program. Disclosure has to happen before the customer pays, not after. Surcharging needs more: advance notice to the card networks, a fee at or under the cap, disclosure at the entrance and at the point of sale, and an itemized line on the receipt. The exact rules are specific, they vary by state, and they change, so treat this page as an overview, not the full checklist.
The complete, current rules for Washington live on the Washington surcharge laws page. We also handle the compliant setup itself, so nothing on that list gets missed. Start with a free rate analysis. We'll tell you which program fits and what has to be in place before you turn it on.
Fair questions
Is a credit card surcharge legal in Washington?
Yes. Washington has no state law against it. The real limit is the card network rule: Visa caps a credit surcharge at 3%, Mastercard at 4%. It also has to be disclosed before payment and itemized on the receipt. See the full Washington surcharge rules for the current details.
Can I surcharge a debit card?
No, never, in any state. Network rules ban a surcharge on debit and prepaid cards outright. That's true even if the terminal reads the card as credit. Dual pricing (or a cash discount request, which we install as dual pricing) is the only one of the three that reaches debit at all.
What's the real difference between dual pricing and cash discount?
Almost none, once it's set up right. “Cash discount” is the older name for the same idea: post the card price, then take a discount off for cash. We install a cash discount request as dual pricing, so both prices are posted up front. It's the same savings, built the compliant way.
How much can I legally surcharge?
The cap is set by the card networks, not state law. Visa allows up to 3% on a credit transaction, Mastercard up to 4%. The fee can also never be more than the real cost of accepting the card. Going over the cap, or surcharging debit, is a compliance problem. Washington also requires disclosure at the entrance, at the point of sale, and on the receipt, not just one terminal prompt. See Washington surcharge rules for the complete checklist before you set anything up.
Do I have to register with Visa or Mastercard before I surcharge?
Yes, for surcharging specifically. The card networks require advance notice before a program goes live, on top of a fee cap, disclosure, and a credit-only rule. The exact steps are specific and they change, so a quick summary here would do you a disservice. Dual pricing and a cash discount setup don't need any of that, since there's no added fee, just two posted prices. That's why we handle the compliant setup for surcharging ourselves. See the Washington surcharge rules for the current notice requirement.
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