Can you surcharge a credit card in Washington?
Yes. Washington permits credit card surcharging. The card networks' rules govern it. Credit only. Capped. Disclosed up front. Itemized on the receipt. Here is the whole picture in plain English.
The four rules that matter
Credit cards only
Debit and prepaid cards can never be surcharged. That holds even when the customer picks 'credit' at the terminal. The terminal must spot the card type. It must apply the surcharge only where that is allowed.
Capped, twice
The surcharge can't exceed the network cap. And it can't exceed your actual cost of credit acceptance. The lower of the two wins.
Disclosed before payment
Posted notice at the door and at the register, before the customer commits. Surprise is the thing the rules exist to stop.
Itemized on the receipt
The surcharge appears as its own labeled line with the amount. No blending it into the price after the fact.
Surcharge or dual pricing: how they differ
Surcharging keeps one posted price. It adds the disclosed cost to credit sales. It shines where credit rules, like B2B and professional services. It leaves the debit cost on you, because debit cannot be surcharged.
Dual pricing posts a cash price and a card price before the sale. The customer chooses. The program covers all card types. For counter businesses with mixed card use, that usually retires more of the fee. Which structure wins is a math question about your card mix. That is exactly what the free analysis answers.
The part nobody should DIY
Every rule above is enforced at the terminal. It spots the card type, holds the cap, prints the receipt line. A program set up wrong works fine right up until it doesn't. Ours ship set up, with the signs in the box. That is why this page can be short.
Fair questions
Can I surcharge debit cards in Washington?
No, nowhere in the U.S. Network rules prohibit surcharges on debit and prepaid cards even when they're run as credit. This is the rule most DIY setups get wrong.
How much can the surcharge be?
No more than your actual cost of credit acceptance. And never above the network cap. We set the cap on the terminal, so the register can't get it wrong.
What disclosure is required?
You need a clear notice at the entrance and at the point of sale, before payment. The surcharge also has to show as its own line on the receipt. We supply compliant signs with every setup.
Is dual pricing the same thing legally?
It is a different structure. Dual pricing posts two prices before the sale. Surcharging adds a fee to one price. Both are permitted in Washington when run correctly. They just follow different rule sets.
What happens if a setup breaks the rules?
Card brands can fine or shut down acceptance, and customers complain to the issuer. The fix is cheap: set it up correctly the first time, which is the part we do.
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