A surcharge is an additional fee that a merchant may add to a payment transaction when a customer pays with a credit or debit card. Surcharges allow businesses to indirectly pass payments/processing costs on to customers by listing a charge separately from the cost of the good or service. It is important to note that there are very specific requirements that a business must follow if they intend to implement a surcharge.
Merchants in all industries can surcharge. However, merchants must register and notify Moneris with 30-days’ notice to enable the feature, and they are responsible for understanding how jurisdictional laws apply to them and their customers.
Surcharging is available for both card-present and card-not-present transactions. Merchants may surcharge in either the card-present or card-not-present environment with no obligation to surcharge in both.