Add a card surcharge

A card surcharge adds a percentage to payments made by credit card, so the client who pays by card covers the processing fee. Surcharging is regulated by card brand rules and by some US states, so Outpost applies a fixed set of limits and leaves the rest to you. This page shows how to turn it on and what Outpost does and does not check.

Caution

This page describes how Outpost applies surcharges. It is not legal advice. Card brand rules and state laws change, and some apply to you that Outpost cannot check. Confirm with your acquirer, and with counsel if you are unsure, before you turn surcharging on.

Before you begin

• You need psa:payments.
• At least one provider can tell a credit card from a debit card before it charges: Stripe or Braintree. Square, Authorize.net, and QuickBooks Payments cannot, so payments through them are never surcharged. If none of your providers can, the Card surcharge card says so.
• Card brands require you to notify them and your acquirer before your first surcharge, at least 30 days ahead. Do that first. Turning the surcharge on asks you to confirm it.

Turn on the surcharge

1. Select Client billing > Payments.
2. In the Card surcharge card, tick Surcharge credit card payments.
3. In Surcharge, enter a percentage, at most 3.
4. Tick I confirm my practice has told its card brands and its acquirer that it will surcharge, at least 30 days before the first surcharge, as the card brand rules require.
5. Select Save surcharge.

The card then shows the date you confirmed the notice.

When a payment is surcharged

Outpost adds the surcharge only when every one of these holds:

Rule	Detail
Credit card	Debit cards, prepaid cards, and bank payments are never surcharged.
Processor can tell	The processor reports whether a card is credit or debit before the charge.
New card on a one-time payment	Payments with a saved method, including autopay, are never surcharged.
Billing state known	The payer chooses the card’s billing state. Outside the US, or no state, means no surcharge.
State allows it	Never in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, or Puerto Rico. At most 2% in Colorado.
Rate	Your percentage, never more than 3%.

The amount is rounded half up to the cent.

What the client sees

• Before they choose how to pay, the pay page and the client portal say that credit card payments carry the surcharge. In the client portal, each choice also shows its fee.
• The review step shows Credit card surcharge as its own line above Total to charge.
• The receipt shows the surcharge.
• An autopay authorization for a credit card discloses the surcharge rate, even though autopay charges are not surcharged.

Refunds

A refund returns the surcharge in the same share as the amount refunded, as card rules require. See Refund a payment.

Turn it off

Clear Surcharge credit card payments and select Save surcharge. New payments are no longer surcharged.

Verify

Pay a test invoice with a credit test card on a Sandbox provider, with a billing state that allows surcharges. The review step shows Credit card surcharge, and the attempt on the invoice shows the surcharge it included.

Next steps

• Payment settings and emails
• Client payments