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Education

interaction. Given that Visa is a major player in how a
great number of customers pay for products and services, With Visa's most recent change,
it is important to consider Visa's standards when imple-
menting the use of surcharges as a standard business merchants are expected to
practice. Let's take a closer look into what Visa expects inform Visa in advance when
from merchants who intend to use surcharges.
they intend to include these fees
Merchants who do business with Visa customers are ex-
pected to be completely open about their intent to assess in transactions with customers.
surcharge fees. With Visa's most recent change, merchants
are expected to inform Visa in advance when they intend
to include these fees in transactions with customers. similar fees across different card companies to avoid giv-
ing any one provider an unfair advantage.
Ensuring that Visa is aware of your intent will help when
a customer attempts to dispute specific fees during a pur- There are times when it is appropriate for businesses to
chase. In addition, to maintain compliance, companies assess a surcharge during certain transactions. These fees
must communicate their intent to assess these charges 30 can help support the health of a business and ensure that
days prior to adding surcharges to the purchase process they are being fairly paid for each individual sale.
(see https://tinyurl.com/538mjsyp).
Know the limitations Staying up to date on the expectations of card companies
can help your merchant customers maintain compliance
Although Visa does support merchants assessing sur- and continue to offer popular payment options to their
charges, the card brand does require reasonable limita- customers. Ultimately, being informed and adapting as
tions to be set in place. First, Visa expects companies will needed can have a positive impact on business interac-
not impose surcharges that exceed the merchant discount tions.
rate—a rate that is charged to the merchant for payment
processing. Above all else, surcharges should be used to
support your business, not to make more money. Nicholas Cucci is the co-founder and COO of Fluid Pay LLC. Cucci is also
a graduate of Benedictine University and a member of the Advisory
Selecting the right value is important, but remaining in Board and Anti-Fraud Technology Committee for the Association of
compliance with how these fees are assessed is equally Certified Fraud Examiners, as a CFE himself. Fluid Pay is the ONLY 100
important. Since surcharges must never be applied to deb- percent cloud-based Level 1 PCI Payment Gateway processing trans-
it card transactions, this means they cannot be applied to actions anywhere in the world. Contact Nick at Nick@FluidPay.com.
prepaid card transactions either. Companies must be able Benefits of crypto for the underbanked
to distinguish this.
Communicate the fee to consumers Call me today!
While the steps I've mentioned are essential, the most Let me help you
critical rule when applying surcharges is the need to ac- with your
tively communicate these fees. Customers must know in
advance that a surcharge is being assessed. And the fees advertising
cannot be hidden from the consumer during the purchase
either. Without proper notice, the customer expects to pay success.
the purchase amount displayed with the item and will be
blindsided by the additional cost. To remain in compli- 707-284-1693
ance, companies must communicate these charges and la-
bel them as what they are. Also, indicate clearly what they
will do to the total price of the transaction.
Decide when surcharges are the right step

Businesses are not required to assess surcharges, but
they can do so in specific circumstances. Some regions
do not support surcharges, which means that companies
must make sure they are not adding them to transactions
where these charges are not allowed. R R ick Aston

Visa also has certain competition considerations when it Senior Media Partnership Specialist
comes to these fees. Companies are expected to maintain Rick@greensheet.com

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