Card processing in the United States
The United States has no single rulebook for merchants the way Canada does. What you can and cannot do often depends on your state and on the card network's own rules.
There is no national merchants' code
Canada has one Code of Conduct that every processor signs up to. The United States does not have an equivalent. Instead, what you can do is shaped by three separate things:
- Card network rules. Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Discover each publish their own rules for merchants.
- State law. Some states restrict what you can charge customers for paying by card.
- Your own contract. What you signed with your processor, which is often longer and stricter than either of the above.
In practice this means the answer to "am I allowed to do this?" is more often "it depends where you are" than it is in Canada.
Surcharging: the rules depend on your state
Adding a fee when a customer pays by credit card is allowed in much of the United States, but it comes with conditions: caps on the amount, signs at the entrance and at the till, the fee printed on the receipt, and registering with the card networks before you start. Some states restrict or ban it outright, and the picture has changed several times.
This page will not tell you the position in your state, because a stale answer here could cost you real money: {{VERIFY: US surcharging rules state by state, plus current network caps, notice and registration requirements}}
Cash discounting is not the same thing
Cash discounting means advertising one price and taking money off for cash. Surcharging means advertising one price and adding money on for credit. Sales people use the terms interchangeably, and they are not interchangeable. Which one you are actually running depends on how the price is displayed on your shelf, your menu and your receipt.
See cash discount and surcharge in the statement decoder.
US-specific fees on your statement
A couple of line items are specific to the United States and confuse people the first time they appear:
- FANF — a Visa charge billed monthly rather than per sale, based on your business type and how many locations you have. It lands even in a quiet month.
- NABU — a Mastercard charge applied per authorization.
Both are network charges, so every processor pays them. What differs is whether yours shows them to you as their own line or buries them inside a blended rate.
Durbin, debit, and why your debit costs vary
Debit interchange in the United States is capped for cards issued by larger banks, and not capped for smaller ones. That is why two debit cards that look identical can cost you different amounts. The details, including the current cap and which issuers it applies to: {{VERIFY: Regulation II debit interchange cap, exempt issuer threshold, and current status}}
What is the same as everywhere else
Interchange, assessments, PCI compliance, chargebacks and equipment leases all work the same way on both sides of the border. The fees section covers those, and flags country differences inline where they exist.