Passing credit card fees to clients as a photographer
Short answer: yes for credit cards in most US states, no for debit cards anywhere, and bank transfer is the cheapest path for everyone. Here is how it works and how to set it up without breaking a rule.
The rules in plain terms
A fee added to a card payment is a surcharge. Visa and Mastercard allow surcharges on credit cards, capped at the lower of your actual cost or a network ceiling, and require that the customer is told before they pay. They prohibit surcharges on debit and prepaid cards, even when a debit card is run as credit. A few states restrict surcharging outright; Connecticut and Massachusetts are the ones most often named, so check your state.
What that means for your invoices
The honest setup is per payment method. Credit card: the fee can be added. Debit or prepaid: it cannot, so either you absorb it or you ask the client to use credit or bank transfer. Bank transfer: a low, capped fee that can be passed on, and the method a client will often choose once they see the numbers side by side.
The fee cannot simply be added on top of the price. Because the processor charges on the amount collected, the invoice has to be grossed up so that what lands with you after the fee equals the amount you meant to collect.
How Phlostate handles it
A single switch, Client pays the processing fee, is on by default. The pay page quotes each method with its own total. A card is priced only after the network reports whether it is credit or debit, so a debit card is never surcharged; by default it is asked for credit or bank transfer, and you can choose to accept debit and absorb that fee. The gross-up math is done for you, and contracts generated after you switch it on carry the matching clause.
Questions
- Is a convenience fee the same as a surcharge?
- No. A convenience fee is for an alternative payment channel and has its own rules. Adding a fee because someone paid by card is a surcharge.
- Can I offer a cash discount instead?
- Yes. Discounts for cash or bank transfer are allowed everywhere. Phlostate shows the bank transfer total lower automatically, which has the same effect.
Try it on your own business
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