Is surcharging allowed in Washington?
Yes. Washington permits credit card surcharging, governed by the card networks' rules: credit only, capped, disclosed up front and itemized on the receipt. Here's the whole picture in plain English.
The four rules that matter
Credit cards only
Debit and prepaid cards can never be surcharged, even when the customer selects 'credit' at the terminal. The terminal must detect card type and apply the surcharge only where allowed.
Capped, twice
The surcharge can't exceed the network cap, and it can't exceed what credit acceptance actually costs you. Whichever number is lower wins.
Disclosed before payment
Posted notice at the entry and at the register, before the customer commits. Surprise is the thing the rules exist to prevent.
Itemized on the receipt
The surcharge appears as its own labeled line with the amount. No blending it into the price after the fact.
Surcharge or dual pricing: the practical difference
Surcharging keeps one posted price and adds the disclosed cost to credit transactions. It shines where credit dominates, like B2B and professional services, and it leaves debit cost on you because debit can't be surcharged.
Dual pricing posts a cash price and a card price before the sale, the customer chooses, and the program covers all card types. For counter businesses with mixed card use, that usually retires more of the fee. Which structure wins is a math question about your card mix, and it's exactly what the free analysis answers.
The part nobody should DIY
Every rule above is enforced at the terminal: card-type detection, the cap, the receipt line. A program configured wrong works fine right up until it doesn't. Ours ship configured, with the signage in the box, which is why this page can be short.
Fair questions
Can I surcharge debit cards in Washington?
No, nowhere in the U.S. Network rules prohibit surcharges on debit and prepaid cards even when they're run as credit. This is the rule most DIY setups get wrong.
How much can the surcharge be?
No more than your actual cost of credit acceptance, and never above the network cap. We configure the cap on the terminal so the register can't get it wrong.
What disclosure is required?
Clear notice at the entrance and the point of sale before payment, plus the surcharge shown as its own line on the receipt. We supply compliant signage with every setup.
Is dual pricing the same thing legally?
It's a different structure: two prices posted before the sale rather than a fee added to one price. Both are permitted in Washington when run correctly; they just follow different rule sets.
What happens if a setup breaks the rules?
Card brands can fine or shut down acceptance, and customers complain to the issuer. The fix is cheap: set it up correctly the first time, which is the part we do.
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