CREDIT CARD SURCHARGING MADE EASY
Credit Card
Surcharging
Surcharging smarts built right into your terminal. Never pull out your calculator again.
Recoup the cost of accepting credit cards by adding a surcharge to credit card transactions
Credit Card Surcharging
- Your terminal automatically detects credit cards and applies a surcharge to your normal prices
- Apply the surcharge to transactions over or under a particular value.
- Set a maximum and/or a minimum surcharge amount
- Surcharge different credit cards at different rates to reflect different costs of acceptance
Overview
How does it work?
Your surcharge solution calculates the value of the surcharge for you and automatically adds it to the transaction when your customer swipes or inserts their credit card. Our new Android EFTPOS terminals can also apply a surcharge to contactless ‘paywave’ cards.
Your obligations
Cost
Get credit card surcharging for $10.00 + GST per terminal, per month and save hundreds of dollars in merchant fees by passing the cost of acceptance on to your customers who choose to pay by credit card.
Tips
The two biggest challenges businesses face when they apply a credit card surcharge is calculating the surcharge itself and telling customers in a way that meets legal obligations, but also avoids upsetting them. Grab our tips for applying a credit card surcharge here.
Accept credit cards without increasing your costs
We make surcharging easy
Did you know that the average transaction size for credit cards in New Zealand is higher than for debit cards? Accepting credit cards is a great way to encourage customers to spend more in your store.
Get help with your merchant obligations
Transparent and easy to use - let your terminal do the work for you!
The Eftpos NZ surcharge solution is flexible to meet your needs. Need to change your surcharge solution? Call our helpdesk on 0800 EFTPOS, we can make changes with you over the phone.
You are required to display signage at your POS if you choose to apply a surcharge
Download POS Sign
My Obligations
Surcharge FAQ’s
AVAILABLE NOW: Contactless Credit Card Surcharging
Our new Android devices can also apply a surcharge to contactless ‘paywave’ cards so that you can recoup the cost of offering this convenient payment method
How does it work?
When a customer selects the credit option during a purchase transaction an additional prompt appears notifying them a surcharge is going to be applied. If the customer accepts the surcharge the transaction proceeds and the terminal will automatically apply the surcharge for you.
How do I work out the value of my fee?
There are a few things to consider when you’re deciding on the value of your fee:
- If you choose to apply a surcharge fee to credit card transactions you must ensure the surcharge bears a reasonable relationship to your cost of accepting the credit card;
- You can choose to apply a surcharge as a flat fee up to $9.00 OR;
- You can choose to apply a surcharge as a percentage of the transaction amount up to 9% – with optional minimum and maximum surcharge amounts.
Do I need to tell my customers about the fee?
You must clearly display notices, signs or decals at your physical premises, as well as a notice next to your point of sale. We provide you with a sign to display at your Point of Sale (POS). You must not describe the fee as, or inform the cardholder that the fee is, applied by a card scheme, by us or by a third party financial institution. You must ensure the fee is clearly disclosed to the Cardholder prior to the completion of the transaction and give the Cardholder the opportunity to cancel once the fee has been disclosed.
Which cards can I surcharge?
In New Zealand, it is legal for merchants to pass on the Merchant Service Fee (or MSF) for accepting certain cards to the cardholder at the point of purchase. These fees apply to ‘scheme’ transactions, which are passed through a third-party connection and includes payments made on Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay AMEX, Diner and JCB cards.
If the cardholder inserts or swipes their EFTPOS or scheme card and chooses ‘Cheque’ or ‘Savings’, the transaction is free for you to process. But if the customer taps their contactless card or device, or swipes or inserts their scheme card and chooses ‘Credit’, the transaction will contribute to your MSF.
When you enable surcharging on your Eftpos NZ terminal, your terminal will automatically detect when the transaction is a ‘scheme’ transaction and apply a surcharge. You can apply different surcharge rates to different schemes to accurately reflect different costs of acceptance.
Please note that the Eftpos New Zealand surcharging solution currently cannot apply a surcharge to purchases made with a contactless card. However, contactless surcharging will be available on our Android payment devices.
Can I make changes to the value of my fee once the solution is set up?
We’ll help you configure your solution to ensure it’s just right for your business when we set it up with you, but if you’d like to make a change once it’s already set up we’ll happily do so over the phone – simply call 0800 EFTPOS.
Does the fee show on the customer receipt?
As part of your merchant obligations, you need to display the fee amount separately from transaction total on the customer’s receipt. Our Surcharge solution take care of the receipt requirements for you – the transaction and fee amounts are listed separately on the receipt.
Can I apply a surcharge to a MOTO transaction?
A surcharge can be applied in instances where all of the following conditions can be met:
- The Cardholder is informed of the fee prior to completion of the transaction;
- The Cardholder can be informed of the rate, amount or method of calculation of the fee at the time of purchase and;
- The Cardholder has the opportunity to cancel the transaction once the fee has been disclosed.
This means a surcharge can be applied to both Telephone orders and e-commerce orders, but not Mail orders.