What businesses need to know for 2025
As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of credit card payments, staying compliant with evolving regulations is essential. With 2025 around the corner, understanding credit card fee compliance requirements has never been more important for merchants looking to protect their bottom line and maintain customer trust. Whether you're using traditional pricing models, surcharging, or dual price processing, keeping up with the rules is key to avoiding penalties and ensuring transparency.
Here’s everything merchants need to know about credit card fee compliance in 2025 and how solutions like dual price processing can simplify operations.
Understanding Credit Card Fee Compliance
Credit card processing fees have been a hot topic for years, especially as businesses look for ways to offset these rising costs. Regulations surrounding credit card fees, however, are not optional – they are governed by card brands like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, along with state laws and federal guidelines.
Here are the key components of credit card fee compliance that merchants must adhere to:
Fee Transparency: Merchants must clearly communicate any fees charged to customers at the point of sale. Whether it’s a surcharge, convenience fee, or dual pricing model, transparency is required.
Legal Restrictions: Some states have specific restrictions or outright bans on certain fee structures, like surcharges. Merchants operating in states like New York, Connecticut, and California need to pay close attention to these regulations.
Card Brand Rules: Major card brands set their own requirements, such as limits on surcharge percentages and proper disclosures. Failing to comply with these rules could result in fines or losing the ability to process cards.
Customer Awareness: Customers must be made aware of any fees before they complete a transaction. For instance, signage at the point of sale and digital notices for online payments are mandatory for compliance.
Why Compliance Will Matter More Than Ever in 2025
With increasing scrutiny on credit card fees and consumer protections, 2024 brought greater enforcement of fee-related regulations. Here are some reasons compliance is critical:
Avoid Fines and Penalties: Non-compliance with card brand regulations or state laws can result in financial penalties or account suspensions.
Build Customer Trust: Being upfront about pricing structures ensures transparency and improves customer satisfaction.
Protect Profit Margins: Compliant pricing strategies like dual price processing allow businesses to control costs without alienating customers.
As regulators and card brands tighten enforcement, merchants must choose payment solutions that are not only effective but also compliant.
Dual Price Processing: A Compliant Solution for Credit Card Fees
One of the most effective ways to remain compliant while offsetting processing costs is through dual price processing. Unlike traditional surcharging, dual pricing allows merchants to offer two clearly displayed prices: one for cash and another for credit.
Here’s why dual price processing will continue to stand out in 2025:
Fully Transparent: Dual pricing ensures that customers see both options upfront, allowing them to choose their preferred payment method.
Compliant Across All States: Unlike surcharges, dual pricing is compliant in all states because it does not add a fee after the advertised price. Instead, customers are presented with two separate prices.
Cost-Saving: Merchants eliminate credit card processing fees by passing the cost to customers who choose to pay with cards, while rewarding cash-paying customers with lower prices.
Customer-Friendly: Customers appreciate having a choice and can decide how they want to pay based on their preferences.
Key Compliance Tips for 2025
To ensure your business stays compliant with credit card fee regulations, follow these tips:
Stay Updated: Monitor changes in state laws, card brand regulations, and federal guidelines.
Disclose Fees Clearly: Use clear signage at your point of sale and on receipts to notify customers of any fees.
Limit Fees: Ensure surcharges don’t exceed the card brand cap and remain in line with your processing costs.
Choose the Right Partner: Work with a payment provider like PayLo Pro that specializes in compliant dual price processing solutions.
How PayLo Pro Keeps Merchants Compliant
At PayLo Pro, we understand that compliance is just as important as saving money. Our dual price processing solutions are designed to keep merchants on the right side of regulations while retaining profits.
Here’s how we help:
Compliance Expertise: We stay up to date with all credit card brand rules and state laws, so you don’t have to.
Transparent Solutions: Our technology ensures clear price displays for cash and card payments, maintaining full compliance.
Seamless Implementation: We provide tools, signage, and support to help you transition smoothly to dual pricing.
Next Steps
Navigating credit card fee compliance in 2025 doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By understanding the rules, staying transparent, and adopting proven solutions like dual price processing, merchants can protect their businesses, keep customers informed, and control rising payment costs.
With PayLo Pro, compliance and cost savings go hand in hand. Let us help you simplify payments and stay ahead of the competition in 2025.
Contact PayLo Pro today to learn more about our dual price processing solutions.
