Steele Solutions Jim Steele 417-294-1882
Service Line 02 · Subprogram

Dual pricing. Cash discount. Compliant surcharging.

Three names for the same idea: pass the credit-card processing cost to the customer who pays by credit card. Done right, your effective processing rate drops to near zero. Done wrong, it triggers card-brand compliance trouble. We set them up compliantly under Missouri, Arkansas, and Visa / Mastercard / Discover / Amex rules.

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The three programs

  • Dual pricing — both prices posted side by side
  • Cash discount — regular price is the card price; cash gets a discount
  • Surcharge — regular price + transparent surcharge at checkout
  • State and brand rule check on every setup
  • POS compatibility confirmed before signature
Pick the right one

Three programs, one math outcome.

Every program ends in roughly the same place: the customer who pays by credit card covers the processing cost; the merchant keeps the spread. The difference is in posting, signage, debit handling, and what the receipt says. The right fit depends on your category, your state, and how your customers actually pay.

Dual Pricing

Two prices on the menu / shelf. Customer sees card price and cash price simultaneously. Strongest customer-experience option because everything is upfront.

Best for: Restaurants, salons, hospitality, service businesses with printed menus.

Cash Discount

Card price is the regular price; cash gets a discount. Compliant model that frames the choice as a customer reward for paying cash.

Best for: Retail, contractors, low-volume tickets where the price tags rarely change.

Surcharge

Regular price + clearly disclosed surcharge on credit transactions. Allowed under Visa/MC/Disc rules with caps and posting requirements. Not allowed on debit cards.

Best for: B2B, professional services, contractors invoicing larger tickets.

The numbers

What this actually saves.

Plain math, no marketing claims. A retail or restaurant business processing $50,000 a month at an effective 3.0% rate is paying $1,500 a month in processing fees. A correctly implemented dual-pricing or surcharge program shifts most of that cost to the cardholder. The merchant's effective net cost drops to the residual portion the program leaves — usually well under 1%. The exact number depends on your customer mix, your average ticket, and which cards your customers carry.

Monthly volume
Interchange-plus (3.0% eff)
Dual pricing (est net)
$25,000
$750/mo
$50–$150/mo
$50,000
$1,500/mo
$100–$300/mo
$100,000
$3,000/mo
$200–$600/mo
$250,000
$7,500/mo
$500–$1,500/mo

Estimates only. Actual savings vary by card-mix, debit ratio, surcharge cap, and program compliance. We model your specific business on the statement audit.

Compliance

The rules that matter.

  1. Surcharge cap. Visa caps credit-card surcharges at 3.0% effective 2023. Mastercard, Discover, and Amex have their own (similar) caps. Going over the cap triggers a compliance action against the merchant.
  2. Debit cards. Federal Durbin Amendment prohibits surcharging on debit cards. Dual-pricing and cash-discount programs are structured to comply.
  3. Disclosure. Card brands require visible disclosure at the entrance to the business and at the point of sale. The receipt must show the surcharge as a separate line item.
  4. State law. A handful of states historically restricted surcharging. Most have been struck down. Missouri and Arkansas both allow compliant surcharging in 2026; we check the current state of any state rule on setup.
  5. 30-day brand notice. The card brands require 30 days advance notice from the merchant before turning on surcharging at the point of sale. We file the notice for you.
FAQ

Most-asked dual-pricing questions.

Will I lose customers?
A small share will pay cash instead. A much larger share will keep paying by card and absorb the small fee. The net effect on most categories is neutral on customer count and strongly positive on margin.
Does my POS need to change?
Most modern POS systems support a compliant dual-pricing or surcharge program. Some need a firmware or pricing-rule update. We confirm before any setup.
What if a customer complains about the fee?
Train staff on the framing: the merchant absorbs the processing cost when customers pay by cash; the program offsets it when they pay by card. Some owners simply post a small sign that explains why the program exists. The vast majority of customers accept it once.
Do I need a separate processor for this?
Sometimes. Some processors run dual-pricing natively; others charge a premium for the program. We pick the right one in the audit step.

Pay less to process. Stay compliant.

Send your current statement. We model your specific volume, card-mix, and category against the three programs and tell you which one nets the most savings without trouble.

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