Program 1 of 3
Cash discount: the tag you already wrote is the card price.
Cash buyers get a discount at the register. Card buyers pay the tag. Nothing to retag, nothing for volunteers to calculate, and no fee line on anyone's receipt. For most thrift and charity stores, this is the one.
How it works
Four things happen. Your cashier does one of them.
Price as you always do
Your tag, sticker or color-tag price is the card price. Many stores nudge their price guide up about 4% when they start, so cash buyers land where today's prices are.
Post the signs
A sign at the door and at each register says cash buyers save a set percent. Same offer for everyone.
Cashier taps Cash
When a customer pays cash, the discount comes off. Card buyers pay the tag. Debit and credit are treated the same.
The receipt shows it
Cash receipts show the discount as its own line. Card receipts show the tag prices and nothing extra.
Same sale, two receipts
What your customers actually see.
A 4% program means cash buyers save 3.85% (the discount is figured off the card price, so $10.40 becomes $10.00).
Pay cash next time and save 3.85%.
The line that turns a discount into a surcharge. If your tag shows the lower price and a "non-cash adjustment" or "service fee" gets added when someone pays by card, that is a surcharge in Visa's eyes, and surcharges can never touch debit cards. A real cash discount starts from the card price and only ever takes money off.
The rules, in plain words
What makes it compliant.
Federal law stops card networks from blocking discounts for cash. The conditions are about honesty and consistency.
- The discount comes off the posted price. Visa's rules say the discount must be taken from the list or stated price.
- Offered to everyone, disclosed clearly. Same percent for every customer, posted at the door and the register.
- No fee line for card buyers. The card total is simply the sum of the tag prices.
- Your state's extras. Connecticut and Massachusetts want notice posted; New York does not allow added card-fee lines of any name; Wyoming caps discounts at 5%; Puerto Rico restricts cash discounts entirely.
- Sales tax on the price paid. In many states, tax is figured on the price after the discount. We set the terminal up for your state.
Why it fits a thrift floor
- Hand-written and color tags keep working. The number on the tag is the card price.
- Weekly color-tag markdowns still come off first; the cash discount applies to what is left.
- Debit buyers pay the tag like any card buyer, so the program covers debit fees too, which a surcharge never can.
- Shoppers who are also your donors hear "cash saves you money," not "cards cost extra."
- On a 50/50 consignment sale, card buyers covering the cost keeps your half whole.
Where it is not the best fit
- Puerto Rico, where cash discounts are restricted.
- New York stores that want to show a card price only at checkout: dual pricing is cleaner there.
- Stores that will not adjust prices at all. If tags stay the same and cash buyers get a discount, your card cost does not move. The program works when the tag carries it.
The math
What a 4% program does on real tickets.
| Item | Tag (card price) | Cash price | Customer saves with cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback | $2.00 | $1.92 | $0.08 |
| Jeans | $8.00 | $7.69 | $0.31 |
| Dining chair | $25.00 | $24.04 | $0.96 |
| Interior door | $60.00 | $57.69 | $2.31 |
| Refrigerator | $350.00 | $336.54 | $13.46 |
Cash price = tag ÷ 1.04. Your program percent is set when we set up your account; the calculator lets you try others.
Questions
Cash discount, asked and answered.
Is a cash discount the same as a surcharge?
No. A surcharge adds a fee to the card buyer's total and is allowed only on credit cards. A cash discount starts from the card price and takes money off for cash, so it works for every card type, including debit.
Do debit cards get the cash price?
Under a standard cash discount, debit pays the card price. Some programs can treat certain debit cards like cash; if that matters to your customers, ask and we will price it both ways.
What about checks and store credit?
You decide, and you post it. Most stores give checks the cash price. Gift cards and store credit usually pay the tag price.
Do I have to raise my prices?
The program saves money when your tag prices carry it. Thrift prices are a judgment call anyway, so most stores fold about 4% into the price guide when they start. If you leave every tag where it is, cash buyers simply pay less.
How do volunteers handle it?
They ring the sale as usual and pick the tender. The discount applies itself on cash. The register card in our signage kit gives them a one-line answer when a customer asks.
See it with your own numbers.
Send one statement and we will show you what a cash discount would have saved you last month.