Straight answers, plain words.

With a cash discount, your tag is the card price and cash buyers get money off. With dual pricing, every item shows a card price and a cash price. With surcharging, your tag is the cash price and credit cards pay a posted fee of up to 3%. The first two cover debit cards too; a surcharge never can. See the full comparison.

For most thrift and charity stores, a cash discount: nothing to retag, it covers debit sales, and "cash saves you money" sits better with shoppers who are also donors. Dual pricing is a close second for stores that print tags, and the best fit in New York. Surcharging fits big-ticket, mostly-credit stores in states that allow it.

A cash discount is the quietest of the three, because card buyers simply pay the tag. Some customers switch to cash, which costs you nothing to accept. A surcharge is the most visible, which is why we recommend it less often for charity stores.

Yes. Markdowns come off first, and the cash discount or cash price applies to what is left. Nothing about your promotions has to change.

Under a standard cash discount, debit pays the card price like any card. Some programs can treat certain debit cards like cash. If that matters to your customers, ask, and we will price both versions.

In most states, yes, under card-brand rules. It is banned in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, risky in California, capped at 2% in Colorado and Oklahoma, and comes with extra disclosure rules in New York, New Jersey and a few others. Check the state rules map.

Visa and Mastercard rules forbid surcharging debit and prepaid cards, even when the customer chooses "credit" on the screen. Maine and, since August 2026, Louisiana also ban it by state law. That is why a surcharge never recovers your debit costs, and why our terminals check the card itself, not a button.

Before you start surcharging, Visa requires written notice to your processor at least 30 days ahead, and Mastercard requires its own registration. We file both and give you your start date. Cash discount and dual pricing do not need it.

Visa mystery-shops surcharging merchants and can fine the processor. The usual problems are missing door signs, surcharging debit cards, or a "non-cash adjustment" fee added to a price that was shown lower. Our setup is built to avoid all three, and we re-check your state's rules before you go live.

It depends on your state. Minnesota treats surcharges as taxable, North Carolina has audited stores that skipped it, and Colorado's revenue department says a compliant surcharge is not taxable. With a cash discount, many states tax the price after the discount. Your tax preparer has the final word; we set the terminal to match.

A proposed settlement of the long-running merchant lawsuit would, among other things, let merchants surcharge Visa and Mastercard credit cards up to 3% regardless of how they treat other card brands. Its fairness hearing is set for November 16, 2026. Until a final order, today's rules apply. We will tell our stores if anything changes.

No, and be careful of anyone who says otherwise. Card-network charity rates are for donations. Card rules require the category that best describes the business, and thrift register sales are coded as used merchandise. A separate donation-only account for gifts by card can qualify, and we will set one up when the volume makes it worth it.

Yes. It is a gift, not part of the sale, so it belongs on its own receipt line. Donors need a bank record or a written record for any cash gift, and a written acknowledgment for $250 or more. Starting in 2026, people who don't itemize can deduct cash gifts up to $1,000 ($2,000 for joint filers), so that receipt line matters more than it used to.

A charity asking for gifts generally has to be registered in the states where it solicits, and California has required registration for checkout-donation programs since June 2024. If your store raises money for itself in its own state, you may already be covered. Ask your counsel; we will flag what we know when we set you up.

The rules are the same for nonprofits. The question is how it lands with donors. We usually recommend a cash discount for charity stores for that reason.

It depends on your card sales, average ticket and program. Send us a statement and you get every fee in writing, next to what you pay today, before you decide anything. The PIN pad is free.

Yes: card processing runs on a merchant processing agreement with our processing partner. Your written quote lists the agreement term and any early-termination terms on the same page as the fees, so you know before you sign.

Your legal business name and tax ID, a voided check or bank letter for deposits, the name and ID of an owner or officer, and a recent processing statement if you have one. Nonprofits add their IRS determination letter.

Your statement review comes back the next business day. After you apply and the account is approved, the PIN pad ships set up for your program. Surcharging also waits for the 30-day notice.

Yes. A standalone PIN pad works next to any register. If you want the register to send the amount to the PIN pad, tell us which one you use and we will tell you honestly whether it connects.

Your funding schedule is listed on your quote, along with when daily batches close.

Three things: your return policy posted where the customer pays, before the sale (or printed on the receipt); a condition note on the receipt line ("AS-IS," "untested," "missing parts"); and a photo of big-ticket items before they leave. Answer the dispute quickly with all three.

Yes, if the policy is properly disclosed. Card rules let you limit returns when the customer sees the policy before the sale or on the receipt. You cannot make customers give up their right to dispute a charge, so the receipt and photos are what carry the day.

Get a signature and a photo at delivery, and keep the order notes with the condition you described. Keyed phone orders carry more dispute risk than tapped or dipped cards, so take the card in person at pickup when you can.