Questions
What is dual pricing?
Dual pricing means posting two prices: a card price and a lower cash price. Card customers pay the card price, which covers the processing fee, and cash customers get a discount. Done this way it's a cash discount, not a surcharge, so the 3% surcharge cap and the no-debit rule don't apply the same way.
Rules as of October 2026. Not legal advice.
Dual pricing, cash discount and surcharge
| Dual pricing | Cash discount | Surcharge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is posted | Card and cash prices side by side | The card price (cash pays less) | Your regular price |
| Card customer pays | The posted card price | The posted price | The posted price plus a card fee at checkout |
| Cash customer pays | The posted cash price | The posted price less a discount | The posted price |
| Visa treats it as | A cash discount, if shown correctly | A cash discount, if shown correctly | A surcharge |
| Network cap | Not a surcharge cap | Not a surcharge cap | Visa: cost or 3%; Mastercard: cost or 4% |
| Debit and prepaid cards | Pay the card price | Pay the posted price | Can’t be surcharged |
| Advance notice to networks | Not a surcharge requirement | Not a surcharge requirement | 30 days (Visa: acquirer; Mastercard: Mastercard and acquirer) |
The rules behind it
- Federal law protects cash discounts. A card issuer may not stop a seller from offering a discount to pay by cash, check or similar means, and that discount isn't a finance charge (15 U.S.C. 1666f). Card networks also can't stop a merchant from offering a discount for a particular payment method (15 U.S.C. 1693o-2(b)).
- Visa's condition. To run a cash discount correctly, show only the card price per item, or the card and cash prices side by side, and show the full card total on the bill rather than adding a card fee. Otherwise it "may be treated as, a surcharge and subject to Visa's surcharge rules."
- Surcharge rules, if you add a fee instead. Credit cards only, never debit or prepaid. Visa caps it at your cost or 3%, Mastercard at your cost or 4%. Notify your acquirer (and Mastercard) at least 30 days ahead, and disclose it at the entrance, at checkout and on the receipt.
- A change is pending. Visa and Mastercard signed an amended merchant settlement in November 2025 that Visa says gives merchants "more options to surcharge"; it is subject to court approval.
State rules vary
State laws differ, mostly on surcharges. Visa's own Q&A says that as of February 15, 2024 it understands Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Puerto Rico prohibit surcharging, and Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York have requirements for it, while warning that its list may contain errors and isn't legal advice. Florida's surcharge ban is still in its statutes but was struck down in federal court; see Can I surcharge card fees in Florida? Check the law where each of your locations operates.
The math
The processing fee is charged on the card price, so the markup covers most or all of it. Paybrain Basic in person is 3.0% + 10¢. Before tax and tips:
| Card price | Processing fee | You keep | Net cost to you | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10.00 at 3% | $10.30 | $0.41 | $9.89 | $0.11 |
| $25.00 at 3% | $25.75 | $0.87 | $24.88 | $0.12 |
| $100.00 at 3% | $103.00 | $3.19 | $99.81 | $0.19 |
| $25.00 at 4% | $26.00 | $0.88 | $25.12 | $0.12 ahead |
| $80.00 at 4% | $83.20 | $2.60 | $80.60 | $0.60 ahead |
| $100.00 at 4% | $104.00 | $3.22 | $100.78 | $0.78 ahead |
The trade-off: card customers pay more than cash customers, and some will notice. Post the prices clearly so nobody is surprised at the counter.
How Paybrain does it
Paybrain calls it card pricing. You keep your catalog in cash prices and set a markup of up to 4%. The Paybrain Register, the register in the Paybrain Mobile app (including Tap to Pay there) and the web register show the card price on every tile, modifier and checkout button, and your online booking page shows card prices too. A customer paying cash gets your stored price, with the difference shown as a cash discount on the receipt. Nothing is added to a card payment at the end.
Some payments outside the register work as a surcharge instead, with the fee as its own line: online invoices, payment links and QR checkout (your markup plus any flat fee), Tap to Pay taken on an invoice or payment link in the app rather than at its register, and membership dues when "Apply to memberships" is on. The surcharge rules above apply to those, including Visa's 3% cap and no debit cards.
Setup is in the docs: Card pricing. Rates are on the pricing page.
Questions people ask
What is dual pricing?
Dual pricing means showing two prices for the same item: a card price and a lower cash price. Card customers pay the card price, which covers the processing cost, and cash customers pay less. Under Visa’s rules it is a form of cash discount, as long as the card price is the posted price and no fee is added at checkout.
Is dual pricing the same as a surcharge?
No. A surcharge is a fee added to your posted price when someone pays by credit card; the card networks cap it (Visa 3%, Mastercard 4%), require 30 days’ notice, and don’t allow it on debit or prepaid cards. Dual pricing posts the card price up front and discounts cash. If the card total is reached by adding a fee at checkout, Visa says it may be treated as a surcharge.
Is dual pricing legal?
Federal law protects a merchant’s right to offer a discount for paying by cash or check (15 U.S.C. 1666f), and Visa’s rules allow a cash discount if prices are shown correctly. State laws differ on surcharges and some address cash discounts, so check the rules where your business operates. This is not legal advice.
How much does dual pricing save?
Nearly the whole processing cost on card sales. On Paybrain Basic (3.0% + 10¢ in person), a $100.00 sale at a 3% markup is $103.00 on a card; the fee is $3.19 and you keep $99.81. At the 4% maximum, an $80.00 sale keeps $80.60, a little more than the cash price. Cash sales cost nothing to process.
Can debit cards be charged the card price?
Under a cash discount, the card price is the posted price, so any card pays it and cash gets the discount. That is different from a surcharge, which Visa and Mastercard do not allow on debit or prepaid cards.
What signs do I need?
Post prices so customers can see what they will pay: Visa says to show only the card price per item, or the card and cash prices side by side, and to show the full card total on the bill. For a surcharge, Visa requires notices at the point of entry, at checkout and on every receipt. State rules can add more, so check yours.
Sources
Checked October 2026. Mastercard's rules page was read from an archived copy dated September 30, 2026.
- Visa: Merchant surcharging Q&A (version 02152024): https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/merchant-surcharging-qa-for-web.pdf
- Visa: regulations and fees for businesses: https://www.visa.com/en-us/support/business/regulation-fees
- Visa: Merchant surcharging considerations and requirements: https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/merchant-surcharging-considerations-and-requirements.pdf
- Mastercard: Merchant surcharge rules: https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/business/support/merchant-surcharge-rules.html
- 15 U.S.C. § 1666f (cash discounts): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1666f
- 15 U.S.C. § 1693o-2 (debit interchange; discounts for payment method): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1693o-2
- Visa Inc. Form 8-K, November 10, 2025 (amended merchant settlement): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1403161/000140316125000093/v-20251110.htm
- Paybrain pricing: https://paybrain.io/pricing
Card prices, cash discounts, one setting.
Set a markup up to 4% and every price on the register follows it, to the cent.