Notification of Intent to Surcharge


Background

Visa and Mastercard have agreed to permit Canadian merchants to apply an additional fee, known as a surcharge, to its customers who pay with Visa and Mastercard credit cards. The standards permitting such surcharging become effective on October 6, 2022. Surcharging is not allowed on Visa or Mastercard debit or prepaid Cards.

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Affirmation Level


Corporate/Company-Level

Corporate/Company-Level will apply to all Merchant accounts linked to this Company account
Merchant-Level

Business Information








Notification Submitter Information






Confirmation

Without in anyway limiting Merchant’s obligations to comply with the Payment Brand Rules and its other obligations under the Merchant Agreement, including the specific rules and requirements relating to surcharging, Merchant confirms as follows:

Notification of intent to Surcharge

Merchant confirms its intent to assess a surcharge on credit card transactions, as of a date no sooner than 30 days from the date of submission of this confirmation.*required

Merchant acknowledges that a surcharge may not be assessed on debit or prepaid Cards. Merchant further confirms that its Surcharge will not exceed the lesser of (i) Visa and Mastercard’s mandated maximum (currently 2.4%) and (ii) its average merchant discount rate that Merchant pays for credit card acceptance.** *required

Merchant confirms that if it accepts credit card brands such as American Express or PayPal, there are requirements around the circumstances in which a Merchant can surcharge, depending on the costs of those brands and those brands’ surcharging restrictions. Please see Visa and Mastercard rules for details.*required

Credit Card Surcharge Disclosure Requirements

Merchant acknowledges its obligation to clearly and prominently disclose, both at the point of entry into its place of business and at the point of sale, any Surcharge that will be assessed. For Merchant’s e-commerce channel, this disclosure will be displayed on its web page prior to checkout, allowing the cardholder to cancel the transaction before completion. In a telephone order transaction, verbal notice will be provided to the cardholder, including clearly setting out the surcharge amount.*required

Merchant acknowledges that its disclosure will include all of the following:*required
  • The exact amount or percentage of the surcharge
  • A statement that the surcharge is being assessed by the merchant and is only applicable to credit card transactions
  • A statement that the surcharge amount is not greater than the lesser of (1) the surcharge cap, currently 2.4%; and (2) the average merchant discount rate that Merchant pays for credit card acceptance**

Merchant Registration to Mastercard

Merchant confirms that it will notify Mastercard of its intent to surcharge by completing the Mastercard webform found at:*required
https://www.mastercard.ca/en-ca/surcharge-disclosure-webform.html.

Other Rules

Merchant confirms that the surcharge amount will be disclosed clearly on the transaction receipt (including e-receipts).*required
Merchant confirms that the surcharge will be credited back to the cardholder in the event of a refund of the purchase. For partial refunds, the surcharge must be credited on a pro-rated basis.*required
Merchant understands that any federal or provincial law or regulation that prohibits or restricts surcharging will take precedence over the Visa and Mastercard surcharge rules permitting surcharging.*required
I certify that I am duly authorized to submit this Confirmation on behalf of Merchant.*required

For more information about Surcharge please consult Visa and Mastercard Rules at:

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/business/overview/support/rules.html

https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/visa-rules.html

** the calculation of average merchant discount rate for credit card transactions depends on whether the surcharge is applied at the brand or product level. See Visa and Mastercard rules for complete details.