How can I add a credit card surcharge to specific orders?

[Andrew_w87]

Hi All

Trying to find a way to add a Credit Card Surcharge to orders where customers choose to process their payment via credit card. A few things to note

1. I operate a store in an industry where margins are very low, so absorbing credit card rates is not viable

2. Similarly, I operate in an industry with a lot of competition, so simply increasing my product price or shipping price (we offer fixed price shipping) is not a suitable option

3. I have seen a number of apps suggested HOWEVER, it seems these apps can only add fees on an order in general, not based upon payment type. We also offer Direct Debit and a number of alternative payment methods, so applying a fee to all types of transactions doesn't help us either

All of my competitors who operate in the same industry get around this issue by adding a surcharge on credit card purchases (different platforms), so I need to try and achieve the same result, otherwise my stores will look more expensive to buy from over my competitors. 

I've done a heap of searching but there doesn't really seem to be any topics on this since 2019, so I'm hoping perhaps there have been some developments made in this space

Thanks in advance

[aaron111111]

It's rather pathetic this still have not had a updated response back from Dom or another Shopify admin. Please be aware Shopify that because of your diminishing customer service to focus on fee gouging I am now actively working on moving to another commerce platform. 

[JM1977]

Could really use something like this, cc fees are a killer

[birdiebabe]

I am needing to switch from qb pos as they are discontinued. Looking at Shopify. I can’t believe they still can’t do this. It kills small businesses. Do any other pos systems do this automatically?   I can’t just add on 3% as it’s illegal where I am to add onto debit cards and you don’t know if it’s a credit card or debit card. I guess I could ask but who wants to do that every time? Thinking of raising prices and giving cash discount but don’t really want to do that either. Any other solutions people have found? 

[KymLeibham]

Our school has just instituted a charge for all credit card payments and because Shopify cannot accommodate this policy, we may have to switch providers. We use Shopify for both an online store and our POS. Any update is appreciated before we have to move platforms and start all over.

[Koennn]

Agree! I cannot imagine this is a hard feature to implement, but it would dramatically impove some merchants' ability to offer different payment methods without having to raise the price of all producs, which would be unfair.

[KymLeibham]

When we evaluated which platform to use...we selected Shopify over Square. Square DOES offer the ability to charge the customer a fee for using a credit card as a payment method. There will be quite an expense if we have to switch POS and online store providers for our modest campus merchandise shop.

[GOTEMKICKS]

So I’ve found an app that has become a solid solution. It’s called “p fand” in the App Store. It works for my In store POS and my online store as well. For the pos it is as add on tile item so it automatically applies the % you choose. Extremely helpful and I highly recommend. Very easy and the developer is very attentive to your needs and responsive ! 

[POD253]

Does this apply the credit card fee to the taxes as well??

[SusieK]

Hi Kym.  Do you know what platform you are thinking of changing too?  We just switched from QuickBooks but are not happy with Shopify.  We have had our online store with them for several years but the Point of Sale is severely lacking!  

[KymLeibham]

Hi Susie,

We understand Square can accommodate the credit card fee processing. However for us, we are a small store and switching entails purchasing all new equipment in order to be compatible with square as well as literally creating a new online store and POS. It sounds too exhausting to do right now. I may look at doing this in summer when we are less busy.

[POD253]

Bumping because this should be a priority update, @Shopify 

PLEASE

[GOTEMKICKS]

So I’ve found an app that has become a solid solution. It’s called “p fand” in the App Store. It works for my In store POS and my online store as well. For the pos it is as add on tile item so it automatically applies the % you choose. Extremely helpful and I highly recommend. Very easy and the developer is very attentive to your needs and responsive ! 

[birdiebabe]

This is really ridiculous we are still talking about this.  Does anybody know why shopify seems to be against it?  Seems like there are no easy answers currently.  I have 2 shopify POS businesses.  One doesn't have alot of transactions so I can easily manually add on 3%.  But the other one is busy and we don't have time to mess with that.  Plus to complicate things, it is illegal to add onto debit cards, so now we are supposed to determine when we are busy if its a credit card or debit card??  Then I thought about adding on 3% to my price and doing cash discounts but again you get busy and then forget to do it for someone and then they want a refund and now you have a big mess.  So I just raised my prices overall this year but can't do it again next year.  Are there any other similar POS systems that can do this?  Hate to switch again since my employees like shopify.  

[TMAce]

Here is a truth bomb.  Shopify doesn't want to implement this feature for whatever reason and may never.   I migrated my site over to WooCommerce and the functionality is built in already with no issues.  10 minutes up and running with surcharge functionality.   Don't keep putting yourself through this, move to Woocommerce.   Honestly, I think Shopify is a bit more intuitive backend and its not that much better to justify this kind of treatment by Shopify against its merchants.

[Lor4army]

I am going to have to look into it.  Can't absorb these charges any more.  Thanks for the info.

[DKusters]

yeah, I'm going to look into this as well. Shopify seems to have no incentive to add the functionality as it harms their CC commission. To bad they are forcing you to look into other e-commerce that do offer the option

[birdiebabe]

I just got off the phone with a very helpful guy from Square.  This is what I learned.  Square can be set up to automatically do surcharges BUT he said legally you are supposed to get permission from visa and mc and your state to do so.  Most people don't and sometimes they get flagged (little fuzzy on who flags them) and their account gets shut down.  Also, it is illegal to charge on a debit card and it does not discriminate debit from credit cards when you set it up, so there is that too.  So basically it sounds like there isn't a great system right now for any of this from anybody which is probably part of the reason shopify is not jumping in.  So anyway thought I'd pass that on for whatever its worth.  Sounds like for the most part you probably won't get in trouble, but some people do.  Not sure what hoops need to be jumped thru to "legally" do it but sounds like a pain.  FYI I use Shopify POS in person, not as a website.  Love it other than this issue.  I would say the credit card processors are the ones who are fighting making it happen. Big money involved.  

[RivetingCrafts]

Thanks for the info.  Another way to do it is to offer a cash discount.  I think that may be what I do.

[Kpozorski]

Hi all,

I was able to set up a custom surcharge fee for a client that needed it for POS only, with a Shopify app called “feesly”. Downsides to it are: 

• Doesn’t include tax
• You have to manually tap a tile each time to add it
• I believe it’s for POS only
• No way to lower the fee for split transactions (when a customer pays with both cash & credit) 
• You’ll have to make sure you’re only adding it to CC transactions because it will add it to any transaction you want

Good points

• It’s really inexpensive 
• Easy to set up, super simple

Also just wanted to give a heads up to everyone to check laws & regulations in your state regarding surcharge fees. Some states don’t allow it at all. Others require specific signage, informing your merchant services provider, and notices on the receipt. It’s also very important that you never charge a higher percentage than you are charged or there can be huge penalties, so you need to stay on top of your CC rate changes. 

I just spoke with Shopify support this month on the topic and they still don’t offer an out of the box solution, unfortunately. 

[Trogdor42]

All third-party apps, including those suggested here, add time to the checkout, don't work consistently, and are difficult to track.

Every other POS system I use/consult on can easily add a % upcharge to the shopping cart (for CC fees, handling fees, whatever the heck I want!)

@Shopify PLEASE IMPLEMENT THIS!!!

[SBT]

I am still surprised that this feature is not here. Absorbing this cost is alot for small businesses who is trying to save with current inflation. 

 @Shopify , is there a reason why this is not taken seriously into consideration? Its a fair feature and request that is apparently wanted by so many? 

[MQ130]

Just another bump.  This needs to be implemented ASAP.

[jacy1]

is this feature still not available out of the box?

[FridgyRentals]

No, sadly it’s not.

[Surchargenow]

@Don WE NEED THIS NOW

[Lastormdesigns]

I was just told that this issue is on the developers' radar but that they have not received enough direct feedback on the issue to bump it up to a priority. The rep suggested that everyone should contact the Shopify support via the chat, and then specifically ask for this feature to be prioritized. Not sure how to tell more people other than posting it here in the threads I can locate, but if you all know other merchants needing this feature, GET LOUD! 🙂 Thanks!!

[tobco]

Please implement this Shopify!

[MurfAustralia]

Has anyone been able to achieve this? We sell high value products and ZipPay takes such a large cut of the total order value (up to $300) plus all the standard processing fees. I can't find any apps that assist with the specific needs - only for the total order not via using certain payment options. Has anyone successfully had this done via a web developer?