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

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

Merchants are requesting the ability to add credit card surcharges to specific payment methods rather than all orders. The primary use case involves passing on credit card processing fees (typically 2-6%) to customers who choose those payment options, while exempting alternative methods like direct debit.

Key Pain Points:

  • Low-margin industries cannot absorb processing fees without becoming uncompetitive
  • Competitors on other platforms already offer payment-specific surcharges
  • Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services can charge up to 6% plus fixed fees
  • Current workaround apps only apply fees to all orders, not specific payment types

Shopify’s Response:
Support staff confirmed this functionality doesn’t exist natively and filed multiple feature requests based on merchant feedback. However, no timeline or commitment was provided, and the Changelog shows no progress since the thread began in 2021.

Attempted Workarounds:

  • UpCharge/Pfand apps: Apply cart-level fees but don’t capture tax amounts or discriminate by payment method
  • Custom Stripe integration: One merchant hired developers to bypass Shopify Payments
  • Manual POS adjustments: Time-consuming and error-prone

Current Status:
The discussion remains unresolved as of June 2025. Several merchants report migrating to WooCommerce or Square, which offer built-in surcharge functionality. Legal considerations mentioned include requiring Visa/Mastercard approval and restrictions on debit card surcharges in some jurisdictions.

Summarized with AI on October 27. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
16

I’m jumping in on this topic as well, has there been any progress lately? Shopify has rolled out a number of updates lately, but unfortunately this doesn’t seem to be included.

With increased bank fees, this has become a serious pressing issue, and I’m sure there are 1000’s of shops that would be highly interested in tis feature. But since it discourage the Shopify payment method it is not likely to be introduced at all.

I’m considering moving to another platform as I’m getting more experience in e-commerce I recognize a number of limitations with Shopify where other e-commerce platforms are more customer focused.

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