With a Smartpay S920 EFTPOS terminal, it’s easy to implement surcharges in your business. This helps you get a handle on merchant service fees and boosts your bottom line.
Here’s everything you need to know about this super simple process.
What is a Surcharge?
A surcharge is a small percentage added to particular card transactions made by your customers. This can help to cover the additional costs businesses incur with merchant service fees (Hint: Another way to cover this is with Smartpay Low Cost Tap & Pay!).
So how does surcharging work, and why might your customers accept it? Think of it this way: Your customers get to purchase from you with their preferred payment method. As a result, they pay a small percentage extra to cover the cost of acceptance of that payment method. Sounds pretty reasonable, right?
For a more in-depth breakdown of surcharges, check out our complete surcharging guide for NZ businesses.
How to Calculate a Surcharge
A Surcharge is calculated as a percentage of the total transaction value. Figuring out the appropriate percentage comes down to your unique business needs.
Smart tip: Never profit from a surcharge. According to New Zealand Commerce Commission guidelines, surcharges should not exceed the additional cost of accepting the retail payment.
If a $30 credit card payment has an additional fee of $0.90, your surcharge can’t be more than $0.90. The easiest way to calculate this is to know exactly what fees you are paying for a certain transaction type. See our complete guide to merchant service fees for more information.
Merchant service fees can look very different for different businesses. For some, it’s a complex combination of fees levied by banks and payment networks.
For Smartpay Low Cost Tap & Pay customers, it’s much simpler! We charge a single low rate across Visa & Mastercard contactless and credit card payments, meaning your business can save on fees without implementing surcharging. Plus, with free terminal rental* on an Android machine and no network fee, the savings and simplicity of your payment solution can be a real win-win!
Charging Ahead: How to Surcharge on a Smartpay Terminal
At Smartpay, we take care of the boring stuff and let you focus on getting down to business. Here’s our super simple guide to surcharging on an S920 Smartpay terminal for Long Term EFTPOS Rental customers:
- Figure out how much accepting contactless and/or credit card payments is costing your business.
- Decide an appropriate surcharge rate. You’ll also need to decide whether you will charge a single rate for contactless and credit card transactions, or different rates for each method.
- Get in touch with our team about surcharging.
- We’ll arrange a phone call and remotely set up surcharging on your terminal.
- Once it’s set up, your surcharges will automatically be applied to relevant transactions.
For more information about applying surcharges on your Smartpay terminal, check out our surcharging FAQs.
What Are My Obligations When Surcharging?
Follow these rules to make sure you are surcharging appropriately according to Commerce Commission guidelines:
- Signage: Signs or labels should be in place letting customers know about your surcharges for different payment methods. If your graphic design skills aren’t the best, you can access Smartpay’s own signage templates.
- Give options: Businesses should not only accept payment types that involve surcharges. You should offer customers a way to pay that does not incur a surcharge. These alternatives should be mentioned on signs in your business.
Plus, tap into these other best practices:
- Collection: Surcharges should be collected in the transaction they apply to. For example, you shouldn’t collect a surcharge separately in cash.
- Receipt: When you surcharge on a Smartpay terminal, it is clearly shown separately on your customer’s receipt. This helps maintain transparency with your customers.
At the end of the day, all you need to do is be open and transparent about your surcharges. As long as customers understand the rules and have alternatives available, they’ll be happy to accommodate.
Surcharging Made Simple with Smartpay
Smartpay is the perfect choice for silky smooth surcharging. We make it super easy to implement contactless payments and surcharges. This ensures your customers are always smiling and can keep a handle on merchant service fees. Get in touch with our payment experts today and make surcharging in your business a breeze.
*minimum turnover and T&Cs apply
