What is a surcharge?
A surcharge is an additional fee added to a credit card payment to cover the cost of processing. When a property has surcharging enabled, the guest — not the property — pays the credit card processing fee.
Surcharging only applies to credit cards. It never applies to debit cards or ACH bank transfers.
Surcharge rates by card type
| Card Type | Surcharge Rate |
|---|---|
| Visa, Mastercard, Discover | 3% |
| American Express | 3.5% |
| Debit cards (any brand) | 0% — no surcharge |
| ACH / bank transfer | 0% — no surcharge |
The surcharge is shown as an estimate of 3% when the guest first enters their card. The exact rate is confirmed after the card type is validated — so if the guest uses American Express, the rate adjusts to 3.5% before they click Pay Now.
What guests see on the payment page
The payment page shows a Payment Breakdown with the requested amount, the surcharge fee, and the total. Guests must click Pay Now after reviewing the final total — they see the exact amount before confirming.
Paying without a surcharge
Guests always have a no-fee payment option available:
- ACH / bank transfer — free for the guest. Available unless the event date is within 8 business days (ACH funds take longer to settle than credit cards).
- If ACH is not available, the payment page will show an Alternate Payment tab with instructions to contact the property for other options such as wire transfer or cashier's check.
States where surcharging is not permitted
Surcharging is not allowed in: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico. Properties in these locations cannot surcharge guests.
Colorado caps the surcharge rate at 2%.
Government credit cards
GSA (Government Services Administration) credit cards are legally exempt from surcharging. If your property receives a government card, the surcharge must be removed from that transaction.
Refunds on surcharged payments
When a surcharged payment is refunded, the surcharge is automatically refunded proportionally. If a guest paid $1,000 + $30 surcharge and receives a full refund, they receive $1,030 back. You only need to enter the original requested amount — Sertifi calculates the surcharge portion automatically.
Still have questions?
Contact Sertifi Support at SupportSertifi@flywire.com with your portal name and the transaction details.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.