Cash Discount

You work hard to make your business profitable so don’t let credit card processing fees eat away at your profits. There are better alternatives to traditional credit card processing which allow you to keep more of your profits for your business.
Our Cash Discount Program provides merchants with monetary savings through XCEL Payments solutions. For a low, flat rate each month, we will cover your credit card processing fees. Our monthly service charge is much more affordable than costly credit card processing fees incurred by businesses on a daily basis.

By using our Cash Discount Program, your customers will receive a small surcharge when they make a purchase using a credit card. Our proprietary software will add a small convenience fee to all credit card purchases, which will appear on the customer’s receipt. To use this software, registration with appropriate credit card companies is required. XCEL will guide you through this process and provide you with the proper signage to ensure your business is compliant.

Merchants may feel uneasy when it comes to charging their customers with credit card fees. When surveyed, the majority of consumers revealed that a small convenience fee would not discourage them from shopping at their favorite stores, however, it would encourage them to use cash on future transactions instead. In addition to generating more cash on hand, merchants can ultimately eliminate any supplemental costs incurred by processing fees.

Cash discounts are offered by all consumer service industries as a way to ease the burden on merchant fees, or “swipe fees.” If you are ready to start saving and wish to set up a cash discount program, connect with XCEL and our helpful customer service team will be happy to assist you.

Regulations

Cash Discount Programs are designed to incentivize cash-paying consumers with a reward for settling their bill without delay or additional cost to the merchant. Cash discounts give your business the opportunity to legally recoup expenses associated with swipe fees.

In 2013, Visa and Mastercard withdrew a long-standing restriction that prohibited merchants from imposing charge fees on their customers, forcing businesses to absorb these fees. Merchants can now legally recover any monetary burden resulting from swipe fees by adding a surcharge to each credit card purchase.

Limited Service Charge

Service charges must be applied appropriately and indiscriminately on all credit card transactions.

It is important to distinguish that the basis of cash discount programs is a surcharge, or “swipe fee,” applied to each credit card transaction and no added discount for making a purchase with cash. A Customer making a cash purchase is therefore exempt from any additional convenience fees.

By law, no merchant can penalize a customer for using a credit card, nor can any merchant apply a surcharge to a PIN debit transaction.

Visible Signage

Merchants are required to display clear and concise signage explaining the cash discount program and convenience fee applied to credit card purchases.

All signage should be kept in an easily visible area of the store, for instance, on the door or near the cash register to allow your customers to make an informed decision on whether to pay with cash or credit.

 

Easy-to-Understand Receipts

Customer receipts must clearly reflect the service fee added to each credit card purchase. Receipts must also display the customer’s total before and after the service fee is added.