Credit Card Surcharging in Canada, Done the Right Way
Surcharging has been legal in Canada since October 2022. We will set it up so you stay onside with the rules, your customers see it clearly, and you stop eating the cost of every credit card swipe.
What Surcharging Actually Is
Surcharging means adding a fee to a credit card transaction to recover the cost of accepting that card. When a customer pays cash or debit, no surcharge. When they tap a credit card, the surcharge gets added at the point of sale, before they confirm the payment. The customer always sees it. The customer always has the option to pay another way.
In Canada, this has been legal nationwide since October 2022, when Visa and Mastercard settled a class-action lawsuit and updated their rules to allow merchants to charge credit card surcharges. Before that, you could not legally surcharge in Canada at all. Now you can, with rules.
For a typical Ontario small business paying somewhere between 1.8 and 3.0 percent on credit card transactions, surcharging recovers most or all of that cost. Cash flow improves immediately. Margin gets cleaner. And customers who do not like the surcharge can still pay you with debit, with cash, or with Interac, where there is no surcharge applied.
Before
Business absorbs the fee
Every credit card swipe, every shift, every year. The fee comes out of your margin.
Before
Business absorbs the fee
Every credit card swipe, every shift, every year. The fee comes out of your margin.
After surcharging
Customer covers the fee, legally
$100.00 sale + $2.40 surcharge, disclosed at checkout
100 percent of the sale stays with the business. Debit and cash customers pay the plain $100.00, no surcharge.
Before
Business absorbs the fee
Every credit card swipe, every shift, every year. The fee comes out of your margin.
After surcharging
Customer covers the fee, legally
$100.00 sale + $2.40 surcharge, disclosed at checkout
100 percent of the sale stays with the business. Debit and cash customers pay the plain $100.00, no surcharge.
The Rules You Have to Follow
The rules are simple, and we set every Azimuth client up to follow them automatically. Here is the short version.
Clover sets the surcharge at 2.4 percent on every credit card transaction. That is the maximum allowed under Canadian rules, and it is what every Azimuth surcharging client runs.
Interac, Visa Debit, and Mastercard Debit are off limits. The surcharge applies only to credit card transactions, and the system will block you from charging it on debit even by accident.
You will need to display required signage at the entrance and at the point of sale, telling customers about the surcharge before they pay. We will help you figure out the wording and placement so it meets the rules. Putting the signage up is your responsibility.
Debit cards (including Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard), prepaid cards, and Interac transactions are never surcharged. The system handles the split automatically.
This sounds heavier than it is. We file the registration on your behalf as part of the setup. You get an acknowledgment letter, and that is the end of it.
Quebec law does not allow surcharging on consumer credit cards at this time. If you operate in Quebec, surcharging is not on the table. For Ontario and the rest of Canada outside Quebec, you are clear.
- 1
The rate is 2.4 percent.
Clover sets the surcharge at 2.4 percent on every credit card transaction. That is the maximum allowed under Canadian rules, and it is what every Azimuth surcharging client runs.
- 2
You cannot surcharge debit cards.
Interac, Visa Debit, and Mastercard Debit are off limits. The surcharge applies only to credit card transactions, and the system will block you from charging it on debit even by accident.
- 3
You must disclose the surcharge before the sale.
You will need to display required signage at the entrance and at the point of sale, telling customers about the surcharge before they pay. We will help you figure out the wording and placement so it meets the rules. Putting the signage up is your responsibility.
- 4
Surcharging applies to Visa, Mastercard, and American Express credit cards only.
Debit cards (including Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard), prepaid cards, and Interac transactions are never surcharged. The system handles the split automatically.
- 5
You have to register the program with Visa and Mastercard.
This sounds heavier than it is. We file the registration on your behalf as part of the setup. You get an acknowledgment letter, and that is the end of it.
- 6
Quebec has different rules.
Quebec law does not allow surcharging on consumer credit cards at this time. If you operate in Quebec, surcharging is not on the table. For Ontario and the rest of Canada outside Quebec, you are clear.
Run the Math on Your Own Savings
Plug in your monthly credit card volume and your current effective rate, and the calculator will show you what surcharging would recover for you in a month and across a year. The numbers are conservative on purpose. Real-world results vary a little based on what mix of debit, credit, and cash your customers run.
Your average monthly credit card volume in dollars. Debit volume does not count.
Find this on your statement: total fees divided by total volume. If you are not sure, 2.4 percent is a reasonable starting point for a typical Ontario small business.
Surcharge rate2.40%
Clover sets the surcharge at 2.4 percent on every credit card transaction. That is the maximum allowed under Canadian rules.
Of your total revenue, the share that comes from credit card transactions. Most Ontario operations sit between 50 and 80 percent.
Your annual recovery with surcharging
$7,200
That is what surcharging would recover for you in a year, based on your numbers. On a monthly basis, it works out to $600 recovered.
Monthly recovered cost
$600
Net effective rate after surcharging
0.00%
Surcharge fully recovers your processing cost.
Send us your most recent processing statement.
Estimates assume a credit-only surcharge applied to all credit card volume. Debit, cash, and Interac transactions are not affected. Actual recovery depends on card mix and customer behaviour. Your share of revenue paid by credit card (70 percent in the input above) is used to contextualise the estimate. The recovered amount itself is calculated against your monthly credit card volume directly.
The calculator is a starting point. For a precise number, send us your most recent processing statement and we will give you the exact savings figure in writing. .
Who Surcharging Fits, and Who It Does Not
Surcharging usually fits if
You run a business where customers expect to pay by card and where a small clearly disclosed surcharge will not chase them away. That covers a lot of ground: trades, service businesses, professional offices, automotive shops, salons, gyms, larger retail. Anywhere the customer was always going to pay you a few hundred dollars or more, the surcharge is a fraction of the total and it does not change the buying decision.
Surcharging usually does not fit if
You run a high-frequency, low-ticket cash-and-card business where the surcharge becomes the customer's reason to walk next door. Cafes, quick-serve food, convenience stores. The math says yes, but the customer behaviour says no. We will tell you straight which side you are on when you call. If surcharging does not fit, Interchange+ pricing is usually the better path to lower processing cost.
How We Set Surcharging Up on a Clover Terminal
Your monthly volume, your card mix, your current effective rate. We confirm surcharging fits your operation before we touch anything.
We handle the paperwork and notification on your behalf. Takes about a week to process.
The surcharge rate goes into the terminal settings. Debit transactions get exempted automatically. Credit transactions show the surcharge on the customer-facing screen before payment confirms.
You will need to display the required notices at your front door and your point-of-sale area. We will walk you through the wording and placement so it meets the rules. Printing and putting the signs up is on you.
Five minutes. Your team needs to know how to answer the one question customers will ask: "Why is there a surcharge?" The answer is "to cover the cost of accepting credit cards. Debit and cash have no surcharge." Done.
Your next statement will show the difference.
- 1
We confirm your numbers.
Your monthly volume, your card mix, your current effective rate. We confirm surcharging fits your operation before we touch anything.
- 2
We register your program with Visa and Mastercard.
We handle the paperwork and notification on your behalf. Takes about a week to process.
- 3
We configure your Clover terminal.
The surcharge rate goes into the terminal settings. Debit transactions get exempted automatically. Credit transactions show the surcharge on the customer-facing screen before payment confirms.
- 4
We help you figure out the signage.
You will need to display the required notices at your front door and your point-of-sale area. We will walk you through the wording and placement so it meets the rules. Printing and putting the signs up is on you.
- 5
We train your staff.
Five minutes. Your team needs to know how to answer the one question customers will ask: "Why is there a surcharge?" The answer is "to cover the cost of accepting credit cards. Debit and cash have no surcharge." Done.
- 6
You start recovering your processing costs on day one.
Your next statement will show the difference.
For more on the Clover terminals we use to run surcharging, see the payments page.
Common Questions About Credit Card Surcharging in Canada
Yes. Surcharging is legal across Canada (except Quebec) as of October 2022. Ontario follows the federal Visa and Mastercard rules: Clover sets the surcharge at 2.4 percent on every credit card transaction, you cannot surcharge debit, and you must disclose the surcharge before the sale. We set up the whole program in compliance with those rules.
