Questions & Answers Payment Card Surcharging – March 2013

On 18 March 2013, the amended Standards related to surcharging took effect to allow card scheme rules to limit surcharges to ‘the reasonable cost of acceptance’; the Standards continue to ensure that merchants can fully recover their card acceptance costs. The changes do not oblige the card schemes to alter their rules to limit surcharges, but it is likely to be in their interests to do so. Scheme rule changes could occur at any time from 18 March 2013 onwards. Changes would be communicated by schemes to their members that provide card acceptance services, and these institutions would then inform their merchant clients of their obligations.