Credit Card

Surcharging

Learn about Credit Card surcharges

Surcharging explained

Learn about Credit Card surcharges and why it’s applied

What is surcharging

Businesses incur costs when they accept payment from a debit, Credit or Charge Card. When they pass this fee on to the customer, it’s called a Card surcharge and may not be included in the stated cost of the goods or service. Businesses may incur different payment acceptance costs depending on their size, so surcharge amounts can vary between merchants.

Why is surcharge charged?

As businesses incur the cost of accepting payment from a debit, Credit or Charge Card, some retailers will add on a percentage of this cost to each transaction to help counteract. As local legislation around surcharging evolves, businesses may decide to change their policies on surcharging.

What can you do about surcharging?

There are plenty of places that will accept American Express Cards without surcharging. However, if there's a business that specifically surcharges American Express payments, you can notify our Customer Card Professionals by calling the number on the back of your Card. We’ll see if there’s anything we can do to change this.