How to Set Up Payment Surcharges?

The Surcharge Feature enables you to charge a percent-based fee to credit card purchases taken through HomeGauge Payments. Once the feature is made available, you will only need to enable the feature and set a percentage amount (up to 3%), and all credit cards (debit and prepaid cards are exempt from surcharge fees) will be charged the surcharge.

• Limitations
• Requirement Information
• How To Notify HomeGauge and the Credit Card Networks
• Enable the Surcharge Feature
• Taking payment on the Inspector Dashboard
• Making a payment on the HomeBuyer Dashboard

Limitations

The generally accepted limit for Credit Card Surcharge fees is 4% - however to better protect you from any liability, we limit the amount you can apply as a surcharge to 3%. This should cover any costs incurred for credit card fees. 

NOTE: You cannot apply a surcharge fee to prepaid cards or on debit cards. HomeGauge Payments automatically excludes these cards.

NOTE: Surcharges may be prohibited in some states, including Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma. Please consult your legal advisor to make sure you comply with current applicable state and local laws regarding surcharging.

IMPORTANT NOTE: At this time anonymous payments (payment requests unassociated with a report that Homebuyers can pay without logging in) is not completely integrated with the Surcharge feature. While you can request payments from Homebuyers and the surcharge will display as expected, taking an anonymous payment will not show the surcharge fee until after the payment goes through. We do not recommend using surcharge with anonymous payments until this is resolved. 

Requirement Information

Before you can start charging a surcharge fee, you will need to meet requirements as set by the credit card networks (VISA, Mastercard, Discover, and AMEX). Each network has their own rules around surcharging and what you the merchant needs to do before you start charging a surcharge fee. 

If you plan to add surcharges, you need to post a notice at the entry to your store letting customers know that you add a surcharge to all credit transactions. You must also post a notice at your point of sale (your register). The notice must include the rate you charge and a comment that it doesn’t exceed your processing fees. You must inform customers of the surcharge before checkout.

Below is some information for each network:

• HomeGauge
  • As your Credit Card Acquirer, HomeGauge Support and your Credit Card Networks should be notified in writing, at least 30 days in advance of your intent to charge a surcharge fee.
  • Contact our support team with a brief message to payments@homegauge.com
• Visa
  • Must be notified 30 days before you begin using the surcharge fee
    • Visa Surcharge Notification Page
  • Mastercard
    • Must be notified 30 days before you begin using the surcharge fee
    • Credit Card Surcharge Rules & Fees for Merchants | Mastercard
  • American Express
    • Does not require formal notification
  • Discover
    • Does not require formal notification

How To Notify HomeGauge and the Credit Card Networks

HomeGauge

1. Alert HomeGauge by emailing payments@homegauge.com that you are intending to charge a Surcharge fee
   1. A statement similar to “I will be adding a surcharge with Homegauge payment transactions” is all thats required.

Visa & Mastercard

1. You’ll need your HomeGauge Payments Merchant ID prior to completing the notification Forms for Visa and Mastercard
   NOTE: When the asked for the Acquirer or Payment Service Provider name you can enter "HomeGauge". When asked to complete Merchant information, enter your businesses information.
   NOTE: You may need to drop the "p1_" from your merchant id on the Visa form 
   1. Login to HomeGauge Payments
   2. In the menu, select “Profile”
   3. Copy your Merchant ID from the profile page
   4. Complete the Forms for Visa and Mastercard
      1. Visa's Notification Form
         
         1. For the "Surcharging All Visa Credit Cards or Specific Visa Credit Products" Question, select "Visa Brand Level"
      2. Mastercard's Merchant Surcharge Disclosure Form
         1. For "Acquirer/Processor" enter "HomeGauge"
         2. For Type of Surcharge enter "Brand"
   5. Once thirty days have passed from the last notification you have submitted, you can enable the Surcharge from the Company Options

Enable the Surcharge Feature

Once thirty days have passed from your notification to HomeGauge and the Credit Card Networks, you can enable the feature on your inspector dashboard.

1. Click Account Settings, then click Company Options
   
2. The Credit Card Surcharge page is available at the bottom of the company options. Select the “Enable credit card surcharge fee” option to begin using the surcharge. Once selected the surcharge fee will apply to all credit card purchases taken through HomeGauge Payments, whether on the Inspector Dashboard or the HomeBuyer Dashboard

Taking payment on the Inspector Dashboard

When taking payment on the Inspector Dashboard, you will now need to enter if the card is a credit or debit card. For Credit Cards (debit and prepaid cards are exempt from the Surcharge Fee), a surcharge will display and be added to the total for the inspection:

Once you’ve completed the payment, the Surcharge is clearly displayed on the receipt:

Making a payment on the HomeBuyer Dashboard

The experience on the HomeBuyer Dashboard is similar to that on the Inspector Dashboard:

Once the HomeBuyer makes their payment, the Surcharge will display on the receipt: