CASH DISCOUNT · NEW JERSEY
Cash Discount Program in New Jersey: posted card prices, a discount for cash.
A Cash Discount Program can help offset processing costs. Your posted prices are card prices, and customers who pay cash get a discount off that price. We set it up on Clover POS with signage at the entrance and register, and we’ll tell you honestly if it’s not a fit for your customers. Program terms and requirements apply.
Free Clover equipment
Clover POS equipment at no cost to you, installed on-site: we come to you.
Conditions: Subject to standard merchant account approval and underwriting by our processor, Fiserv. Program terms and requirements apply.
No monthly program fee
The Cash Discount Program has no monthly fee and no per-transaction fee to the merchant.
Conditions: Subject to standard merchant account approval and underwriting by our processor, Fiserv.
01 / HOW IT WORKS
Card price posted.
Cash pays less.
The Clover POS cash discount setting shows both totals at checkout.
Posted (card) price: $10.42
Shelf, menu, and online prices show the card price.
Cash price: $10.00
Customers paying cash get a 4% discount at checkout. (Example only.)
Disclosed clearly
Signs at the entrance and register (and on menus) explain the cash discount.
02 / THE RULES, IN PLAIN ENGLISH
What keeps a program
compliant.
- Post the card price. The discount is a reduction for cash, never a fee added at the register.
- No hidden “service fee” lines. A fee added at checkout is a surcharge under card-brand rules, whatever it’s called.
- Disclose it clearly at the entrance and point of sale, and on menus for restaurants.
- If you surcharge instead: credit cards only, never debit or prepaid; no more than your actual cost (NJ) and card-brand caps; 30 days’ notice; disclosed on signs and receipts.
Program fees & terms
- Free Statement Review: no cost, no obligation.
- Cash Discount Program: posted prices are card prices; cash payments receive a discount off the posted card price (typically 4%). It is never a fee added to card payments at the terminal.
- No monthly program fee: The Cash Discount Program has no monthly fee and no per-transaction fee to the merchant. Conditions: Subject to standard merchant account approval and underwriting by our processor, Fiserv.
- Free Clover equipment: Clover POS equipment at no cost to you; installation and training on-site (we come to you). Conditions: Subject to standard merchant account approval and underwriting by our processor, Fiserv. Program terms and requirements apply.
- Processing: through Fiserv.
- Traditional (interchange-plus) pricing: quoted case by case, in writing.
- Requirements: card prices posted on shelves, menus, and online; cash discount signs at the entrance and register (and on menus for restaurants); account approval.
Program terms and requirements apply. All terms are provided in writing before you sign anything.
Does a Cash Discount Program remove processing costs?
No. It can help offset processing costs, because the cost is built into your posted card prices and cash customers get a discount. Under WassPay’s program there is no monthly fee and no per-transaction fee to the merchant, and Clover equipment is free. Both are subject to standard merchant account approval and underwriting by our processor, Fiserv. Program terms and requirements apply.
What’s the difference between a cash discount and a surcharge?
With a cash discount, the price you post is the card price and cash customers pay less. With a surcharge, you post one price and add a fee at checkout for paying by credit card. A fee added at the register is a surcharge even if it’s called a “service fee” or “non-cash adjustment”.
Is surcharging allowed in New Jersey?
New Jersey allows credit card surcharges only up to your actual cost to process the payment, and the amount must be disclosed before purchase: signs at the entrance and point of sale (for restaurants, in the customer service area and on the menu), on the checkout page online, and verbally for phone orders. Visa and Mastercard don’t allow surcharges on debit or prepaid cards and require advance notice and receipt disclosure.
Can I charge debit cards more?
Not as a surcharge: card-brand rules prohibit surcharging debit and prepaid cards. A true cash discount is different, because the posted price is already the card price.
Is this legal advice?
No. This page is general information about card-brand rules and New Jersey law as we understand them. Rules change; check with your attorney for your situation.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Would a Cash Discount Program fit? Let’s look.
Send one recent statement. We’ll show what you pay now and your options with a Cash Discount Program and interchange-plus pricing, in writing. No obligation.
ALSO SERVING
Little Falls (including Singac), Woodland Park, Totowa, Wayne, Cedar Grove, Clifton, Montclair, and nearby towns across Passaic, Essex, Bergen, and Morris counties.