Understanding The Difference Between Surcharging And Convenience Fee

CONVENIENCE FEES

A convenience fee is associated with an “added value” that the cardholder receives in connection with a non-face-to-face card purchase in the form of an alternate payment channel outside of the merchant’s customary payment channels. For instance, a movie theatre is permitted to charge a convenience fee to cardholders that purchase movie tickets for a future showing through the Internet. This alternate payment channel offers the cardholder added convenience since they do not have to be physically present to complete this transaction, thus a convenience fee is allowable. The movie theatre (this would be their customary payment channel), however, may not levy a “convenience fee” at the ticket counter.

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