If you operate across multiple states or countries, you may encounter different laws regarding the passing of credit card processing fees to customers. In some places, surcharges are allowed up to a certain percentage. In others, they are banned altogether.
You probably already have global processing fees set up in your Admin Portal. But what if you need to apply different fees for each location? For example, you may be based in New York and Colorado. New York allows surcharges if they reflect the true cost, while Colorado caps them at 2%. In this case, global settings won't meet your needs.
With Location-Specific Processing Fees, you can configure and override your default settings per location to meet local requirements. This gives you the flexibility to stay compliant while aligning your fee strategy to each market.
Before you start
Who should use location-specific processing fees?
Location-specific processing fees are designed for:
Operators who manage locations across regions with different surcharge laws.
Teams that need to set different processing fees per location due to legal or business policy differences.
Admins who want to exclude some locations from processing fees.
When to use location-specific processing fees?
Use location-specific processing fees if:
You operate in regions with different laws around credit card surcharges.
You want to apply a 0% fee in locations where surcharges are not allowed.
You need to charge different fee percentages in different locations based on local rules.
You want to exclude specific locations from all processing fees.
You want to test different fee models across locations (enable in one group, disable in another) to evaluate member impact or adoption rates.
Example use cases
A U.S. operator with locations in Colorado (2% limit) and New York (must match processing cost) can configure location-specific limits to comply with local rules.
A Canadian operator can apply a 2.4% cap everywhere except Quebec, where surcharges are not allowed.
How to set up location-specific processing fees
You can configure default processing fees globally and override them for specific locations only.
Here's how to set up location-specific processing fees that will override the default processing fees:
Go to Settings > Billing > Billing Rules and open the Fees tab.
Click Activate Processing Fees.
Select a Revenue Account from the dropdown menu.
In the Location-Specific Processing Fees section, click Add Location.
Select one or more locations.
Enter fee percentages per card type (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and define a default fallback rate for unsupported types.
Click Add.
These overrides will now take precedence over the global values for the selected locations.
To make changes later, click the edit button next to a location. To remove overrides, click the delete button and confirm.
This feature is in beta. Functionality may change based on feedback.
Best practices
Always consult your legal team before applying surcharges in a new location.
Never apply processing fees that exceed your actual card processing costs.
Don't add location-specific processing fees without first selecting a Revenue Account.
Use clear naming for your Revenue Account and plan (for example, “Processing Fees – US”).
Do not delete the “Processing Fees” billing plan created by the system. You can rename it in Billing > Plans if needed.
Inform your members about processing fees. Add details about them in your terms and conditions.
Important notes
This feature is currently in beta and is subject to change based on user feedback.
For operators using Stripe, you can turn off processing fees specifically for debit card payments. Select the Remove processing fees for debit cards checkbox.
Processing fee changes are tracked in the Activity Log for transparency and auditing.
Surcharging debit cards is not allowed in the U.S.
Some states have specific caps or bans on surcharges. For example:
California: Surcharges are banned as of July 1, 2024.
Colorado: Fees are capped at 2%.
New York: Fees must not exceed your actual processing cost.
In Canada, the surcharge cap is 2.4%. Surcharges are banned in Quebec.