Asking a client to soak up SumUp fees

kormak

Hi,

We offer SumUp virtual terminal to clients who wish to pay us by card. We rarely use it but there are the odd American client who like to pay by creditcard. Just wondering if it's acceptable/normal for us as a business to inform a client that they must soak up the fees? i.e. SumUp apply a fee of 2.95% +.25c for virtual terminal transactions. So this could be as much as €30 for a large transaction. Or should we just soak it up and try work in to our accounting receipts?

Allinall

If it's just the odd payment, then i would absorb the cost.

Not worth losing a customer over, and that would be a real possibility.

Padre_Pio

Up to you. A 30 euro charge on an order over €1000?

I'd probably take the hit

JimmyVik

I walked away from something I was going to buy last week when the company decided I had to pay about €20 if I used my credit card to pay the €2500 amount.

It was just the principle. Couldnt stomach a company I was about to give €2500 to being so petty on the card charges, so I walked.

kormak

Thanks for your comments. For the sake of good business we'll take the hit. The question was really around legalities. I think it's illegal to charge the client for more than what the fees are?

NSAman

It is a little dicy to do and may cause some issues. It normally upsets a client to be charged more and normally we would take the hit to get the business.

There is an EU directive on this: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/pricing-payments/index_en.htm

Surcharges: fees for the use of cards

Traders in the EU are not allowed to charge you extra for using your credit or debit card. The only exceptions to this rule are American Express/Diners Club cards and business or corporate credit cards, where your employer is billed instead of you. If you use these cards, you may still be charged a fee but the fee can't be more than what it actually costs the trader to process your payment.

You should be aware that if you're paying in EU currencies other than euros, you may still be charged a currency conversion fee by your card provider when you use your card in another EU country.

It doesn't stop you charging extra for the fees but ONLY for the fees incurred and the price must be inclusive before the payment has been processed.

silver2020

Is sum up not 1.69% now?

Switch to Square if your rate is still 2.95%

But its an absolute no no to ask for fees to be covered from a business point of view