Dual pricing lets cash customers pay less while card customers pay a small service fee that covers processing costs. Here's how it works and whether it makes sense for your business.
Dual pricing is a payment structure where a business posts two prices for every item: a cash price and a card price. Cash customers pay the lower price. Customers paying by card pay a slightly higher price — typically 3–4% more — that covers the merchant's card processing fees.
The result: if you're currently paying 2.6–3.5% in processing fees on every card transaction, a compliant dual pricing program can reduce that cost to near zero.
When a customer is ready to pay, the terminal displays both prices. The customer chooses their payment method — cash pays the base price, card pays the service fee price. The receipt shows both amounts and clearly labels the fee.
Modern Android smart terminals (Valor, Dejavoo, Pax, Charge Anywhere) handle this automatically. The terminal software manages the price display, receipt formatting, and PCI-compliant transaction flow without any manual calculation required.
Yes — when structured correctly. Visa, Mastercard, and American Express all permit dual pricing programs, with three core requirements:
1. All customers must be offered the cash price — you can't charge only card customers the higher rate without disclosing the cash option
2. The fee must be disclosed at point of sale — displayed on the terminal screen and on signage
3. The program must be structured as a cash discount, not a surcharge — the framing matters for card network compliance
Properly configured dual pricing programs are legal in all 50 states. Fibi handles terminal configuration, signage kits, and compliance documentation for every deployment.
These three terms are often used interchangeably but they're not the same thing:
| Program | How It Works | Legal Status |
|---|---|---|
| Dual Pricing | Two posted prices — cash price + card price | Legal in all 50 states when compliant |
| Cash Discount | One posted price; cash customers get a discount | Legal in all 50 states |
| Credit Surcharge | One price; card customers charged extra fee | Legal in 46 states; prohibited in some |
Dual pricing and cash discount are the most broadly compliant approaches. See our detailed comparison of dual pricing vs cash discount for a full breakdown.
At typical card volumes:
| Monthly Card Volume | Processing Cost at 3% | Cost with Dual Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000/mo | $300/mo | ~$0–30/mo |
| $25,000/mo | $750/mo | ~$0–75/mo |
| $50,000/mo | $1,500/mo | ~$0–150/mo |
Savings depend on your card mix, program configuration, and what percentage of customers pay cash. Most businesses running compliant dual pricing programs see 85–95% reduction in effective processing cost.
Not every terminal handles dual pricing natively. The ones that do:
Traditional countertop terminals (Verifone VX520, Ingenico iCT220) generally do not support dual pricing.
Browse the full payment hardware overview to compare models.
Dual pricing works best for businesses where:
It tends to work less well for businesses with very high average tickets where the per-transaction fee difference is immediately visible, or for luxury brands where pricing perception is the primary concern.
Fibi sets up dual pricing programs as part of our payment advisory — terminal configuration, signage kit, and processor enrollment are all included. We also review your current processing statement to confirm whether dual pricing makes economic sense before recommending it.
Request a dual pricing consultation →
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