Merchant Card Service - Resources - Merchant Acceptance Rules

Acceptable Transactions

Q :  Can a merchant charge a service fee to a customer for using his credit card?
A:   No.  This is called surcharging and is prohibited by Mastercard/Visa.  The associations want to encourage customers to use their credit card and would like it to be as convenient as cash. Imposing a surcharge discourages customers from using their bank card. Convenience fees are allowed in certain situations.  

Q :   Can a merchant require a minimum dollar amount for credit card purchases?
A :   No.  A merchant may not require a minimum or maximum transaction amount to use a credit card. Again, this discourages bank card usage.

Q : Can a merchant require an additional form of identification before completing a credit card sale?
A :  The merchant can request to see another form of identification, but cannot make it a condition of completing the sale. The merchant should look at id when the credit card is not signed on the back and the merchant needs to verify the cardholder's signature by looking at a drivers license.  However, documenting the id is prohibited except in the case of a cash advance done at a bank.

Q:  Can a merchant accept credit cards for loan payments or for payments of existing debt?
A: Visa and MC now allow the use of credit cards for payment of an existing obligation, provided that the transaction does not represent payment on an uncollectible debt or bad debt.  

Authorizations

Q :  What is a "code 10" authorization?
A :  If a merchant is suspicious about the transaction or the cardholder, they can call the voice authorization center and request a "code 10". The operator on the line will ask a series of yes and no questions that will help the merchant determine if the cardholder is legitimate and he can process the sale.