Friday, September 5, 2025
Surcharges impact card use, satisfaction
As credit card surcharging becomes more commonplace, it's beginning to have an impact on how consumers view merchants and the issuers of credit cards. This is according to studies by J.D. Power and WalletHub.
A J.D. Power survey of 3,841 U.S. small businesses, conducted in late 2024, found 34 percent of respondents assess surcharges on credit card payments.
Merchant surcharging of credit card payments is allowed in 47 states, with most of those states requiring merchants to clearly inform customers of the practice prior to ringing up purchases. Some states, like California, require businesses to factor all fees, including surcharges, into the listed price of goods and services.
According to the J.D. Power Credit Card Satisfaction Study, published in August 2025, 65 percent of credit cardholders had been charged higher prices for goods and services when paying with their credit cards.
Customer satisfaction scores for card issuers fell 39 points, on average, when cardholders encountered surcharges. Among surveyed cardholders who had experienced surcharges, 81 percent said they had used an alternative payment method at some point to avoid paying a surcharge.
Consumers feel 'nickel and dimed'
The Credit Card Processing Fees Survey, a nationally representative survey conducted by WalletHub and published in April 2025, found that consumers really don't like surcharges. Based on that survey, consumer ire isn't with card issuers; it's reserved for the merchants who are assessing the surcharges.
Specifically:
- Better than four in five Americans (82 percent) have been charged a fee for paying with a credit card.
- 87 percent of consumers think they are being "nickel-and-dimed" when they are assessed a fee for paying with by credit card.
- Better than three in five people believe it is unfair for merchants to pass along their card processing fees to customers.
- 58 percent of consumers feel merchants are not transparent about their credit card surcharging practices.
- Two in three Americans said they would not use a credit card if doing so resulted in them being charged a fee.
Together, the studies suggest that while surcharging may boost merchant margins, it risks eroding consumer goodwill and shifting payment behaviors in lasting ways.
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