Thank you to the Skylark Café and Club for hosting the Seattle Restaurant Alliance May 28 membership meeting!
Matt Heinle from US Bank joined us to host an informative presentation and discussion on all things credit card processing to help you decide which point of sales system is right for your business. Here are some resources from the conversation:
Credit card surcharges
If your business regularly accepts credit card payments, recent changes in customer buying behavior and purchase activity may call for a reassessment of your credit card acceptance practices.
- Credit card surcharging is a percentage-based amount of the purchase added to the total amount charged to the paying customer.
- Credit card surcharging allows businesses to offer customers the flexibility to pay by credit card for a relatively small fee. The fee is typically 3% of the purchase price.
- Cardholders who wish to avoid the surcharge can pay using a lower cost payment method such as a debit card, check or cash.
It is important to understand the laws on surcharging whether online or in-person.
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- Currently, businesses must notify Elavon, Visa, and Mastercard of the intent to surcharge.
- Businesses must disclose the surcharge for in-person transactions using signs or stickers at the point of entry and point of sale to alert cardholders prior to completing a credit card payment.
- Credit card surcharges must disclose the credit card surcharge dollar amount on every receipt.
- Businesses must disclose the credit card surcharge for online transactions in descriptive text prior to check-out in accordance with card brand rules and state laws.
- Credit card surcharge applies to credit cards only and is not available on debit cards.
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If you want to learn how you can take advantage of the Washington Hospitality Association’s Payment Solutions, visit the link here.
Visit Seattle and the Seattle Sports Commission also joined us for a discussion on how our organizations can collaborate and connect with the city to ensure the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup is fruitful for Seattle restaurants. Below are a few resources to help you plan for the upcoming soccer events:
Seattle Sports Commission
- Seattle Sports Commission’s Watch Party Playbook
- Info on 2025 FIFA Club World Cup
- Info on 2026 FIFA World Cup
Stay tuned for more information, including the 2026 World Cup Playbook from the Seattle Chamber of Commerce coming later this year.
Next SRA meeting:
Our next meeting date will be later this summer. Follow updates from the Seattle Restaurant Alliance to hear when our date is set.