Credit card surcharge rules in Canada

Rules checked October 19, 2026 from official sources. Laws and card network rules change, and this isn’t legal advice. Check with your payment provider and your state (or province) before you add a surcharge.

The short answer

Outside Quebec, you can add a surcharge to credit card payments. Visa and Mastercard have allowed it since October 6, 2022, after a class action settlement. The cap is 2.4%, or your own cost if that’s lower.

You can’t surcharge debit or prepaid cards. You can’t add your own surcharge to Interac Debit. And in Quebec, you can’t charge a fee for paying by credit or debit card at all.

What the federal regulator says

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) puts it plainly: “As a merchant, you have the option of adding a surcharge to a credit card transaction (except in Quebec)” (FCAC).

It sums up the network requirements this way:

• give advance notice
• keep the surcharge no higher than your cost
• don’t add a surcharge on top of a service or convenience fee
• stay within the 2.4% cap
• post signs at the point of sale and the store entrance, and show it on every receipt

It also says “Cardholders must be able to cancel the transaction without penalty before authorizing payment.” On debit, it says: “You should contact your payment processor about your ability to surcharge for accepting debit card payments. Some networks don’t allow merchants to do so.”

FCAC names Quebec as the only exception. We haven’t checked each province’s consumer protection laws one by one.

Card network rules

Visa Canada

From Visa’s surcharging FAQ for businesses (Visa Canada FAQ):

• The cap. “The maximum merchant surcharge for any transaction is 2.4%.” If your average merchant discount rate for Visa credit is lower, that’s your limit.
• Credit only. “Merchant surcharges are not permitted on Visa debit or prepaid card transactions.”
• Notice. Give your acquirer (your card processor) at least 30 days’ written notice.
• Brand or product level, not both. You can surcharge all Visa credit cards, or one type, but not both.
• No higher than Amex or PayPal. Your Visa surcharge can’t be higher than your surcharge on American Express or PayPal.
• No convenience fees. Visa says convenience fees aren’t permitted in Canada, and a merchant that surcharges can’t also charge a service fee on Visa credit.
• Refunds. No surcharge on a refund. When you refund a sale, the surcharge goes back too, pro-rated for partial refunds.
• Disclosure. Show it at the point of entry and the point of sale. State the exact amount or percentage, that you (not Visa) charge it, and that it applies only to credit. Put the amount on the receipt.

Visa’s FAQ carries no version date.

Mastercard Canada

From Mastercard’s Canadian surcharge rules (Mastercard Canada):

• The cap. “The Maximum Surcharge Cap: 2.4%.” Your limit is the lesser of your average effective merchant discount rate (or, at product level, that product’s cost) and 2.4%.
• Credit only. Not allowed on Debit Mastercard or Mastercard prepaid.
• Notice. Give both Mastercard and your acquirer at least 30 days’ notice. Mastercard has a webform.
• Disclosure. Clear notice at the point of sale, including the surcharge amount, and the dollar amount on the receipt.

Mastercard says the change came “Pursuant to a settlement of the Canada merchant class litigation.”

American Express

Amex’s Merchant Operating Guide (April 2026) has no stated percentage cap. Its rule is about fairness between cards. You can’t impose fees on Amex “that are not imposed equally on all Other Payment Products” (Amex Merchant Operating Guide). So an Amex surcharge can’t be higher than what you charge on other cards.

Interac Debit

This is the one people get wrong. Interac says: “Merchants may not directly apply a surcharge to any cardholder for the use of the Interac Debit Service” (Interac).

There is one narrow case. Interac allows a point-of-sale surcharge applied by the merchant’s acquirer, not the merchant. “The surcharge fee must be capped at $0.25.” It must be disclosed, printed on the transaction record, and the customer must be able to cancel at no cost. There’s no surcharge on remote Interac mobile debit, in an app or in a browser.

So the accurate line is: you can’t add a surcharge for Interac Debit yourself. If you think an acquirer fee applies to you, ask your processor.

Quebec: no card fees

Quebec’s Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC) says: “A merchant cannot charge fees when you use a debit or credit card to pay for a purchase” (OPC).

A sign doesn’t fix it: “Notifying you verbally or displaying a sign to that effect does not entitle the merchant to charge such fees.” The OPC says this includes taxi drivers. Its page for merchants says the same in French: “Il vous est interdit d’exiger des frais aux consommateurs qui paient par carte de débit ou par carte de crédit” (OPC, for merchants).

Visa’s own FAQ agrees that local law comes first: “A Provincial and/or Federal law or regulation would supersede Visa Rules” (Visa Canada FAQ).

We haven’t verified whether a cash discount is allowed in Quebec. We’re not saying it is or it isn’t.

Discounts are protected

Instead of a surcharge, you can lower the price for people who pay another way. The Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada (in effect since October 30, 2024) says: “Merchants must be able to provide discounts for different payment methods and differential discounts among different Card networks” (FCAC, Code of Conduct).

FCAC’s merchant rights page says the same: “You may provide discounts for different methods of payment. For example, cash, debit card and credit card” (FCAC). Amex allows discounts for other payment methods if you “clearly and conspicuously disclose the terms of the discount offer to all prospective buyers at the point of purchase or checkout.”

One thing to watch: advertised prices

The Competition Bureau says “Promoting a price that is not attainable due to fixed charges or fees that consumers must pay is against the law” (Competition Bureau, drip pricing). Government-imposed charges are the exception.

That page doesn’t mention card surcharges. Our reading, not the Bureau’s: if you only accept credit cards, a card fee is one every customer must pay, so it may belong in your advertised price. Ask for advice if this applies to you.

What this means in practice

1. Quebec? Stop. No card fees on credit or debit.
2. Credit only. No surcharge on debit, prepaid or Interac Debit.
3. Use the lowest cap. 2.4%, or your own card cost if that’s lower.
4. Give 30 days’ notice. In writing to your acquirer for Visa, and to both Mastercard and your acquirer for Mastercard.
5. Post signs and show it on receipts. At the entrance, at checkout, and on every receipt.
6. Let customers back out. They must be able to cancel without penalty and pay another way.
7. Don’t stack fees. No surcharge on top of a service or convenience fee.

Or work on the other side of it. A surcharge passes your cost on. Cutting the cost helps on every card, including debit, and nobody sees a fee at the till.

Keep reading

• The fee calculator: turn your statement into one number, your real rate.
• How to reduce your card fees: what to change first.
• Credit card processing fees, explained: what every line on your statement means.
• Interchange-plus vs flat rate: which pricing model costs less.