On a $10,000 program paid by card at Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢, the fee is $290.30 if the client pays in full and $293 over a deposit and nine payments of $1,000. In most of the US you can pass it on as a credit card surcharge, within the card networks' caps and your state's law, disclosed before the client pays. Bank transfer through Stripe costs 0.8%, capped at $5 a payment, so offering it beside card cuts the fee on the same plan to $50.
Checked against Stripe's pricing and surcharging documentation, Visa's surcharging Q&A, HoneyBook's, HighLevel's and Kajabi's help centres, and Regulation Z on 22 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
How much do card fees cost on a $10,000 program?
A few hundred dollars per client. Stripe's standard US rate for a domestic card is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful payment. It adds 0.5% for a card entered by hand, 1.5% for an international card and 1% if currency conversion is needed. ACH Direct Debit is 0.8%, capped at $5. (Stripe pricing)
Here is one $10,000 program, paid six ways:
| How the client pays | Card payments | Fees at Stripe's standard rates |
|---|---|---|
| In full, by card | 1 | $290.30 |
| In full, card keyed in on the call | 1 | $340.30 |
| 30/40/30: $3,000, $4,000, $3,000 by card | 3 | $290.90 |
| $1,000 deposit, then nine payments of $1,000 by card | 10 | $293.00 |
| The same plan on an international card | 10 | $443.00 |
| The same plan by bank transfer (ACH) | 0 | $50.00 |
The working: 2.9% of $1,000 is $29, plus 30¢ makes $29.30 a payment, or $293 across ten. Each 30¢ is per payment, so more payments cost a little more. On an international card each $1,000 payment costs $44.30. By bank, 0.8% of $1,000 would be $8, so the $5 cap applies to every payment.
At twenty clients a year on that plan (an illustration, not a benchmark), card fees come to $5,860.
Can you charge clients a credit card fee?
In most of the US, yes, on credit cards, within the card networks' rules and your state's law. A fee for paying by card is a surcharge. Stripe's surcharging documentation lists the US as credit cards only, with a 3% maximum, and says you're responsible for state requirements. (Stripe: collect surcharges)
Visa's own cap is your card rate or 3%, whichever is lower, and debit and prepaid cards can't be surcharged. (Visa: surcharging Q&A) Some states ban or limit surcharges. Is it legal to charge credit card fees? goes through Visa's and Mastercard's rules and the states that differ. Read it before you add a fee, and check the state of each place you do business.
What do the checkout tools coaches use say about passing fees?
Each tool handles it differently, and the help centres are the place to check. As of 22 October 2026:
- HoneyBook. Its invoice help says that, when the feature is on, "the applicable processing fee for each eligible payment method is automatically added to your client's total at checkout." It is available to members in the United States only. (HoneyBook: invoice FAQ)
- HighLevel. Its Processing Charge setting adds a percentage fee to payments from stores, invoices and estimates, funnels, forms and payment links. On an invoice, the charge appears after the customer clicks Pay and may not show on the invoice preview. It doesn't apply to invoices paid through the mobile app. The article says the business is responsible for complying with surcharging laws. It doesn't say whether the charge can be limited to credit cards. (HighLevel: processing charges)
- Kajabi. Its US fee page lists 2.9% + 30¢ for cards and 0.8%, capped at $5, for ACH, plus 0.7% on subscriptions and payment plans that "applies to every transaction in the series, including the first one." The page doesn't describe adding a fee to the buyer's total. (Kajabi Payments fees: United States)
Whatever tool you use, check when the fee appears. The client should see it before they agree to pay, not after.
Does a surcharge recover the whole fee?
Not quite. Take a 2.9% surcharge on a $1,000 plan payment. It adds $29, and the client pays $1,029. Stripe's fee is charged on the whole $1,029, which comes to $30.14. So the surcharge recovers $29 of a $30.14 fee. Across ten payments that's $290 of $301.41.
The cap is the reason. A surcharge can't be more than your card rate, so the 30¢ and the fee on the surcharge itself stay with you. It still turns a $293 cost into about $11.
What do you have to tell the client before they commit?
The amount, before they pay. Stripe's documentation lists what surcharging can require:
- Disclose it conspicuously, with the surcharge on each payment and the total cost, ahead of purchase.
- Let the client back out or pay another way after they see it.
- Show it as a separate line on the receipt.
- Refund it. A full refund returns the whole surcharge, and a partial refund returns a prorated share.
On a high-ticket program the safest place for it is the conversation itself. Say it on the enrollment call, write it into the agreement, and show it again at checkout. On a plan, show what each payment will be with the surcharge, not just the program price. A client who agreed to $1,000 a month and sees $1,029 on the first charge will ask why. The card-network rules for a card saved to charge later plan payments are in the legal post.
Can the client pay by bank transfer instead?
Yes, if your checkout offers it, and it's the simplest way to cut the fee. On Stripe, ACH Direct Debit is 0.8%, capped at $5. (Stripe pricing) On the plan above that's $50 instead of $293.
It also gives the client a way out of the surcharge, which the rules ask for. A client who doesn't want to pay $29 more a month can pay by bank with no card fee. If they choose a card anyway, the surcharge covers most of what it costs you. What does ACH save on a $15,000 plan? runs the bank-versus-card numbers on a longer plan.
Should the payment plan cost more than paying in full?
That's a separate decision from the card fee, with separate rules. Some programs show two prices: one to pay in full, a higher one to pay over time. A surcharge is about how the client pays. A plan price is about when.
Truth in Lending (Regulation Z) covers consumer credit, meaning credit "primarily for personal, family, or household purposes." (12 CFR 1026.2) Its list of finance charges includes a "time price differential". (12 CFR 1026.4) So if a personal-development client pays more for the plan than for paying in full, the difference may count as a finance charge.
Even at the same price, a business that regularly extends consumer credit payable in more than four installments, not counting a down payment, is a creditor under Regulation Z. Regularly means more than 25 times in the preceding calendar year. (12 CFR 1026.2(a)(17)) A business-coaching client buying for their company isn't buying consumer credit, so the answer can differ by program. Is a 0% payment plan a loan? and Truth in Lending Act go through what follows. Take your own pricing to counsel.
Is this legal advice?
No. This post summarises Stripe's documentation, three vendors' help centres and the federal rules named above as they read on 22 October 2026. It doesn't cover your state. Before you add a card fee or price a plan above pay-in-full, check with your own counsel and your state attorney general's office, and ask your processor what notice it needs.
Changelog
- 22 October 2026: first published.
Payment plans built from the deal in HubSpot or Pipedrive, with each location paid into its own account and books.
Paycove builds the plan from the CRM deal and, where your state allows it, adds a card surcharge per payment method, with bank transfer on the same checkout.
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