Dual pricing means showing two prices for the same thing: one for paying by card and a lower one for paying another way, such as cash or bank transfer. Visa's US rules don't use the term. They treat it as a discount offer, which is allowed when the business shows either the card price alone or the card and cash prices side by side, per item. The card total must come from those displayed prices. If the card price is reached by adding a fee at checkout instead, Visa may treat it as a surcharge, with its credit-only rule, 3% cap and disclosures.
What is dual pricing?
Showing two prices for the same item: a card price and a lower price for paying another way. Visa's published US rules don't use the term. Under Visa's rules the arrangement is a "discount offer", the same rule that covers a cash discount. Whether it is allowed depends on how the prices are shown and how the card total is reached.
How does Visa want the prices shown?
Visa's surcharge Q&A gives two ways to display prices when you offer a discount for paying another way:
- The card price only, per item.
- The card price and the cash price side by side, per item.
The second option is the one the name dual pricing describes. Either way, the card price is a price you show, not a price you reach later.
When does dual pricing become a surcharge?
At the final bill. Visa says the total for a card payment must be the full total of the items at the prices displayed, and not reached by adding a fee for paying by card. A bill that adds a card fee may appear to be, and may be treated as, a surcharge. Then Visa's surcharge rules apply:
- Credit cards only, never debit or prepaid.
- No more than your credit card rate or 3%, whichever is lower.
- Written notice to your processor at least 30 days before you start.
- Disclosure at the point of entry, at checkout and on every receipt.
How is it different from a surcharge and a cash discount?
| Dual pricing | Cash discount | Credit card surcharge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price shown | Card and cash prices side by side | Card price, alone or beside the cash price | Your normal price, plus a disclosed fee |
| How the card total is reached | From the displayed card prices | From the displayed card prices | Price plus the surcharge |
| Visa rule | Discount offer | Discount offer | Credit card surcharge |
A cash discount and dual pricing rest on the same Visa rule. Dual pricing is the side-by-side way of showing it. A surcharge starts from your normal price and adds a fee to credit card payments only.
What can the lower price be for?
Visa's discount rule covers any "means of payment other than a Visa Card", including another card brand or another Visa card type. Cash is the common case, but a check or a bank transfer is a means of payment too. Visa's rule also lets you tell customers what each payment method costs you.
Do state laws apply?
They can. Visa allows the discount "except where prohibited by applicable laws or regulations". Visa also lists states it understands to prohibit or limit surcharging, which matters if your prices end up treated as a surcharge. Check your own state's law before you set prices this way.
This page uses Visa's published rules. Mastercard and the other networks publish their own, and your processor applies them. General information, not legal advice.
- Visa: U.S. Merchant Surcharge Q and A
- Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, 18 April 2026: section 1.5.4.11 (Discount Offer – US Region and US Territories) and sections 5.5.1.5 to 5.5.1.9 (credit card surcharges)
Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on Oct 6, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.