Nationwide Cash Discount uses a legal program that can be used in all 50 states, that was created to offer merchants an alternative to standard credit card processing. With Nationwide Cash Discount, merchants will reduce their credit card processing costs by applying a small service charge to each sale they make. These two federal court cases/ laws allow all businesses to offer a cash discount.

The Durbin Amendment is a provision of United States federal law, 15 U.S.C. § 1693o-2.  It was passed as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation in 2010. Download PDF

Ohio v. American Express Co., 585 U.S. ___ (2018), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding the nature of antitrust law in relation to two-sided markets. The case specifically involves policies set by some credit card banks that prevented merchants from steering customers to use cards from other issuers with lower transaction fees, forcing merchants to pay higher transaction fees to the banks. While Visa and MasterCard settled with the United States Department of Justice in 2010, American Express defended its practice by arguing that the anti-steering policies benefited its cardholders, the higher transaction fees helping to maintain member services. While the Department of Justice and several states prevailed during a District Court trial in 2015 citing harm to the merchants, the Appeals Court reversed the District Court’s ruling in 2016 by ruling that the plaintiffs had not shown harm to both sides of the two-side market, a novel test in anti-trust law. This decision led to some of the states to appeal to the Supreme Court. The case was heard by the Court in February 2018.

The Court issued its decision on June 25, 2018, affirming the Appeals Court’s ruling that steering provisions do not violate antitrust laws. With this decision upheld

Want to accept credits cards without the expensive fees? The Nationwide Cash Discount program allows you to have one simple rate of 3.75% or a fixed fee, which is passed to the cardholder. As a business owner, all you pay is a monthly subscription fee. Our cash discount program has saved merchants thousands and typically saves over 95% to 100% on fees.

• No fees – transaction, AVS or Batch, etc…
• All you pay is a monthly subscription fee
• All the other fees are bundled into the 3.75% which is passed on to the cardholder as a service fee.
• No Interchange or Card Brand Fees
• No Monthly Merchant Account Fees
• No PCI Compliance fees – you must be PCI Compliant
• Cash Discount is legal in all 50 States

A “cash discount” happens when a merchant decreases the price for cash purchases. The program does not discriminate against one card over another. Cash Discounts reward customers for paying by a particular means and/or for not using a particular means of payment. Cash discount programs have been available for years to many other merchants including higher education, government, gas stations and utility providers, but only recently have the federal regulations been changed to allow independent business owners to use the same programs.

A “surcharge” occurs when a merchant increases the price for credit card purchases. A “cash discount” happens when a merchant decreases the price posted for their goods and services for alternative payment/purchases. No surcharges or fees are allowed on debit card transactions, specifically PIN-based debit. We also offer the surcharge program if that fits your business better.

First, a small customer service fee is added to all transactions. A discount is offered when payment is made in cash.