As an entrepreneur, you may choose to pass on the costs you incur for payment methods to the customer. This is also known as ‘surcharging’. If you want to charge surcharges for a payment method, you must take certain rules into account. Surcharging is, in principle, prohibited under the PSD2 regulations. In this article, we explain as clearly as possible what is and is not allowed.
What is PSD2 and what does it say about surcharging/fees?
The Payment Service Directive 2 (PSD2) is a European directive on payment services. PSD2 came into force on January 13, 2018, and replaced the Payment Services Directive from 2007 (PSD1). The PSD2 applies within the European Economic Area (EEA). This means that all companies doing business in this area must comply with PSD2.
PSD2 has five objectives:
- Promoting competition in the European payment market.
- Enabling innovations in payment transactions.
- Protecting participants in payment transactions.
- Increasing the security of payment transactions.
- Contributing to a single European payment market. (Source: AFM)
Source: AFM
For the purpose of the objective ‘protecting participants in payment transactions’, PSD2 regulations state that passing on costs for payment methods is, in principle, prohibited. The European Commission’s website describes the following:
“PSD2 prohibits extra charges for payments with most consumer debit and credit cards, both in shops and online. ‘Surcharges’ are common in some member states, especially for online payments and in specific sectors such as travel and hospitality. The ban on ‘surcharges’ applies to both domestic and cross-border payments. In practice, it will cover about 95% of all card payments in the EU.”
Source: European Commission
This indicates that no surcharge may be charged to consumers for most debit and credit cards. Exceptions apply to certain payment methods. Business payments are also excluded from this ban.
Code of Conduct for Deferred Payment / Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)
On October 30, 2023, a code of conduct for Buy Now, Pay Later services came into effect. Four major providers of BNPL services established this code of conduct to improve the quality of service. According to deferred payment provider Riverty, it is now forbidden to charge extra costs for deferred payment:
“According to the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 30, 2023, costs for using BNPL products in the checkout will now result in the purchase being qualified as credit lending under the Consumer Credit Act (Wck). Due to this ruling, it is prohibited to charge such costs. Failure to comply with this rule can result in fines from the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) for providing credit without a license. If you charge extra costs for using BNPL, our urgent advice is therefore to remove them from the checkout.”
Source: Riverty
Several organizations have published information regarding this topic:
- Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) – October 27, 2023 – Code of conduct for deferred payment is positive, but European regulation remains necessary
- Thuiswinkel.org – November 2, 2023 – Charging payment fees for deferred payment no longer possible in many cases
When are you allowed to charge costs?
For the Dutch market, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) monitors the enforcement of PSD2. The ACM states the following on its website:
You may NOT charge surcharges for:
- Debit card payments (Pin);
- Transfers via internet banking within the SEPA area;
- Direct debits within the SEPA area;
- A credit card from a so-called four-party payment card scheme such as Visa or Mastercard.
You MAY charge surcharges for:
- PayPal payments;
- Acceptgiro (giro collection slip) payments;
- A credit card from a so-called three-party payment card scheme, such as Diners Club or certain American Express cards;
- A corporate (business) credit card;
- Another payment instrument for which no maximum interchange fee applies (see Chapter 2 of the European Regulation on interchange fees).
The ACM notes the following:
- You may not charge the costs of the underlying transfer itself.
- You may, however, charge the costs for the iDEAL service that makes this transfer possible.
- You may never charge more than the actual costs. This means only the actual costs you pay to the company (in many cases the PSP) that accepts the payment for you.
- Additionally, the consumer must know the costs for a payment before making a purchase. You can do this by stating the surcharges separately.
Bron: ACM
How it works
Passing on costs through surcharging is your own choice. Whether and how you do this is up to you. Furthermore, it varies per plugin whether this is possible. You remain responsible at all times for compliance with (local) laws and regulations.
Disclaimer: Pronamic tries to provide the best possible picture of what is and is not allowed. Because rules and legislation can change regularly, this page may contain errors and no rights can be derived from it.
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