Free Credit Card Surcharge Sign Generator
Build a clean, printable sign for your surcharge, cash discount, or dual pricing program. Pick your program, set your wording, download a print-ready PNG. Everything happens in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Card networks cap surcharges — confirm your allowed rate with your processor before posting.
Pre-filled from the template for your program — edit freely. Changing the program above resets this text.
Private by design: the sign is drawn and downloaded entirely in your browser. Nothing you type here is sent to our servers.
Surcharge, Cash Discount, or Dual Pricing — Your Sign Must Match Your Program
The most common signage mistake isn't bad design — it's a sign that describes a different program than the one running at the register. A sign that says "cash discount" while the terminal adds a fee on top of the posted price mislabels a surcharge, and that mismatch is exactly what card-network reviewers and state regulators look for.
The three programs differ in one thing: what the posted price means. A surcharge adds a fee to the posted price when a customer pays by credit card. A cash discount takes money off the posted price for cash. Dual pricing posts both prices and lets the customer choose. Ourcomparison guide walks through which fits which business.
Surcharge sign wording
"We impose a surcharge on credit card transactions that is not greater than our cost of acceptance. This surcharge does not apply to debit cards or prepaid cards."
Card-network rules cap surcharges and prohibit surcharging debit — even when a debit card is run "as credit."
Cash discount sign wording
"We offer a discount on purchases paid with cash. Posted prices are our regular prices; a discount is applied when you pay with cash."
A true cash discount comes OFF the posted price. If the register adds a fee on top of the shelf price, that is a surcharge, whatever the receipt calls it.
Dual pricing sign wording
"Our prices are displayed as a cash price and a card price. Pay with cash and pay the lower listed price. Thank you!"
Dual pricing shows both prices up front, so the customer chooses with full information at the shelf and at the register.
Where to Post Your Sign
Disclosure only works if the customer sees it before they pay. For a storefront that means two signs minimum: one at the entrance and one at the point of sale, where the customer can read it while deciding how to pay. Restaurants should also disclose on the menu or the check presenter. Online, the disclosure belongs on the checkout page before the customer enters card details — not buried in terms and conditions.
And whether a surcharge is allowed at all depends partly on where you do business: a handful of states restrict or prohibit surcharging, and the rules shift. Ourstate-by-state surcharge law guide keeps the current map, with sources.
Surcharge Sign Questions, Answered
Do I have to post a sign to charge a credit card surcharge?+
Yes. Card-network rules require clear disclosure before the customer pays — at the store entrance and at the point of sale for in-person businesses, and on the checkout page online. The receipt must also show the surcharge as its own line item. A sign your customers only see after paying does not count as disclosure.
What should a credit card surcharge sign say?+
At minimum: that a surcharge applies to credit card purchases, and that it does not exceed your cost of acceptance. It should also make clear the surcharge does not apply to debit or prepaid cards — surcharging debit is prohibited by network rules regardless of how the card is processed. Our generator starts from that wording and lets you adjust it.
Is a cash discount sign different from a surcharge sign?+
Yes, and the difference matters legally. A cash discount sign says cash customers get money off the posted price. A surcharge sign says card customers pay more than the posted price. Programs that post one price and add a fee at the register are surcharge programs, whatever the signage says — and mislabeling one as a "cash discount" is a common compliance mistake.
Are credit card surcharges legal in my state?+
In most states yes, with disclosure and caps — but a handful of states restrict or prohibit them, and the rules change. Check our state-by-state surcharge law guide for the current picture, and confirm the specifics with your processor before you post a sign.
Is this sign generator really free?+
Yes. Everything runs in your browser — the sign is drawn on this page and downloaded straight from it. Nothing you type is uploaded, stored, or sent to us, and there is no watermark, signup, or catch.
The Sign Is the Easy Part
A compliant program needs the right terminal setup, the right receipt line items, and pricing that matches the signage. Payment USA sets upcash discount anddual pricing programs end to end — hardware, receipts, signage and all.