Add a processing fee at checkout?

[Amy]

I want to add a processing fee when clients/tenants make a payment.  How do I do that?

[PayPal_Jason]

Hi Amy-

Is this fee associated with the person making the payment or a handling charge for packaging / materials / etc.  The term processing fee implies that people are being asked to pay for making a purchase with you, and both PayPal and credit card companies have rules against surcharging customers who pay by certain payment methods.

Here's our policy from our User Agreement:

4.5 No Surcharges. You agree that you will not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal as a payment method. You may charge a handling fee in connection with the sale of goods or services, as long as the handling fee does not operate as a surcharge and is not higher than the handling fee you charge for non-PayPal transactions.

You can do a web search for credit card company names and the term "surcharge" to find out additional info.  Some states even have laws against the practice.

With that being said, PayPal does have a manual for our website payments features that has some info on adding additional fields.  You can find the manual here:

https://cms.paypal.com/cms_content/US/en_US/files/developer/PP_WebsitePaymentsStandard_IntegrationGu...

I did, however, want to make you aware of the possible issues you'd face with referencing a processing charge. 

Thanks,

Jason

[skier]

As previously explained:

You cannot charge a "surcharge" however, you can charge a "handling fee". For example many online Ticket Sales sites charge a processing fee.
The "surcharge" scenario is explained in the User Agreement.
Go to the link below and do a search on "surcharge".
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/UserAgreement/ua/USUA-outside

It's about semantics, as the term surcharge in the credit card world means you charging a fee to recoup the credit card fees you pay. Whereas charging a "handling fee" can be for additional processing costs not related to credit card fees. Basically, one cannot say or advertise that any additional fees for covering your credit card fees.

Tip: You should have a clear policy on your web page or site stating that a "handling fee" is included in your charges. You need to explain this for a couple of reasons. For example, you have additional costs due to packaging or processing applications, etc. Also note, the fee will be displayed as Shipping and Handling even if you don't have any shipping fees. It's important to understand that your customers may not be aware of how the PayPal Screens display a "handling fee" and they will have questions.

For Buy Now item buttons, use the "handling" variable.
For Add to Cart item buttons, use the "handling_cart" variable.

Regards,

skier