Surcharging for Pet-Care Businesses: How to Recover Credit Card Fees

Running a pet-care business means juggling a lot, from managing reservations and caring for animals to handling staff schedules and maintaining relationships with loyal pet parents. Amid all that, it’s easy to overlook one silent drain on your bottom line: credit card processing fees.

Accepting credit card payments has become standard for companies in the pet-care industry, but it comes with legal, financial, and operational considerations, including transaction fees. Businesses must navigate these challenges while ensuring compliance and maintaining positive customer experiences.

The Challenge: Credit Card Processing Fees

Every time a customer pays for boarding, daycare, or grooming with a credit card, a small portion of that transaction — often around 3% — goes toward card networks and payment processors. It might not seem like much, but if your business processes $500,000 in card payments a year, that 3% adds up to $15,000 or more in lost revenue.! That’s money that could be going toward your team, your facility, or your future growth.

To counteract this, many pet-care businesses are turning to surcharging or convenience fees, tools that allow teams to manage the costs of accepting credit card payments by adding credit card surcharges in a transparent and compliant way.

What Is Surcharging, and How Does It Work?

A surcharge is an additional fee that a business adds to a transaction when a customer chooses to pay by credit card. It’s designed to help offset the costs of card processing, which include interchange fees, assessment fees, network fees, and other payment processing costs. These fees are paid by the business each time a credit card is used and are paid to credit card companies and payment processors.

In contrast, a convenience fee is typically used when a customer pays through a nontraditional channel — for example, paying online instead of in person. While the terms are often used interchangeably, the difference matters for compliance.

Definitions & Differences

• Surcharge: an additional fee that a merchant adds when a customer pays with a credit card (or sometimes a specific payment type) in order to offset processing costs. Business.org+2Fiserv Merchant Services+2

• Convenience fee: often applied when the customer uses a “non-standard” payment channel (for example, paying online versus in-person) rather than specifically for the cost of taking a credit card. secureglobalpay.net+1

According to research from the Federal Reserve, roughly 80% of small businesses say that payment-related costs are a major challenge, and the majority report transaction fees as one of their top financial burdens. Payment processing fees include assessment fees, interchange, and other charges. Businesses in service-oriented industries like hospitality, retail, and pet care are hit the hardest, since card payments account for a large share of total revenue.

Why Businesses Consider Convenience Fees

Accepting credit cards provides convenience to your customers, but it also incurs real costs that can impact your bottom line. For many small businesses, these card processing fees are among their highest non-labor costs. 

Instead of absorbing those costs entirely, some businesses look to share a portion of that cost with the customer when they choose to pay with a credit card. In a pet-care business, where you have regular transactions (boarding stays, daycare packages, grooming bills, retail purchases), the aggregate card fees can add up.

In short: every dollar counts, and for many small pet-care businesses, absorbing card fees isn’t sustainable long term.

The Customer Perspective

Many business owners hesitate to introduce fees because they worry about customer reactions. But recent research shows that more and more consumers understand that small businesses pay to accept cards and they’re willing to share that cost for the convenience of using their preferred payment method. After all, only 36% of small business customers reported that they regularly carry cash.

Framing a low fee percentage as a convenience option rather than a penalty makes all the difference. For example, adding a message at checkout like this helps set expectations clearly: “We’re happy to accept credit cards for your convenience. A small 3% credit card fee applies to card transactions to help offset processing fees.”

By communicating openly, you build trust and empower customers with choice, whether they prefer to pay by card, cash, or another method.

Why Ofsetting Credit Card Fees Makes Sense for Pet-Care Businesses

Pet-care businesses often operate with tight margins. Between labor costs, facility upkeep, and supplies, every percentage point matters. Credit card fees can quietly erode profitability, especially when a large portion of your revenue comes from repeat daycare or boarding payments.

Instead of increasing your base prices for everyone — including those who pay with cash or check — surcharging allows you to share costs more fairly. Customers who choose to pay by credit card contribute a small fee, while those who pay through lower-cost methods continue paying your regular rates. Some businesses also seek lower fees by negotiating with payment processors or encouraging customers to use alternative, lower-cost payment options.

Over time, that difference adds up. Recapturing even a portion of those processing fees can translate into thousands of dollars each year — funds you can reinvest into staffing, technology, essential supplies for pets, or facility improvements. Regularly reviewing your payment processing statements helps ensure your surcharging approach remains effective, compliant, and that you are not missing opportunities to further reduce costs.

PCI Compliance: Keeping Your Pet-Care Business Secure

When you accept credit card payments and online payments in your pet-care business, security isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a must. That’s where PCI compliance comes into the equaion. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) sets the rules for how businesses handle cardholder data, helping you protect your customers and your business from costly chargebacks, data breaches, and hidden fees.

Staying PCI compliant means more than just having a payment terminal at your front desk. It requires careful consideration of every step in your payment processing, from in-person transactions to online payments. Your payment system should use up-to-date security standards, like SSL or TLS encryption, to keep credit card data safe during every transaction. Regular updates and security patches are essential to close any vulnerabilities that could put your business at risk.

If you’re implementing surcharges, PCI compliance is even more important. You need to make sure that any credit card surcharge is clearly disclosed to your customers. No hidden fees, no surprises. Transparent pricing practices not only keep you compliant, but also build trust with pet parents who want to know exactly what they’re paying for.

To cut costs and simplify compliance, many pet-care businesses partner with payment processors that specialize in secure, PCI-compliant solutions. Features like tokenization and end-to-end encryption help protect sensitive cardholder data, whether your customers pay in person, online, or through digital wallets. These payment options not only encourage customers to pay the way they prefer, but also help you stay ahead in a competitive industry.

Don’t forget the importance of regular review. By checking your monthly statements and payment processing reports, you can spot any unusual fees, hidden charges, or compliance issues before they become bigger problems. And if you ever have questions, support teams from your payment processor can help you navigate the fine print and stay PCI compliant.

Secure payment processing is non-negotiable. By prioritizing PCI compliance, you protect your customers’ data, reduce the risk of costly chargebacks, and keep your pet-care business running smoothly. With the right payment options, transparent surcharging practices, and a focus on security, you can save money, cut costs, and build lasting trust with every transaction.

How Gingr Payments Makes It Easy

Implementing convenience fees doesn’t have to be complicated — or awkward. With Gingr's integrated payment processing, you can automatically recover card processing costs with excellent support in a way that’s simple, compliant, and completely transparent to your customers.

Most small businesses pay around 3.5% in credit card processing fees, often hidden in processor statements and monthly deductions. Over a year, that’s thousands of dollars in lost profit. Gingr Payments helps you reclaim those funds effortlessly.

With convenience fee features, you can share the cost of card acceptance with customers right at the point of sale. When a pet parent chooses to pay by credit card, the system automatically applies a small, clearly disclosed fee to the transaction — no extra math, no manual work, no confusion. Surcharges are only applied to credit card transactions, in full compliance with card network rules.

Payment Options that Benefit Your Pet-Care Business

Because Gingr Payments is fully integrated into your booking and checkout workflows, everything happens seamlessly. The fee is displayed on receipts, transactions remain compliant with card network rules, and your reporting stays organized. Gingr Payments also helps your business file the necessary notifications and documentation with card networks like Mastercard and Visa when implementing surcharges, ensuring you meet all requirements and avoid penalties.

Even better, your team doesn’t have to explain complex fee structures. The process feels natural and transparent for customers, and you maintain control over your margins.

In today’s economy, customers understand that convenience comes at a cost — and they appreciate honesty from small businesses. Gingr Payments gives you the tools to meet that expectation while keeping your business financially strong.

Simply put: Gingr Payments helps you stop absorbing unnecessary processing fees and start keeping more of what you earn.  Check out our support article on getting set up in 10 minutes or less! 

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