By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Companies that process credit card charges for businesses have increased their rates, and several local businesses have responded by passing fees along to customers.

Merchants are not allowed to charge more than 4% as a card processing fee.

Megan and Daryl Jones, co-owners of Bill and Essie’s BBQ, now charge 4% more than menu prices when customers use credit cards.

The restaurant notifies people of the charge with a sign.

“We want to be clear that our menu prices are cash prices, but the menu prices reflect the discount,” Megan Jones said.

Most restaurants have a profit margin of 5 to 10%, she said. Her credit card processing fee is about 4%.

“Every business is going to have to pass it on,” she said.

Kristin Ebaben, who owns Signatures Salon in downtown Marion, said her credit card processor charges only 2%, which she does not pass along to customers.

“We have a lot of customers who use cards,” Ebaben said.

Amy Gillett, who owns Unique Designs salon, doesn’t accept cards, so processing frees are something she doesn’t have to worry about.

Peni Ens, owner of Odds ’n Ends Boutique in Hillsboro, said she noticed a spike in processing fees in January.

“It was just, boom!” Ens said.

The store earlier changed its card processing service from Intrust to Square, but left its Intrust processing machine in place as a backup. Intrust charges more than Square, she said.

“It just seems to me it’s based on what you sell,” Ens said.

She said she’s not yet passing surcharges.

Kansas law formerly prohibited merchants except governmental units from imposing a credit card surcharge, but that changed in 2023.

Under the amended law, a notice must be posted to alert customers to the surcharge.

The posting must be conspicuous and either at the point of sale or at the business entry.

For online purchases, the notice must be posted on the retailer’s web page and on the checkout page.

According to Forbes magazine, credit card processing fees typically range between 1.5% and 3.5%, and fees vary depending on the type of credit card the business accepts and the industry of the business.

Online and telephone transactions ordinarily incur higher fees than in-person transactions because of the potential for fraudulent transactions.