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Payment Surcharges

PayWay is a simple, secure, internet-based solution to collect and manage customer payments.

PayWay can calculate and collect payment surcharges on your behalf.

This allows you to pass the cost of payment acceptance on to your customers. The page describes the payment surcharge feature of PayWay.

Benefits

  • Pass on costs - pass on cost of acceptance for cards and direct debit
  • Customer service - keep costs down for customers while still offering a range of payment options
  • Easy to use - PayWay automatically calculates the surcharge amount, and includes it in reports
  • Simple accounting - If you have a trust account, PayWay can deposit surcharges to a different account.

How it works

  1. You enter the surcharge rates you wish to charge
  2. PayWay calculates and collects the surcharge for each payment
  3. You receive settlement to your account, and reports which detail surcharges collected.

Setting rates

You should set up your surcharge rates when you start using PayWay, or when you decide to start charging surcharges.

To set surcharge rates:

  1. Decide on the rates you wish to charge, taking into account your legal obligations
  2. Sign in to PayWay
  3. Click Settings
  4. Click Surcharges
  5. Enter rates and click Save.

You can enter a percentage surcharge for the following card types (if accepted):

  • Visa Credit
  • Visa Debit
  • Mastercard Credit
  • Mastercard Debit
  • UnionPay
  • American Express and JCB
  • Diners Club.

If you accept bank account direct debit, you can set a flat dollar amount.

If you decide to impose a surcharge, you must ensure your customers are aware - before they enter into the transaction or contract - that a surcharge will apply and the amount of the surcharge.

You can not charge a surcharge which is more than it costs you to process the transaction.

These articles contain information to help you comply:

Customer vault

By default, the new surcharge rates do not apply to existing customers stored in the PayWay customer vault. Those customers remain on the surcharge rate that applied at the time they were added to the vault.

To change the surcharge rate for all customers in the customer vault to the latest surcharge rate:

  1. Sign in to PayWay
  2. Click Settings
  3. Click Surcharges
  4. Select Update all recurring customers to new rates and click Save.

To change the surcharge rate for a single customer in the customer vault to the latest surcharge rate:

  1. Sign in to PayWay
  2. Click Search and Edit in the Customers menu
  3. Find the customer
  4. Go to the Recurring Billing Setup page
  5. Click Edit and the wizard will allow you to change to the new rate.

Payments

PayWay calculates and collects surcharges for:

  • PayWay Virtual Terminal
  • PayWay Net (excluding PayPal®)
  • PayWay Phone
  • PayWay Recurring Billing and Customer Vault
  • PayWay Batch

The principal amount is the amount due without surcharge. You or your customer enter the principal amount. If you upload a payment file, the amount in the file is the principal amount.

PayWay calculates the surcharge amount and total payment amount. We round the surcharge amount to the nearest cent. Your customer's credit card or bank account shows a single debit for the total payment amount.

The payment receipt details the principal, surcharge and payment amounts.

Developer? The PayWay REST API supports surcharges. See PayWay REST API Surcharges.

Classic credit card API

If you use the PayWay Classic Credit Card API and you wish to surcharge, your system must calculate the surcharge amount and payment amount.

Payment methods without surcharges

These payment methods do not allow surcharges:

  • BPAY®
  • PayWay Match EFT
  • Remittance Processing Service
  • Westpac Branch Payments
  • PayWay Net PayPal

Refunds

When a refund is processed, PayWay calculates the amount of surcharge to refund.

When a payment has been refunded in full, the surcharge is refunded in full.

If a credit card payment is partly refunded, a pro-rata surcharge amount is refunded.

If a bank account direct debit payment is partly refunded, the flat surcharge amount is not refunded.

These calculations are based on the rate from the original payment, which may be different to current surcharge rates.

Classic credit card API

If you use the PayWay Classic Credit Card API, your system must calculate surcharges for refunds.

Settlement

Settlement is the process of paying you for transactions which have been processed.

By default, you receive a bulk settlement for the total payment amount including surcharges.

In order to make your accounting easier, PayWay can settle surcharges separately.

Scenario Setup
Trust Account PayWay settles the principal amount to your trust account, and surcharge amount to your general operating account.
Accounting Ease PayWay settles the principal amount as one line item and surcharge amount as a second line item to your bank account.

To enable separate surcharge settlement, contact us.

This feature is not available for all payment types.

Payment Type Surcharges? Settle Surcharges Separately?
Visa Yes Yes
Mastercard Yes Yes
UnionPay Yes Yes (Westpac customers only)
Bank Account Direct Debit Yes Yes, if using 3-day User ID. No, if you have your own direct entry User ID
American Express / JCB Yes No
Diners Club Yes No

Other payment types do not have surcharges.

Reports

PayWay customer and transaction reports include details of surcharges.

Receipts files

Receipts files contain a list of transactions processed.

The PayWay Transaction Export is a CSV format listing all transactions. These columns relate to surcharges:

Column Notes
PrincipalAmount the dollar amount before the surcharge has been added
SurchargeAmount the dollar amount of the surcharge
Amount the amount paid; the principal amount plus the surcharge amount
YourBankAccount the bank account used for settlement of the total payment amount, or if surcharges are settled separately of the principal amount
YourSurchargeAccount if surcharges are settled separately, the bank account used for settlement of the surcharge amount

PayWay can produce a variety of formats suitable for upload into accounting packages (e.g. RECall format).

If the format includes only a single amount field for each payment:

  • If surcharges are settled separately, the amount is the principal amount
  • Otherwise, the amount is the total payment amount

Customers

To find the surcharge applicable to customers in the PayWay customer vault:

  1. Sign in to PayWay
  2. Click Search and Edit in the Customers menu
  3. Click All Customers
  4. Click Export to download a CSV report.

See the SurchargeAmount column.

Contact us

For sales, help and technical support contact us.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this publication is provided for learning purposes only and is subject to change. Revisions may be issued from time to time that encompass changes or additions to this module.

This is a guide only and it is not comprehensive. It does not impinge on or overrule any formal arrangement you may enter into with the Bank. The Bank and its officers shall not have any liability for any losses of any kind incurred in connection with any action, inaction or decision taken in reliance on the information herein or for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions. In this publication references to the "Bank" are to Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 and to any of its operating Divisions, including BankSA and St.George.