Understanding Service Fees

We have discussed surcharge fees and convenience fees in other blog posts. Service fees are the third type of “additional fee” the card brands allow merchants to add to the cost of their goods or services. Surcharging is the most regulated of the three with stricter requirements from the card brands. Convenience fees are not as regulated but have more requirements than service fees which tend to be more flexible in how you can charge or calculate the fee. However, service fees are strictly reserved for merchants that fall within one of the following merchant category codes (MCC).
- 8211 (Elementary and Secondary Schools)
- 8220 (Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools, and Junior Colleges)
- 8244 (Business and Secretarial Schools)
- 8249 (Vocational and Trade Schools)
- 9211 (Court Costs, Including Alimony and Child Support)
- 9222 (Fines)
- 9311 (Tax Payments)
- 9399 (Government Services [Not Elsewhere Classified])

Marc is the COO and Co-Founder of Zift. He has a degree in Civil Engineering from BYU and currently serves as a member of the House of Representatives for the state of Utah. He enjoys spending time with his family.