A convenience fee is a Buyer Charge that can only get passed to buyers when the seller is providing a method of payment (usually internet or over the phone) different from its standard payment channel (historically mail or in-person).
Requirements
Sellers and your integration must meet these requirements to charge Convenience Fees:
- The fee is charged only when the seller provides buyers with a method of payment different from its standard payment channel.
- The fee can only be charged when processing Online Payments.
- The seller must support In-Person Payments.
- The buyer must be aware of the fee and its purpose before making a payment.
- After the fee gets disclosed, the buyer must have the option to cancel the transaction without any consequences.
- The Convenience Fee amount must be the same fixed amount across all card transactions.
-
The fee must be in the total transaction
amount
. A separate transaction can't be created. - Convenience Fees can't be alongside any other buyer charges.
- Convenience Fees can't be charged on a recurring or installment basis.
We recommend setting the convenience fee to about 3% of the seller's average transaction.
Using the API
Include the convenience fee in convenience_amount
when creating a Transfer
or an Authorization
.
See the following for an example where a vehicle is getting paid for online instead of in-person or via check.
- The transaction is for a $10,000 car payment with a fixed Convenience Fee of $300.
-
The fee is included in
tags
for tracking purposes.
curl https://finix.sandbox-payments-api.com/transfers \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H 'Finix-Version: 2022-02-01' \
-u USsRhsHYZGBPnQw8CByJyEQW:8a14c2f9-d94b-4c72-8f5c-a62908e5b30e \
-d '
{
"additional_buyer_charges": {
"convenience_amount": 30000
},
"amount": 1030000,
"currency": "USD",
"merchant": "MUeDVrf2ahuKc9Eg5TeZugvs",
"source": "PIe2YvpcjvoVJ6PzoRPBK137",
"tags": {
"test": "sale"
}
}'