In South Africa’s regulated payments environment, responsibilities are clearly defined. Regarding additional charges imposed when cardholders use their cards to pay, the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA) provides the following clarification.

PASA is mandated by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to organise, manage, and regulate its Members’ participation in the National Payment System (NPS). Major South African banks are among PASA Members, which also include smaller banks and some non-banks designated into the NPS.

PASA develops and maintains payment system rules, criteria, and governance frameworks, binding on its Members, that ensure the safety and efficiency of the NPS. On the matter of card payment surcharges, the PASA Constitution and PASA Regulatory Framework specify that acquirers must adhere to both PASA’s rules and the broader card scheme rules set by payment networks such as Visa and MasterCard. The PASA rules also state that merchants are not allowed to charge extra for purchases made with a card and that acquirers are responsible for enforcing the “no surcharging” rule with their merchant clients.

Acquirers are the financial institutions that provide payment services to merchants (businesses, such as shops, restaurants, online stores, etc), allowing them to accept debit and credit card payments from customers.

While cardholders will not be refunded for surcharges, they should report attempts at card surcharges to the customer service of their issuing bank – the financial institutions where customers hold their accounts and from which their cards are issued. Information to provide when reporting surcharges includes the acquirer’s name and the merchant number, which are both usually displayed on the sales slip or on the device used for swiping the card. The issuing bank should then engage with the acquirer to stop the surcharge practice.

As PASA is not involved in the contractual arrangements between acquirers and their merchants, PASA is not in a position to investigate or act on any cardholder reports of surcharges; cardholders must report card surcharges directly to their issuing bank.

For queries, email: pasa@pasa.org.za or media@pasa.org.za