Convenience Fees

Learn about the requirements and what you can do with Convenience Fee.

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.
Convenience Fee Example
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"
        }
    }'