Credit card surcharges rise as small businesses adapt

David Bruce, Erie Times-News

Wed, February 25, 2026 at 12:36 AM GMT+9 4 min read

Jason Lavery faced a difficult decision last spring. He could raise the price of drinks and food at Lavery Brewing Co. or add a surcharge to all credit card payments.

Like many other small business owners across the country, Lavery added a surcharge. Credit card customers now pay an additional 1.75% plus 20 cents.

“We paid $40,000 in credit card fees in 2025,” Lavery said. “Our operating margins were getting tighter, so the choices were to raise prices across the board or add the surcharge. We didn’t think it was fair for customers who pay with cash to raise prices, so we implemented the surcharge.”

Businesses are always looking at ways to protect their bottom line, and lately that includes how customers pay for their items or services.

Many, like Lavery Brewing Co., have added credit card surcharges while a few have stopped accepting credit cards altogether. Others have gone a different route and no longer accept cash.

The percentage of businesses that add a surcharge for credit card purchases has increased to 35%, according to the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Merchant Services Satisfaction Survey. The percentage of businesses that accept credit cards has risen to 96%.

A customer at Erie Insurance Arena checks out with a credit card during an Erie Otters game on Feb. 5.

Going cashless saves money because employees don’t have to spend time counting and depositing up to $50,000 after a hockey game or concert, said Gus Pine, Erie Events executive director. But the main reason for the change was to serve more concession stand customers.

“The main problem we saw when I first came here was speed of service, handling up to 5,000 customers at one time at our concession stands,” Pine said. “It was always the No. 1 concern people cited in our annual fan survey.”

The company no longer needs a second worker at each register to handle cash and the buying process is more streamlined, Pine said.

“You can see the difference if you walk onto the concourse between periods of an Erie Otters game,” Pine said. “The waiting times for concessions are much less.”

**In case you missed it: **High earners have credit card debt, too. But they won’t admit it.

Seamstress has never accepted credit cards

Natalya Voyetz doesn’t have to worry about long lines of customers. The owner of Natalya’s Sewing Center usually sees her customers one at a time.

They also remember to bring cash. Voyetz hasn’t accepted credit cards since she opened the business in 2014.

“I figured that I would have to pay the credit card companies a fee, so I didn’t accept them,” Voyetz said. “My customers are mostly regulars and they know that I don’t take credit cards.”

Signs posted at Natalya’s Sewing Center inform customers that the business does not accept credit cards.

For new customers, Voyetz has two signs taped to her front counter. One has the international “no” symbol placed over pictures of various credit card companies, while the other tells people that she doesn’t accept credit cards.

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Business owners, venue operators have not heard complaints

If a customer doesn’t have cash or a personal check for a repair or alteration, Voyetz said she can make a deal with them.

“I just ask for a deposit of up to $20,” Voyetz said. “I haven’t had any complaints.”

Neither have Lavery or Pine. Lavery doesn’t recall a single customer complaining about the credit card surcharge since it was implemented.

“Our average check is for $29, which means an 87-cent surcharge,” Lavery said. “Nobody seems to care.”

Lavery Brewing Co. owners Jason Lavery and wife Nikki are shown inside their Erie bar and restaurant in this 2023 file photo. The business implemented a credit card surcharge in June.

“Honestly, we haven’t received even a handful of complaints,” Pine said. “We still accept cash at the box office and when we went cashless elsewhere, we purchased a bunch of prepaid Visa cards for people to buy and use for concessions if they didn’t have a credit card or debit card. We are still on that initial batch of prepaid cards.”

Pine said it was an easier decision for Erie Events to go cashless than it would be for a retail business.

The wave of customers who visit the concession stands during intermissions makes speed of service more important for venues than for most stores, restaurants or taverns.

Lavery and his staff considered going cashless but decided against it.

“My manager spends five hours a week counting money and going to the bank,” Lavery said. “Going cashless would save her time. But we didn’t want to penalize our customers who pay in cash.”

Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNBruce.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Rising fees are changing how businesses take payments

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