Overview

CenterEdge Payments Dual Pricing is a program that allows merchants to offset nearly all of their merchant processing-related fees by presenting the consumer with separate cash and a credit card price. The customer then chooses their preferred payment method. The option applies to all card types, including credit and signature debit (but not gift).

Merchants may display optional signage at Point-of-Sale terminals, notifying consumers of the discounted cash and standard (card) prices. With the Advantage Dual Pricing integration, the pricing scheme is applied to all items and transactions so that consumers are always presented with both prices at checkout.

Suggested Signage is below for reference/use. 

How are the fees calculated?

Once Dual Pricing is activated at the merchant location, the point-of-sale will have a standard card price and a discounted cash price. The rate that the customer will pay is 3.5%. This rate is static and will apply across all areas within the facility, meaning once it is turned on it applies to every station.

What will this look like?

As an example, a $10.00 admission ticket under the Dual Pricing setup will have a cash price of $10.00 but will display the card price as $10.35. 

After completing a successful batch for the day, the settlement and point-of-sale reports will display the transactions for the day with the fees as a separate line item. Using the previous example, the merchant would see $10.00 being deposited into their bank account and the $0.35 being deducted to pay the card processing fees. 

Requirements

• Dual Pricing is available exclusively with CenterEdge Payments
• Dual Pricing is only supported on Ingenico devices, with the exception of tablets, to support prompting the customer with the cash and card price.

• Dual Pricing is available in the U.S. except in the following states:

  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine*
  • New York*

  *Support for Maine and New York is expected in a future release.

• Webstores offer the cash price with the addition of the ACH payment option.

Features

Seamless Integration With CenterEdge Advantage Suite

The Dual Pricing Program’s seamless integration with your CenterEdge Advantage software suite takes the guesswork out of Dual Pricing. The program automatically calculates and displays payment options for cash and card pricing anywhere customers buy onsite and online. This approach allows you to eliminate nearly all of the fees associated with processing credit cards, while delivering a convenient buying experience that’s transparent and easy to understand.

Automated Card Pricing

CenterEdge Advantage removes the manual process of calculating card pricing. Simply conduct transactions as usual and let your software take it from there. Card and cash prices are automatically generated based on a predetermined percentage, so you never have to worry about doing the math.

Customer Choice Transparency

Give your guests a choice in how they pay. With Customer Choice Transparency, you can put the choice firmly in your guests’ hands, allowing them to pay one price for items paid for by cash or a slightly elevated price for items paid for with a credit card. Prices for cash, gift card, and credit card payment are displayed simply, leaving your guest free to choose the method that makes sense for them.

Dual Pricing Reporting

When it comes to reporting, Dual Pricing Reporting from CenterEdge Payments has you covered. End of Day Balance Reports clearly separate revenue from card processing funds received, so you don’t have to worry about manually tracking processing fees for reconciliation or tax purposes.

Process Differences

POS

The biggest change required for Dual Pricing in the POS is in the flow for taking payments. Previously, a cashier was free to choose the tender options at will. With Dual Pricing, the cashier will prompt the customer (via an attached PIN Pad) before they can use any tender buttons. 

While the naming of a card and cash price implies that you can only pay by either method, the POS does support mixed tenders. For example, gift cards can be used alongside cash or cards, in addition to all other configured tenders. However, cashiers and consumers should be aware that a card payment in ANY amount will force the entire order to the card price. Therefore, the recommendation would be to always accept the card first and then complete the transaction with the cash or other payment type.

Transaction Flow Example

An example of a typical cashier flow for POS with Dual Pricing might look like the following:

1. The cashier will start a transaction by adding items to the order.
2. When it is time for payment, they will press the End Order button.
3. On the payment screen, tender-related buttons will be disabled, and the Complete the Order button will read Send to PIN Pad.
4. The cashier would be able to apply discounts as they normally would, and, when ready to present the customer with the final total, they would press the Send to PIN Pad button.
5. On the PIN Pad, the customer would see the prompt asking them to choose their payment type. The options available, at a minimum, will be "Card" (displayed with the elevated card price) and "Other" (displayed with the cash price).
6. Once the customer selects their option, the normal POS flow would return.
   • When "Card" is the choice, the prices of items in the POS ticker update to the card price and the PIN Pad continues with the normal card flow.
   • When "Cash" is the choice, the additional tender buttons are enabled at the POS and the cashier can select the appropriate method of payment. 

Split Tender Transactions

Split tender is an option for POS transactions, but there are behaviors specific to Dual Pricing that you should be aware of.

Card First 

After initially choosing "Card" and making a partial payment, the other tender options will be enabled on the POS for the cashier. Subsequent use of the Send to PIN Pad button will not prompt the customer to choose a payment type, but rather will initiate the normal PIN Pad flow.

Non-Card First

If a customer initially chooses "Cash" or “Gift” on the PIN Pad, and the amount is insufficient to cover the remaining balance, the other tender buttons will remain enabled and the Send to PIN Pad button will still display. From here, a cashier can choose any other non-card tender to make up the remaining balance.

If the customer wishes to pay the remaining balance with a card, the cashier will need to press Send to PIN Pad to prompt the customer. The PIN Pad will display the cash and card price, with the original cash and card price from the start of the transaction. This is because using a card tender will switch the entire transaction over to card pricing, even if only a small portion remains to be paid by card. The customer will need to approve the new total by selecting "Card" on the PIN Pad, after which they can follow the normal PIN Pad flow to pay by card.

Restaurant/Bar tabs

Since restaurant/bar tabs are often paid at the table (or away from the customer in some manner), table checks are printed with two totals: the total with cash pricing, and the total with card pricing. Additional text at the bottom of the receipt explains the pricing options. This serves as the customer prompt for payment method.

Gratuity suggestions, either on a printed receipt or shown on a PIN Pad, are calculated based on the total cash price.

Final restaurant receipts (after payment) will show line items--and a single total amount--based on the chosen price.

Returns

Returns follow two patterns: open-ended returns that complete ad-hoc in the POS ticker, and receipt returns that reference the original transaction. The process for choosing a refund tender and processing those payments is unchanged with Dual Pricing.

Receipt Returns

Receipt Returns are the optimal method for performing refunds because they reference the original receipt. For a receipt return, the amount returned matches the amount paid on the original receipt, regardless of the pricing used. 

Open-ended returns

Regardless of the method used to add return items to the ticker, items on refund receipts will not update pricing based on payment method. This means open-ended returns are added and displayed at the cash price.

*Refunds should be reimbursed at the total card price, for example a purchase of a $10 item that was charged at the card price of $10.35 should be refunded for the full amount of $10.35. Applicable interchange fees will be charged to the merchant in these scenarios.

Mixed Sales Returns

In cases where returns are added to a transaction along with sale items and the balance due becomes a positive number, the payment screen will show the Send to PIN Pad button and require the prompt to the customer just like it would for any normal sale. If the customer chooses card pricing, open-ended return items will update to card price like any other item. Receipt return items, because we know from the original receipt exactly what was paid for them, will not change price in this scenario. 

Groups

In Groups, the customer's choice for "Cash" or "Card" price is persistent across the lifetime of an individual booking, even when rescheduling. This is because completed receipts in Groups are the result of a collection of line items and payments that are added, removed, or updated any number of times over the course of days, weeks, or even months. While, practically speaking, it makes sense to treat a single payment or deposit as its own transaction, conceptually it is more appropriate to treat an event more like a single POS transaction with split tenders. Cashiers and consumers should be aware that a card payment in ANY amount will force the entire event to the card price.

Taking payments or deposits

For a new event with no payments, or on an event where all previous payments have been refunded, pressing either "Take a" button will immediately prompt the customer on the PIN Pad to choose a price. The price shown for the prompt is the total for the event, not the payment amount. 

After the customer selects a payment method, the payment form will appear on the POS, and the cashier can enter the payment amount (or use the Pay Balance button) just as they would have before Dual Pricing.

On a cash priced event, the payment form replaces the "Credit" button with a "Send to PIN Pad" button. This allows a customer to change their mind and choose the card price, but only if the customer directly chooses it.

With a card priced event, all tenders are available as normal. The only way to get back to cash pricing from a card priced event is to refund the full amount of any credit card payments posted to the event. 

Rescheduling

If a customer needs to reschedule an event, the system creates the new event on the selected date. Any payments made on the previous event are combined and posted as a deposit on the new event, using the previously selected payment method.

Adjustments

Adjustments will always use the pricing selected by the customer on the event, even if the payment method chosen for the adjustment conflicts with that choice. Merchants are advised to consider this when processing an adjustment, as it is possible to pay the cash price for items while paying with a card when adjusting an event.

Add at POS

The Add at POS feature of Groups allows POS operators to add line items to an event on the event date. When using this feature, merchants should be aware that prices in the POS will be based on the pricing selected for the event.

Receipts & Reports

An event that has no payments or an event with only cash payments will show receipt line items at the cash price along with two totals: a Cash price total and a Card price total. In addition, the customer pricing notice disclaimer text prints at the bottom of the receipt. On an event that is "Card priced" the receipts will print with one total and all prices will reflect card pricing.

Back Office & Accounting

Card Price

The card price is calculated on a per-item basis. Inventory items will automatically calculate and display the card price based on the cash price (Retail Price) configured by the merchant. To view the Card Price:

1. From Inventory, in Manager Console, double-click Item Maintenance.
2. Search for and/or select an item from the list.
3. Open the Detail tab.

The Card Price will display directly below the Retail Price. The only way to update the Card Price is to change the Retail Price.

Bank Deposits

Card-priced transactions do not report income the same way that cash-priced transactions do because a portion of the payment, the amount of the merchant fee percentage (the 3.5% charged for card transactions), is not deposited into the merchant's bank account after settlement.

To account for this in the End of Day Balance Report, card-priced transactions will report the appropriate percentage of the total card payment(s) under the Merchant Fee Savings Adjustment (MFSA) entry. The sum of income entries for card tenders on the EODB will continue to match the sum of deposits the business receives. Similarly, the Deposit Summary and Credit Card Reconciliation reports will show reduced amounts for card tenders to account for the MFSA.

The Merchant Fee Savings Adjustment will be on the left-hand side of the End of Day Balance report, below the income entries for card tenders.

Deferred Revenue

When using deferred revenue with card pricing, for gift cards or event deposits, a new account called Deferred Revenue Card Price Adjustment is used to offset the MFSA amounts until the revenue posts to sales.

The Deferred Revenue Card Price Adjustment will be on the right-hand side of the End of Day Balance Report, below the entries for category sales and taxes.

G/L Mapping and Exports

The Merchant Fee Savings Adjustment and Deferred Revenue Card Price Adjustment are both new and distinct items in G/L Mappings, allowing merchants to export them for QuickBooks or other accounting systems.

Additional Product Related Functionality:

Gratuity

Gratuity added by a customer is not subject to card pricing. This means the merchant does not get any savings on the portion of the merchant fee percentage calculated against the gratuity amount.

Accounts Receivable

Taking a card payment in A/R will post to the Merchant Fee Savings Adjustment (and the Deferred Revenue Card Price Adjustment when applicable). However, A/R payments do not prompt the customer to choose a price because it is assumed that the pricing was assigned before the purchase was sent to A/R. Merchants should discuss the payment method with the customer prior to sending to A/R so they can plan accordingly.

Inventory Items

Certain inventory item types will have behavior specific to Dual Pricing:

Value Player Cards

Card pricing applies to Value Player Cards just like any other item, but consumers should not expect the increase in price to result in an increase in the value that is applied to a card's balance. For example, a $10 gift card that is purchased for $10.35 when paying by card, will only have a value of $10 on the card.

When deferred revenue is enabled for player cards, the additional amount paid for the card price posts in a Deferred Revenue Card Price Adjustment account that displays on the End of Day Balance Report. Again, this does not change the value of the card itself. When returning an item sold this way, any difference between the amount returned and the amount of deferred revenue on the card is posted to Player Card Discounts Used.

Donation Items

Donation items, as an inventory item configured for sale like any other, do see card pricing applied when selected. Unlike other items, the full amount of the donation is accounted for as a donation, meaning the additional charge based on the card markup rate will still go to the donation recipient.

If the donation round-up feature is enabled on a station, operators should be aware that the rounding applies after the pricing. For example, a $20.90 transaction becomes $21 if rounded up for cash. At the card price it would be $21.64 rounded up to $22.

Cashless Kiosks and Lockers

Third-party cashless integrations and locker integrations support Dual Pricing even if the vendor does not implement direct support for the program.

When setting up kiosks for Dual Pricing, merchants will need to disable the bill validators on the kiosks and remove cash tenders from the interface, then change the price of everything in the kiosk to match the card price. In addition, the merchant will need to place a sign on the kiosk directing consumers to the POS should they wish to pay in cash.

Self-Service Kiosks

Self-Service Kiosks with Dual Pricing will display the cash price for items, including in the cart. When consumers are ready to check out, they will be immediately presented with the option to pay at the kiosk for the card price or go to a cashier for the cash price. A disclaimer on-screen notes that going to a cashier and choosing card will still result in the card price being charged.

Memberships

*Legacy Memberships are not supported with Dual Pricing.

To sell Memberships under Dual Pricing, merchants will need to first update the prices for membership sales and renewals to reflect the card price. 

Tokenized Credit Cards on Wristbands/Player Cards

Merchants that use tokenized credit cards on customer records, especially those that distribute wristbands or player cards to consumers, will have to utilize a new process to use these cards with Dual Pricing. In the new process, cashiers first prompt the customer to choose a price (advising them to choose "Card" if they want to use their token), then on the Credit Card Acceptance form they simply swipe/tap the card/wristband.

The software will check the card/wristband for credit card tokens and follow the normal flow for using that token. This means that daily credit limits still apply, and any family passphrase must still be confirmed.

Manual entry of player cards or wristbands is not supported with Dual Pricing. 

The standard event reports are updated with Dual Pricing to show the customer pricing notice and, like receipts, to show two totals for active events that have not yet had a card payment. 

Custom event reports will need to be replaced.

Until support for Dual Pricing on web stores is completed, users will need to click Edit on an event and then click Save before events booked on the web will include the receipt/report changes described here. This is also true for events booked before Dual Pricing was enabled.

Questions or Interest?

 If would like to signup or for additional information regarding Dual Pricing, you may contact us at cepayments@centeredgesoftware.com or payments@centeredgesoftware.com .