The short answer
Ontario merchants can apply a surcharge of up to 2.4% on credit card transactions, or their effective merchant discount rate — whichever is lower. The province has no specific surcharging ban, but Ontario's Consumer Protection Act requires clear, upfront disclosure of any added fees. Get disclosure right and you're fully compliant.
Surcharging legal? Yes, since October 6, 2022.
Maximum surcharge: 2.4% or effective MDR, whichever is lower.
Provincial restrictions: None specific to surcharging — but disclosure must comply with the Consumer Protection Act, 2002.
Debit/Interac surcharging: Not permitted.
Notice required: 30 days written notice to Visa and Mastercard before you start.
What Ontario law says about surcharging
Ontario does not have a specific law banning or capping credit card surcharges. The federal framework — established by the 2022 settlement between Canadian merchants and the card networks — applies fully here. That means the 2.4% federal cap, the 30-day notice rule, and the network registration process all apply to Ontario merchants exactly as they would in Alberta or British Columbia.
Where Ontario does have something to say is on disclosure. The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 prohibits unfair business practices, including misleading or hidden fees. Surcharging itself isn't unfair — but failing to clearly disclose it before a customer commits to a purchase is. The good news: the disclosure standards required by Visa and Mastercard already exceed what the Ontario CPA demands. Follow the network rules and you're covered provincially too.
The four rules every Ontario merchant must follow
- Cap your surcharge correctly. 2.4% is the absolute ceiling. If your effective discount rate (the average percentage you actually pay your processor for credit card acceptance) is below 2.4%, your cap is your effective rate — not 2.4%. Ask your processor for your blended effective rate before setting your surcharge.
- Surcharge credit only. Debit cards, Interac, Visa Debit, and prepaid cards cannot be surcharged in Ontario or anywhere else in Canada.
- Disclose at the point of entry and the point of sale. A sign at the door, on the menu, or on the website. A second disclosure on the terminal screen, the checkout page, or the printed estimate. Customers must be able to see the surcharge before they hand over the card.
- Show the surcharge as a separate line item. On every receipt — paper or email — the surcharge must appear as its own line, not bundled into the subtotal or the tax.
How to register to surcharge in Ontario
Three steps, all of which can be done in an afternoon:
Step 1 — Notify Visa
Visa requires merchants to register through their online portal at least 30 days before applying a surcharge. You'll need your business name, address, contact info, number of locations, channel (in-person, online, or both), and whether you'll surcharge at the brand level or product level. Brand level is simpler — same percentage across all Visa credit products.
Step 2 — Notify Mastercard
Mastercard runs a similar 30-day notification process through its own merchant portal. The form launched in September 2022 and takes about 10 minutes to complete. You can submit Visa and Mastercard notifications on the same day; the 30-day clock for each runs in parallel.
Step 3 — Tell your processor
Your acquirer or payment processor needs to enable surcharging on your terminal or gateway. If your processor doesn't support compliant surcharging — meaning the terminal can apply the surcharge automatically, distinguish credit from debit, and print it as a separate line — you'll need to either upgrade your equipment or move to a processor that supports it.
"The biggest mistake Ontario merchants make isn't the math — it's the signage. Skip the door sign and a single complaint can trigger a CPA review."
What it costs to NOT surcharge in Ontario
The average Ontario small business with $400,000 in annual credit card volume pays roughly $9,200 a year in processing fees — about 2.3%. A compliant 2.4% surcharge program recovers the bulk of that, while debit and cash payments stay free of any added fee for the customer. For a restaurant doing $1.2M a year, the recovery climbs past $25,000 annually.
Use our free surcharge calculator to estimate your savings based on your monthly volume.
Industry-specific guides for Ontario merchants
For the four largest Ontario industries, we've published dedicated combo guides that go beyond the general industry pages — covering HST receipt presentation, Toronto and GTA market context, and other province-specific operational detail.
- Surcharging for restaurants in Ontario — Tipping, HST on the same receipt, urban vs. small-market customer expectation
- Surcharging for retail stores in Ontario — Terminal disclosure, returns, gift cards, multi-location coordination
- Surcharging for professional services in Ontario — Engagement letters, trust handling, B2B EFT shift
- Surcharging for contractors in Ontario — Estimate disclosure, deposit and progress payment handling, large-ticket job math
For other Ontario industries, the general industry guides apply with the same provincial framework:
Common questions from Ontario merchants
Can I surcharge online sales in Ontario?
Yes. Card-not-present (online) transactions can be surcharged under the same rules as in-person. The disclosure must appear on the checkout page before the customer enters card details, and the surcharge must be itemized in the order confirmation and the email receipt.
What if a customer complains to the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services?
If your disclosure was clear, your cap was correct, and your surcharge appeared as a separate line item, you have nothing to fear. The Ministry's typical response is to review the disclosure and pricing — both of which are documented in your POS configuration and your signage.
Do I have to offer a no-surcharge alternative?
Yes — debit and cash. Customers must be able to pay without incurring a surcharge if they choose to. You don't have to accept every payment method, but you do have to offer at least one that doesn't carry a surcharge.
Next steps
If you're an Ontario merchant ready to start surcharging, the path is: confirm your effective discount rate with your processor, decide between brand-level and product-level surcharging, register with Visa and Mastercard, configure your POS, and post your signage. The full process can be live in about 35 days from the day you register.
If you'd rather have someone handle the entire setup — including processor switch, POS configuration, signage templates, and customer communication scripts — many Canadian payment agents specialize in compliant surcharge programs.