Overview

RunLoyal currently does not support automatically applying a service fee based on whether a customer uses a credit or debit card.

This is because our payment processor treats any card transaction completed without a PIN as a credit transaction. If a debit card is swiped, tapped, or inserted without entering a PIN, it is processed as a credit transaction. As a result, RunLoyal cannot distinguish between credit and debit cards at the time of payment and cannot automatically enable or disable the service fee based on the card type.

Service Fee vs. Credit Card Surcharge

Although these terms are often used interchangeably, they have different meanings.

Credit Card Surcharge

A credit card surcharge is an additional fee applied only when a customer pays with a credit card to help offset processing costs. Under card network rules, surcharges cannot be applied to debit or prepaid cards.

Service Fee

A service fee is a general fee applied to a transaction regardless of the payment method used. Because it is not tied specifically to the card type, it differs from a credit card surcharge and applies consistently to eligible transactions.

Understanding this distinction is important, as RunLoyal's payment processing does not identify debit cards used without a PIN as debit transactions, preventing the system from applying different fees based on the type of card presented.