Car Dealer Payment Processing

What to check before you buy

Surcharging is the most common question. Card-brand rules cap a credit card surcharge at 3 percent.

They do not allow surcharging debit, prepaid or gift cards. A number of states restrict or prohibit surcharges, and their lists change.

The surcharge must be disclosed at the point of sale and on the receipt, with advance notice to the processor. Ask each provider how its product enforces those limits by state.

Check how a refund handles the surcharge, and how settlement is reconciled with the DMS, so the accounting office does not chase deposits. Get the full fee schedule, including chargebacks and monthly minimums.

Keep vendor payments separate from customer payments in your evaluation. Accounts payable automation covers approval routing, vendor setup and payment runs.

It connects to the accounting office, not the service lane. Ask each provider how a payment is matched to an invoice and how an error is reversed.

Questions to put to every car dealer payment processing vendor

• What is the initial and renewal term?
• What are implementation and offboarding fees?
• What data, hardware or OEM dependencies apply?

Other categories dealers compare alongside Payment processing & merchant services: Document management, Accounting & AP automation, and Floor plan & inventory financing.