From Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to Allentown, Harrisburg and Erie, Pennsylvania businesses that take tips by card have one rule that catches people out. We show you exactly what you pay, set you up the right way, and help you lower your cost. No contracts, no cancellation fees.
Since August 5, 2022, Pennsylvania's minimum wage regulations (34 Pa. Code 231.113) require a business that accepts tips by card to pay the employee the full tip. Card and other processing fees cannot be deducted, and that includes taking them out before tips are split in a tip pool. This is stricter than the federal rule, which allows a proportional deduction on the tip portion.
If a server is tipped $20 on a card, the full $20 goes to the server. The processing fee on that $20 is a cost of the business, not of the employee. The same applies to stylists, bartenders and anyone else tipped through the terminal.
Pennsylvania has no state law of its own on credit card surcharges, so the card-brand rules apply: a cap of about 3 percent, notice to customers, a separate line on the receipt, and no surcharge on debit cards. There is no state all-in pricing law covering card fees.
We set up your terminal so card tips pay out in full and the processing cost stays with the business, where Pennsylvania puts it. On pricing, you choose: Dual Pricing, a surcharge within the card-brand rules, or transparent interchange-plus pricing. We will show you which costs least on your own statement.
Check any state in our surcharge checker. Rules change, so we confirm the current position before configuring anything. This is general information, not legal advice.
Send one recent statement for a free statement review. We find your true effective rate, name every fee, and show where it can come down. Savings are estimates based on your own statement.
These are the businesses where Pennsylvania's tip rule applies every day.
Free, no obligation. Serving businesses across Pennsylvania and the US.