From Surcharging To Dual Pricing: How Small Businesses Stay Compliant And Keep Customers

Hidden fees at checkout aren’t just frustrating—they’re risky. We dive straight into the real-world mechanics of pricing programs that merchants use to offset card costs and explain why the lines between surcharging, cash discounting, and dual pricing aren’t as blurry as they seem. The rule of thumb is simple: debit changes everything. We break down how debit restrictions affect convenience retail, why state deceptive trade practices laws can trump card brand tolerance, and how New York and New Jersey have become the practical playbook for clear, compliant disclosure.

Compliance Is A Service: Make Pricing Clear, Protect Margins, Earn Trust

Join Leo Arzumanyan, Esq., and Jeremy Stock, Director of Operations of Global Legal Law Firm host Hahdi Hussein of Supersonic POS (https://supersonicpos.com/) unpack how dual pricing, surcharging, and cash discounting differ, why debit cards change the rules, and how state laws like New York’s 518 make clear shelf labeling non-negotiable. We also explore AI’s real impact on POS, inventory, and L3 data, and why ethical, community-first selling beats poaching through complaints.

• differences between surcharging, cash discounting, and dual pricing
• why debit rules make or break compliance in C-stores
• state deceptive trade practices and junk fee scrutiny
• New York and New Jersey as practical compliance baselines
• shelf labeling, signage, menus, and customer-facing displays
• ethical sales versus secret shopper poaching
• gas stations as the dual pricing template
• AI for inventory ingestion, pricing, and level 3 data
• guardrails for AI to prevent hallucinations and errors
• Supersonic POS capabilities, industries, and US/Canada reach
• roadmap highlights: pay at the pump and e-commerce

From there, we get tactical. You’ll hear how to implement dual pricing the right way: post two prices where buying decisions happen, align shelf labels and menus with receipts, and avoid last-second surprises disguised as “service fees.” We talk through the messy realities of C-stores with thousands of SKUs, the limits of customer-facing displays, and the operational discipline needed to keep labels current. We also confront an ugly trend—agents soft-reporting noncompliant merchants to poach accounts—and offer a better path: fix the issues, earn trust, and grow your book by protecting small businesses from fines.

We also explore how AI is reshaping POS and compliance. From ingesting invoices to auto-build product catalogs to translating receipts into valid Level 3 data and supporting underwriting and website monitoring, AI can make teams faster and more accurate—if you set guardrails to avoid hallucinations. Our guest from Supersonic POS shares what’s live today, what’s next—pay at the pump, e-commerce, age-restricted delivery—and why being processor-agnostic and ISO-friendly matters for long-term partnerships.

If you care about transparent pricing, customer trust, and durable margins, this conversation gives you a clear roadmap. Subscribe, share with a peer who needs a compliance reset, and leave a review with your toughest pricing question so we can tackle it next.

**Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice.  All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.**

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A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm