Card processing for second-hand stores
Stop handing 3% of every sale to the card companies.
Thrift Payments is card processing built only for thrift stores, charity shops, Habitat ReStores and consignment. We set up cash discount, dual pricing or surcharging the compliant way, send you the signs, and put a free PIN pad on your counter.
- Free PIN pad
- Signs and receipt wording included
- Your state's rules checked for you
- A real person at (971) 715-2432
Why second-hand is different
Card fees hit thrift harder than almost any other store.
Small tickets, lots of debit, and donated goods that should be funding a mission, not a bank. Most processors never notice. We start there.
Network fee: regulated debit interchange of 21¢ + 0.05% + 1¢, Federal Reserve Regulation II. Charity rates: Visa assigns the category that best describes the business; thrift register sales are category 5931, used merchandise.
Small-ticket math
Your average sale is small. Your fees are not.
Most pricing has a fixed piece per swipe. On a $3 paperback that piece is most of the fee. Here is what a common flat rate (2.6% + 15¢) costs on real thrift tickets, next to the debit network fee nobody can avoid.
That is why we look at your average ticket before we quote anything, and why a program that puts the cost on the card buyer matters so much in a thrift store.
Find your real rate on your statementThree programs
Have card buyers cover the cost of cards.
All three are legal in most states when they are set up right. They are not the same, and the right one depends on your state, your tags and your customers.
Cash discount
Your tag price is the card price. Cash buyers get a discount at the register. Nothing to retag.
- Works on debit too
- No fee line on card receipts
- Reads as a thank-you, not a fee
Dual pricing
Every item shows a card price and a cash price. The customer picks how to pay. Both totals on the receipt.
- The cleanest fit in New York
- Nothing is a surprise at checkout
- Works on debit too
Surcharging
Your tag is the cash price. A posted surcharge of up to 3% is added on credit cards only.
- Never on debit or prepaid
- Banned or limited in some states
- 30 days' notice before you start
Built for second-hand
The parts other processors never think about.
Volunteer-proof checkout
The terminal does the math. Cashiers never key a discount or decide who pays what, and a one-page register card answers the "why two prices?" question in plain words.
As-is sales that hold up
"I didn't know it was broken" is the classic thrift dispute. We set your return policy on the receipt and give you the register sign that card rules want, posted before the sale.
Sofas, stoves and doors
ReStores and furniture floors run $300 tickets next to $2 ones. Tap or chip at the counter, key a phone deposit on the terminal, and keep fees off the big sales that hurt most.
Donations at checkout
A round-up is a gift, not part of the sale. We keep it on its own receipt line so donors have a record, and we flag the states that want charities registered for checkout giving.
Protect the consignor split
On a 50/50 consignment sale, a 3% fee on the whole ticket is 6% of your half. A program that puts the cost on the card buyer keeps your split whole without shorting consignors.
Straight talk for nonprofits
Your register sales do not qualify for charity card rates. Donation-only accounts can. We tell you which is which, and we will never sell you a discount you cannot get.
Equipment
A free PIN pad on your counter.
Tap, chip and swipe, phone wallets, and printed receipts. It arrives set up for your program, so the cash price, the surcharge line or both totals print the right way on day one.
- Programmed for your store's program and state before it ships
- Receipts carry your return policy and condition notes
- Runs standalone, or ask us about connecting it to your register
- Wireless options for the yard, the dock and sidewalk sales
Switching
Four steps, and we do most of them.
No software to learn. Your cashiers keep ringing the way they do today.
Send one statement
Email or text photos of last month's processing statement, every page. That is all we need to start.
Get three numbers back
Next business day: what you pay today, and what you would pay on standard pricing, cash discount and surcharging. In writing.
We set it up
Your PIN pad ships programmed for your program and state, with your signs, register card and receipt wording.
We check the first month
When your first statement lands, we go through it with you line by line so you see the savings yourself.
What we will not do
No "zero fees" with an asterisk.
Programs that move the cost to card buyers are real, and they work. They also come with rules. Here is where we draw lines that a lot of processors don't.
- We never surcharge debit. Card rules forbid it, and "press credit" tricks do not change that. Our terminals tell the two apart by the card, not a button.
- We will not promise charity rates on register sales. If a donation-only account makes sense for your nonprofit, we will say so.
- We tell you when a program is wrong for your state. Surcharging in California, Connecticut or Massachusetts? We will steer you to the program that is allowed.
- We give you the signs. Entrance, register and receipt wording that matches your program and state, ready to print.
- Your quote is in writing before you sign. Every fee, the equipment and the agreement term, on one page.
Free tools
Work it out before you talk to anyone.
Savings calculator
Your card sales, your rate, your debit mix. See the yearly dollars for each program.
OpenState rules map
Which programs your state allows, with the conditions, in plain words.
OpenSignage kit
Type your store name, pick a program, print the entrance and register signs.
OpenRead your statement
The four numbers that tell you what you really pay, and the fees to question.
OpenCommon questions
The short answers.
Will my customers be upset by a cash discount or surcharge?
Most never notice a cash discount, because the tag price is what they pay with a card. A surcharge is more visible, which is why we usually steer thrift and charity stores to a cash discount or dual pricing. The register card we send gives cashiers a one-line answer for the customers who do ask.
Is this legal?
Cash discounts are protected by federal law. Surcharging is allowed in most states under card-brand rules, banned or limited in a few, and debit cards can never be surcharged. Puerto Rico restricts both. See the state rules map for yours.
Do I have to retag my whole store?
Not for a cash discount: the tag you already write becomes the card price. Dual pricing needs both prices on the tag or shelf, which is easy if you print labels. Surcharging uses your current tags.
We're a 501(c)(3). Don't we get special charity rates?
Charity rates apply to donation transactions, not thrift store sales. Card rules code your register sales as used merchandise. If you take donations by card, a separate donation-only account can qualify, and we will set that up when it pays off.
What does it cost?
It depends on your card sales, average ticket and program, which is why we start with your statement. You get every fee in writing next to what you pay today before you decide anything. The PIN pad is free.
Send one statement. Get three numbers back.
What you pay today, and what you would pay on standard pricing, cash discount and surcharging. Next business day, in writing, no obligation.