Groupable Payments: Surcharges and Transactions Fees FAQ

1. Are there any fees to open or maintain a Merchant Account?

There is no setup cost or monthly fees for your Merchant Account. 

2. What are the Card Transaction Fees for Online Payments?

Stripe transaction fees for credit and debit card processing are among the lowest in the industry, and we're passing those savings on to you: 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction.

When the payer pays by Credit Card or voluntarily opts to cover the fees when paying by Debit Card, the payer will pay this processing fee.

When the payer pays by debit card and does not voluntarily cover the fees, the merchant will pay this processing fee.

3. My member was charged a Platform Fee. Why is that?

Groupable charges the payer a small service charge or convenience fee that is detailed at the time of the transaction. This is separate from the card transaction fee for credit and debit card processing.

4. What is the Surcharge, and how does it work?

Credit card processing fees default to Surcharging (Surcharging passes the credit card processing fee onto the payer, ensuring your chapter/club/lodge receives the full dues amount). In other words, the member will pay the credit card processing fee.

The chapter/club/lodge will bear the fees of 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction if payment is made with a debit card unless the member voluntarily selects the "cover debit card fees" button at checkout. This is because debit cards currently cannot legally be charged a surcharge, while credit cards can.

5. How can I recoup those Debit Card processing fees?

A member can select the button "cover debit card fees" to automatically cover in full this 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction for debit cards when making their Online Payment. Feel free to ask your members to pay by credit card or donate to cover the debit card processing fees. Here's an example note you can include in your emailed Dues Notices: Example Letter requesting Online Payment

6. Can I see an example of the Surcharge vs. Debit Card Checkout with Fees?

CREDIT (SURCHARGE COVERS CARD TRANSACTION FEES)

DEBIT (NOT COVERING DEBIT CARD TRANSACTION FEES)

Please keep in mind that your member has paid the full dues, and the lodge has paid the card transaction fees out of that dues payment.

7. How is this fee recorded in Groupable? 

Any credit card transaction will be automatically recorded in groupable|m2. When a credit card payment is processed, or a member donates to cover their debit card fees, you will not see a FEES line in groupable|m2 since no fees are subtracted from your payout.

Any debit card transaction will record the payments on one line, plus the FEES line. You can recoup these by following FAQ #5 instructions.

CREDIT

DEBIT

8. How does my Treasurer know the amount for the payout to the bank account?

After the first 7-day payout (all payments in the first 7 days are collected into one payout for anti-money laundering reasons), payouts will occur daily.

The day's payments are collected into a daily Online Officer Funds Transfer as shown on the Stripe Payments screen:

9. Is it legal to surcharge a credit card transaction?

Pursuant to a settlement of the U.S. merchant class litigation, Mastercard, Visa, and other Credit Card Companies modified certain rules and business practices to permit U.S. merchants to apply an extra checkout fee, also known as a surcharge, to customers who pay with Mastercard-branded credit cards. The rule change permitting such surcharging took effect on January 27, 2013. These fees are not allowed on Debit Mastercard or Mastercard prepaid cards.

The same is true for all other major credit cards after this settlement rule was enacted in 2013. Other national credit card processing services charge customers surcharges. See xerofees.com and cheddarup.com for examples. 

You can read Mastercard and Visa's surcharging statements below:

Visa Merchant Surcharging Q&A

Mastercard Merchant Surcharge Rules

10. Can I bar my members from paying by debit card without paying the fees?

Credit card processing agreements currently do not allow you to require members to pay debit card processing fees. You can request that members pay by credit card or voluntarily cover the processing fees, but you cannot require it. Groupable Payments allows members to pay by credit or debit card.

11. As prescribed by Masonic Law, we must receive funds equal to those paid by all other members for their annual dues. How does that work with debit cards?

The member pays your local group the full dues amount, and then Stripe receives all processing fees before the funds are transferred to your local bank account. Your members pay their dues in full whether they pay by debit or credit card.

Due to a current legal ruling, we are prohibited from requiring a surcharge on debit cards. 

12. Why should I use Groupable Payments when it costs 2.9%+$0.30?

Great question! Let's take a look at real costs for dues collection and non-renewal.

Annual Dues Collection costs:

• $0.73 postage,
• paper, ink/printer,
• envelopes,
• repeated second/third/final billing notice, and
• $4.85 for each certified mail expense for NPD,
• Not including delayed payment, per-capita paid before NPD process.

Even when a member pays on time, the actual collection costs could be upwards of several dollars per member per year, not counting your time in collecting, compared to setting up your Stripe Merchant Account and emailing dues notices. At any point in the year, a member can click a dues reminder link from their Weekly Masonic Update or log in to the Member Portal and make their payment.

Non-renewal and arrears costs:

Each parent organization charges annual assessments per member, whether the member has paid their dues. The assessments could be as low as $15 or as high as $75 to $100 or more. We want to make it easy for you to collect dues to cover your annual member expenses. 

Increased renewal rates:

Since 2017, we've seen Groupable Payments can reduce NPDs by up to 75%, and even retaining one more member's dues will pay for all the transaction fees in a year.

13. Why don't my members pay on time?

Many secretaries have been shocked that their first online payments come from members who are always in arrears, owe multiple years, or are often the last to pay. Many members who don't pay on time don't own checkbooks. Why not let members pay instantly? Let's make it easier for members to remain active.

What's the upshot?

Setting up Groupable Payments might save everyone time and money. For $100 in dues, the 2.9% + $0.30 = $3.20. That's much less than your parent organization's annual assessment and scarcely more than mailing several dues notices.

14. I would like more information about Groupable Payments. Where can I learn more?

For more information ➞ See Groupable Payments.

Updated: 01/2025