CardX by Stax provides a compliant surcharging platform that lets businesses offset credit card processing fees, allowing merchants to keep 100% of credit card sales. The turnkey solution automates regulatory compliance across all states and card brands, with support for online, in-person, and in-office payments. Serving over 5,000 customers, CardX also offers tailored programs for government and education institutions.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Businesses in the United States incur billions of dollars in credit card interchange fees each year, a cost that has grown significantly since 2005, particularly for premium rewards cards. These fees represent a substantial and increasing operating expense, yet many merchants lack a compliant way to pass these costs on to customers who choose to pay by credit card.
Solution
CardX by Stax provides a turnkey surcharging solution that enables businesses to offset credit card processing fees entirely, achieving 0% net cost on credit card transactions. The platform automates compliance with all applicable state laws and card brand rules, including a patent-pending technology approach that has been validated up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Merchants can implement surcharging across online checkout, in-person terminals, and virtual terminals, with customers offered the option to use debit cards as a no-fee alternative. The system is designed to be customer-friendly by applying the surcharge only to credit card transactions, and it has been proven at scale with over 5,000 customers and $55 million in transactions processed.
Target Audience
Primary customers are businesses of all sizes—from Main Street merchants to public companies—as well as government entities and educational institutions seeking to reduce credit card processing costs. The platform also licenses its technology to payment processors and independent sales organizations (ISOs) and software companies.
Features
- Automated surcharging compliance across all 50 states and major card brands, supported by patent-pending technology
- Zero-cost credit card processing, allowing merchants to keep 100% of credit card sales while customers pay a transparent surcharge
- Multi-channel support including online hosted payment pages, in-person custom terminals with EMV Quick Chip, and virtual terminals for in-office payments
- Debit card transactions are not surcharged, giving customers a no-fee payment option
- Comprehensive feature set including API key integration, recurring billing, card network tokenization, fraud protection, next-business-day funding, and accounting reconciliation
- Tailored program for government and education institutions with a transparent and consumer-friendly surcharging approach