Cash Discount Break-Even Calculator
Enter your monthly revenue, current card mix, and effective rate to model what a cash discount program would cost — and see how many customers need to switch to cash before the program pays for itself.
Calculator
All revenue regardless of payment type
Card % is derived automatically (80% card)
Total card fees ÷ card volume × 100
% of current card volume expected to switch to cash after program launch
After program launch, merchant pays approximately 0.25% on remaining card volume. Cash discounting is legal in all 50 states with no registration requirement. Results are estimates only.
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Why the break-even for cash discounting is almost always immediate
With a cash discount program, card customers pay the standard price (which includes a built-in margin to cover your processing cost) and cash customers pay a discounted price. The merchant pays approximately 0.25% on card transactions for program fees. That is the core of the model.
Because you are replacing a 2%–3% effective rate with a 0.25% program cost, cash discounting saves you money the moment the first card transaction runs — even if zero customers switch to cash. The "break-even" question most business owners actually want to answer is: how many card customers could leave entirely (not switch to cash, but stop buying) before the lost revenue exceeds the processing savings? That threshold is different for every business and depends on your margin. The calculator above shows the savings at your current card mix so you can evaluate the program independently of customer behavior assumptions.
Cash discounting is legal in all 50 states and applies to all payment types including debit — unlike surcharging, which is credit-only and restricted in some states. Learn more on the cash discounting pricing page or request a free statement analysis to see your exact numbers.
Cash Discounting FAQ
A cash discount program displays two prices: a standard price for card customers and a lower cash price. Card customers pay the standard price, which covers your processing cost. Cash customers pay the discounted price. The legal framing is a discount for cash rather than a fee for cards — making it permissible in all 50 states without the restrictions that apply to surcharging.
Yes. Cash discounting is legal in all 50 states. Unlike surcharging, it has no state-level restrictions and no 30-day card network registration requirement. Proper dual-price signage is required at the point of sale to comply with card network rules and applicable disclosure laws.
The merchant pays approximately 0.25% of remaining card volume for program fees. For a business at a 2.75% effective rate, that is a reduction of roughly 2.5 percentage points — about a 90% cost reduction on card transactions. Savings start immediately and increase as more customers pay cash.
Acceptance varies by industry. Gas stations have used dual pricing for decades with strong acceptance. Service businesses and food service typically see 15%–35% of customers choose cash after launch. The remaining card customers pay the standard price that covers your processing cost, so total revenue holds even as the mix shifts.
Yes. Unlike surcharging, cash discounting applies to all card types including debit. Customers using PIN debit or signature debit pay the standard price; cash customers pay the discounted price. No debit card prohibition applies because the program is structured as a cash discount rather than a card fee.
Both the cash price and the card price must be clearly displayed at the point of entry and point of sale. The signage must make clear that cash customers receive a discount, not that card customers are charged a fee. GoPayhawk provides compliant signage templates as part of cash discount program setup.
No. Surcharging adds a fee on top of a base price for card customers. Cash discounting shows a higher standard price and offers a lower price for cash. Surcharging is prohibited on debit cards and restricted in some states. Cash discounting is legal everywhere and applies to all payment types.
In most cases yes, but your terminal and gateway must be configured to display dual pricing correctly. GoPayhawk handles terminal programming and gateway configuration as part of the setup. Most existing GoPayhawk terminals can be updated remotely.
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