“I’d take card payments if I didn’t have to pay the fees.”

I hear this a lot from tattoo studio owners. And as someone who runs a studio myself, I get it. You’re already paying rent, bills, supplies and everything else. Losing another bit of every payment is hardly appealing.

So when a payment platform says you can pass those fees on to your customers, it sounds like the problem is solved.

Your customer gets to pay by card. You get the full amount. Everyone’s happy.

Except if you’re in the UK, adding a fee because someone pays by consumer debit or credit card is prohibited. That applies even if your payment software gives you the option.

“But the customer is happy to pay it”

They might be. Plenty of customers would probably rather pay a little extra than find a cash machine halfway through their appointment.

But their willingness to pay does not remove the surcharge ban.

If you quote £200 for a tattoo and then charge £204 because the customer pays by card, that extra £4 is a card surcharge. Charging only enough to cover your processing costs does not make it acceptable where the ban applies.

“But the platform says customers cover the fees”

This is where I think business owners need to be careful.

A platform can operate in several countries, each with different rules. A feature being available does not tell you whether it is appropriate for your UK business.

If the sales pitch is “you pay nothing because your customer covers the processing fee”, ask how that works under UK surcharge rules.

Who charges the fee? What is it for? Does it only apply when the customer pays by card? What makes that arrangement lawful in the UK?

Those are reasonable questions to ask before switching it on.

Does calling it a booking fee change anything?

Not by itself.

There can be legitimate booking or administration fees that apply regardless of how someone pays. Government guidance distinguishes those from charges based on a customer’s choice of payment method.

But if the extra charge exists because the customer is paying by card, changing its name does not automatically make it legal.

And even a legitimate booking fee comes with pricing responsibilities. If customers cannot avoid paying it, it should normally be included in the total price shown upfront, rather than appearing as an extra at checkout.

So does the business have to cover all the card fees?

If you work with self-employed artists or practitioners, you have more than one option.

You’re already splitting the payment between your business and the contractor. With SplitSum, you can split the processing fee too, so the business does not have to bear the entire cost.

For example, if an artist receives 60% of the payment and the studio receives 40%, sharing the fee means each contributes towards the cost of taking that payment.

Or perhaps your contractor keeps a much higher percentage and your business operates on a smaller share. You can choose to have the contractor cover the processing fees instead. If you prefer to absorb the fees as a business expense, you can do that too.

The point is that you can agree who covers the cost within your payment arrangement, rather than adding it to the customer’s bill.

Agree the arrangement. Let SplitSum handle the payments.

Once you’ve agreed how to handle the fees, SplitSum automatically splits payments according to your setup.

The customer pays the quoted price. The business and contractor receive their shares, with processing fees handled as agreed.

For a studio where artists already take their own card payments and cover the fees themselves, that means you can keep that arrangement while sharing a reader and having the studio’s share split automatically. You don’t have to take on all the card fees just to stop chasing artists for payments.

See how SplitSum works.

Card fees are frustrating. The answer still needs to work in the UK.

I’m not going to pretend business owners should be excited about another expense. Card fees are one of the most common objections I hear, and I understand why.

But “make the customer pay” is not a reliable answer if it means adding a prohibited card surcharge.

With SplitSum, you can share that cost with your contractors, have them cover it or absorb it yourself. You get to choose an arrangement that works for your business, without adding a card surcharge to the customer’s bill.

This article covers ordinary consumer card payments in the UK. Commercial cards and some other payment arrangements have different rules. It provides general information, not legal advice about a particular platform or fee.