As credit card processing fees continue to cut into dealership profits, Amberly Allen, founder and managing partner of Dealer Merchant Services, is offering a lifeline. On this episode of Driving Solutions, Allen shares how her company has become the nation’s leading provider of compliant surcharge programs, helping more than a thousand dealerships reduce costs while staying legally and operationally sound.
According to Allen, Dealer Merchant Services has launched over 1,000 rooftops on compliant surcharge programs, outpacing competitors by 400 to 600 dealerships. This significant lead has positioned her company as the industry’s go-to provider, with endorsements from 14 state dealer associations and more partnerships underway. “We started with one dealer, and we’ve grown because dealers tell other dealers,” Allen said, crediting word-of-mouth and results-driven service for the company’s rapid expansion since its 2020 founding.
In addition, Allen highlights the importance of legal and regulatory compliance, noting that surcharge programs are legal in 47 states, with key restrictions in Colorado, California, and New York. For example, Colorado caps surcharges at 2%, California prohibits surcharges in financial offices, and New York mandates clear dual pricing disclosure. “We have the technology to ensure compliance with each state’s rules,” Allen explained, adding that Dealer Merchant Services’ technology distinguishes debit from credit cards to ensure surcharges are applied correctly—since surcharging debit cards is illegal.
She also warned dealers about confusing surcharge programs with cash discount programs, which often trigger compliance issues. “A compliant surcharge only increases the price when a customer chooses to pay with a credit card,” she clarified, contrasting it with cash discounts, which apply a fee to all transactions except cash or check.
Accounting accuracy and customer experience are also core considerations. Allen emphasized that her company’s reporting tools were built with dealership controllers in mind. “There’s an additional 3% coming in on credit but not on debit—our system accounts for that and adapts to states where surcharges are taxable,” she noted.
For dealerships exploring their options, Allen recommends they ask prospective providers how many dealerships they’ve launched on a compliant surcharge program—not just those they process payments for. “If it’s not 1,000, then they don’t know what we know,” she said.
The financial impact of switching to a compliant surcharge model is significant. According to Allen, dealerships currently spending $10,000 a month on credit card processing could save $84,000 annually—over $250,000 in three years—in net profit. That’s a dramatic shift for an industry with an average net profit margin of around 2.2%. Dealer groups with 20 to 60 stores stand to gain exponential savings.
"For every $10,000 a dealership is spending today on credit card processing, they could save $84,000 a year and just over a quarter million dollars over three years in net profit savings." – Amberly Allen
