The Costa Rica Central Bank (BCCR) published this September 24, 2020, the first fixed limit to the commission paid by commerce for the use of the point of sale terminal to accept debit and credit cards as a form of payment, the same was established at 2.5%.

Charity organizations, transport services regulated by ARESEP, and service stations will pay a maximum 1.5% commission

This new commission structure will go in effect in two months and most include all charges agreed on between the provider and the commerce including net payments, discounts, incentives or any other charge made to the commerce and related to the provision of the service.

Currently, the charge for the use of the point of sale varies depending on the bank that provides the service and can be of close to 10%.
Law 9831 called “Law for Maximum Commissions on Point of Sale Systems” determines that the Central Bank must set the maximum commission of exchange (every charge the commerce pays for each operation ran through the point of sale) that the service provider can charge as well as the maximum acquiring commissions (those charged to the commerce in relation to the operations credited to the affiliate’s account) and any other fees and charges established by the service provider for the use of the point of sale terminal, in order to promote efficiency and security of the card system and guarantee the lowest cost possible for the affiliates.

The Central Bank will perform annual reviews of the maximum commissions with the objective that gradually these will be in the same range as those of countries that are comparable to Costa Rica; according to international evidence these levels range between 1.25% for exchange and 1.75% for acquisition, it is estimated that this range might be reached in the next four years.
This will be beneficial for all commerce, but in particular small companies that currently have problems offering a point of sale due to the high fees, this represents.