Dubsado

Dubsado Builds Compliant Surcharging into Its Payment Platform

Dubsado provides online software to services-based businesses. Its software solutions unlock the ability for these businesses to better integrate and manage payments, with a simple set-up and easy-to-understand operation. The company primarily supports service-based business owners in creative fields such as photography, designers, and consultants. Their platform handles contracts, scheduling, invoicing, and payment collection. When Dubsado decided to embed a surcharging capability into its Stripe-based payment system, the team partnered with Redbridge to ensure full compliance with card network rules and individual state regulations, resulting in 17% merchant adoption within 90 days and $1.2 million in incremental revenue saved by participating merchants.

Challenge

Dubsado customers consistently voiced a need for a more flexible and transparent payment options. In 2024, Dubsado launched a Stripe-based payments solution designed to give merchants greater control, reduce regulatory issues, and streamline how payments were handled within the platform. In short, the company wanted to provide surcharging but wanted to do it the right way.

Customers also wanted to reduce the cost associated with implementing surcharging. The challenge was not just enabling surcharging but doing so in a compliant way with complex card network rules and varying state regulations. As surcharging carries real legal and reputational risks, Dubsado needed expert guidance to implement it correctly without disrupting the user experience or increasing support burden.

Solution

Dubsado partnered with Redbridge and worked directly with Stripe to design a fully compliant surcharging framework embedded into “Dubsado Payments.” The engagement began with a series of educational sessions and strategic consultations where the Redbridge Payments team mapped the regulations, identified restrictions, and outlined the technical requirements that would determine the solution design.

Card type detection was one of the foundational elements of the payment architecture. Redbridge advised that building a system that could identify whether a card presented at online checkout was either a credit card or a debit card product using BIN-level card identification. This ensured that surcharges were applied only to eligible transactions. This process is a requirement by card networks and errors in classification are one of the most common compliance challenges in surcharging implementation.

Redbridge also provided guidance on state-specific eligibility, making sure the system automatically removed surcharging for merchants registered in states where the practice is either prohibited or faces additional requirements that make compliance difficult to accomplish at scale. For some merchants in eligible states, surcharging cap enforcement ensured that fees remained within the limits set by the card networks and applicable state law.

Disclosure requirements received particular attention because card network rules require that surcharges be communicated to customers before the transaction is completed, with specified formatting and placement.

Beyond the technical build, Dubsado, Stripe, and Redbridge were able to develop a merchant communication and education strategy. This informed merchants as to what was needed to enable surcharging, how to set up expectations with customers, and also the limits of the surcharging option. This part of the process was critical for adoption among merchants because surcharging is often tricky or unfamiliar to small business operators; however, with clear guidance, the feature was able to be used correctly.

Results

17% Merchant Adoption

Eligible Dubsado users actively enabled surcharging, validating demand and confirming the feature was easy to understand and implement.

$1.2 Million in Incremental Merchant Revenue

Within the first 90 days, participating merchants collectively reduced processing costs without raising prices or creating client confusion.

Reduced Payment-Related Support Volume

The compliant design and clear disclosures minimized confusion, keeping payment support tickets low after launch.

Compliance Built to Scale

The surcharging system Redbridge helped design was built to accommodate regulatory changes, new state rules, and changing card network requirements. This allowed Dubsado to continue to grow its merchant base around the world – particularly in the United States and Canada where there are case-by-case sets of rules.