Credit card processing in Montana
Montana has no general sales tax, very long distances between towns, and a summer economy fed by visitors heading to Glacier and Yellowstone. Those three facts shape how a Montana business should set up card acceptance.
The Montana Department of Revenue says Montana does not have a general sales tax.
From Bozeman and Missoula restaurants to park gateway lodges: Montana's business mix
Billings is the regional hub for energy, agriculture, healthcare and retail serving eastern Montana and northern Wyoming. Missoula and Bozeman are university towns with fast-growing restaurant, outdoor-gear and construction activity.
Gateway towns near the national parks run on lodging, guides, fly-fishing outfitters and restaurants that are busiest in a short summer window. Ranch and farm businesses deal with large, infrequent purchases.
Surcharge and cash discount rules in Montana
If fly-fishing and hunting outfitters in Montana want to pass on card costs, card network rules set the limits, because we found no Montana surcharge statute in official sources: credit cards only, no more than your cost or Visa's 3%, 30 days' notice to your acquirer and posted disclosure.
All 50 states' surcharge rules · check current rules with counsel
Which pricing suits park gateway lodges?
Outfitters and lodges that take deposits months ahead need a provider comfortable with advance bookings and clear cancellation terms. Summer-only businesses should refuse monthly minimums. Ranch-supply and equipment dealers with large tickets often save most with ACH and by avoiding flat-rate pricing on big sales.
POS for fly-fishing and hunting outfitters, remote gas stations and stores and more
- Park gateway lodges
- Booking deposits, card-on-file with consent and folio posting.
- Fly-fishing and hunting outfitters
- Invoicing for trips, deposits and a virtual terminal.
- Remote gas stations and stores
- Offline mode and cellular or satellite backup, set up around how remote gas stations and stores in Montana sell.
- Bozeman and Missoula restaurants
- Tip adjustment, online ordering and fast batching, set up around how Bozeman and Missoula restaurants in Montana sell.
City-level pages
Send one statement. Every fee named, back, usually within 4 hours.
It is free, there is nothing to sign and nothing to cancel. We read your current merchant statement line by line, name every fee on it — including the ones buried in the fee schedule — work out your true effective rate, and send the written analysis back, usually within 4 hours. Do not want to wait? Call 1-888-705-7896 and we will read your statement with you on the call in about 5 minutes.
Every corner of Montana
Billings · Missoula · Great Falls · Bozeman · Butte · Helena · Kalispell · Havre · Anaconda · Miles City · Belgrade · Livingston · Laurel · Whitefish · Lewistown · Sidney · Glendive · Columbia Falls · Polson · Hamilton · Dillon · Hardin · Glasgow · Shelby · Red Lodge
Commercial corridors
Billings
Montana Avenue · Broadway · Grand Avenue · King Avenue West
Bozeman
Main Street · 19th Avenue · Huffine Lane
Missoula
Higgins Avenue · Broadway · Reserve Street · Brooks Street
Whitefish
Central Avenue · Spokane Avenue
Straight answers for Montana merchants
If fly-fishing and hunting outfitters in Montana want to pass on card costs, card network rules set the limits, because we found no Montana surcharge statute in official sources: credit cards only, no more than your cost or Visa's 3%, 30 days' notice to your acquirer and posted disclosure.
Some resort communities levy a local resort tax. Set it up by location in the POS so the receipt shows it correctly.
Use a terminal with offline store-and-forward and a backup connection, and keep an offline limit so declines are caught later only on small amounts.
All of it, from Bozeman to Havre. For Bozeman and Missoula restaurants: Billings has its own page here. For Bozeman and Missoula restaurants: We do not send sales reps door to door; the whole process runs by phone and email.