First off, thank you to everyone who has been sharing feedback and reporting issues — it’s been incredibly helpful.
Last week’s release included a major transition to Open Dental’s official API, added support for Open Dental Dynamic Payment Plans, and introduced a complete re-architecture of our payment plan system. With changes of this scale, we expected some edge cases to surface, and your feedback has been critical in helping us quickly identify and resolve them.
We’re actively monitoring everything and will continue pushing out nightly releases to address any bugs or inconsistencies. We’ll also continue working closely with Open Dental to optimize Crown’s interaction with their API, ensuring improved speed and reliability.
Below is a list of fixes and enhancements we pushed out last week:
We’re continuing to work closely with Open Dental to ensure our allocation module is both fast and efficient. We understand that in some cases it may take a bit longer to load, and we are actively improving performance to match (and exceed) what you experienced prior to transitioning to their API.
Due to current limitations within Open Dental’s API, we’ve had to adjust how surcharge is accounted for in the patient’s ledger. Unfortunately, we were not able to fully replicate the behavior we had prior to transitioning to the API. We understand this isn’t ideal and have been working closely with Open Dental ahead of and since this release to move toward a more native, long-term solution.
Light at the end of the tunnel:
An upcoming Open Dental release (currently in beta and expected in the next couple of weeks) introduces a new field in the payment details called “Surcharge Fee.” Based on our testing, this is a strong step toward a more native solution.
At this time, this fee will appear in your Open Dental reports but does not yet show on receipts or statements. We’ve strongly advocated for this to be included in the initial release or shortly thereafter.
The good news is that we’ve already built support for this new field into Crown. As soon as it’s officially available, we’ll transition surcharge-enabled practices to this improved, native approach and move away from the current workaround. We’ll follow up with surcharge-enabled accounts as this change progresses and share additional details.
If you’d like to stop surcharge from being reported to Open Dental until a native solution is available, you can do so in Crown by navigating to your name in the top right corner, selecting Settings, going to the Open Dental tab, and toggling off “Post Surcharge.” Be sure to save your changes. With this setting disabled, only the base payment amount (excluding the surcharge) will post to the ledger.
If you’re seeing a red banner in Crown asking you to upgrade Open Dental, we strongly recommend doing so at your earliest convenience.
As part of our transition to Open Dental’s official API, we wanted to ensure we didn’t have to remove any features or functionality you rely on. To do this, we leveraged some of Open Dental’s newer API endpoints. These endpoints are not available in older versions of Open Dental, which can lead to inconsistencies or reduced reliability when syncing data.
Upgrading ensures the best performance and a smoother experience when working between Crown and Open Dental.
Please reach out to your IT team, Open Dental, or whoever manages your Open Dental infrastructure to complete the upgrade. If you don’t have the resources available, our team would be happy to help coordinate this for you.
Once upgraded, Crown will automatically detect the update and remove the red banner during its hourly system checks—no further action is needed.
If you missed our original release notes and videos around the recent payment plan updates, you can review them here:
https://www.moolah.cc/support/crown-connect-april-2026/
We’re always listening to your feedback, bug reports, and enhancement requests to make Crown more powerful. Please keep them coming—we’ll do our best to incorporate your input into future releases. If you need any assistance, please contact us or chat with us directly in Crown.
Thank you for scheduling. If you have any questions, please contact us at 800-625-1670.
A credit card surcharge is an additional fee added to a transaction when a patient chooses to pay with a credit card. The surcharge is intended to help offset the cost of credit card processing and applies only to eligible credit card transactions.
No. Debit card transactions may not be surcharged under any circumstances, even if the debit card is processed as a credit transaction or entered manually.
Yes. Credit card surcharges may not exceed the merchant’s actual cost of accepting credit cards and are capped at a maximum of 3% of the total transaction amount, in accordance with card-network rules and applicable law.
Yes. Card networks require clear and transparent disclosure of any credit card surcharge. Practices must notify patients through appropriate signage at the practice entrance, point of sale, and anywhere payments are accepted. If payments are accepted online, the surcharge must also be clearly disclosed on the practice’s website.
Yes. Some U.S. states and territories prohibit or restrict credit card surcharging. Practices are responsible for understanding and complying with their state’s specific requirements before implementing a surcharge.
No. While Moolah provides tools and general guidance to support credit card surcharging, compliance with all applicable laws and card-network rules is the responsibility of the merchant. Moolah does not provide legal advice and assumes no liability for a merchant’s compliance.
Most major credit card networks permit surcharging when done in accordance with their rules, but additional requirements or restrictions may apply. Practices should ensure they have completed all required network notifications and disclosures prior to enabling surcharging.
Failure to comply with surcharging rules may result in card-network fines, required refunds, or other enforcement actions. Practices should ensure they fully understand all applicable requirements before applying a surcharge.
Flex does not currently offer built-in support for credit card surcharging. If a practice chooses to enroll in a surcharge plan, payments would need to be processed through Moolah’s payment platform, which is designed to support surcharging and integrates directly with Open Dental.
If you are considering introducing a credit card surcharge for your patients, it is important to understand that there are specific rules and regulations that must be followed when enrolling in and operating under a surcharge plan.
This article provides a general overview of common surcharging requirements. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is the responsibility of each merchant to review, understand, and comply with all applicable laws, card-network rules, and regulatory requirements, including notification timeframes, signage requirements, surcharge percentage limits, and jurisdictions where surcharging is prohibited.
If you are unsure about the laws or regulations applicable to your practice, you should consult with qualified legal counsel. Moolah assumes no liability for a merchant’s compliance or non-compliance with credit card surcharging rules or regulations.
Transparent Communication
Card networks, including Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express, require merchants to clearly and transparently disclose when a credit card surcharge is applied.
Practices must clearly notify patients of a credit card surcharge through appropriate signage placed at the practice entrance, at the point of sale or terminal, and anywhere payments are accepted. If payments are accepted online, surcharge disclosures must also be clearly visible on the practice’s website. All disclosures must inform patients that the surcharge applies only to credit card transactions.
Surcharge Limits
Credit card surcharges must comply with both card-network rules and applicable law. The surcharge amount may not exceed the merchant’s actual cost of accepting credit cards and may not exceed 3% of the total transaction amount.
Card-network rules cap credit card surcharges at 3%, meaning that if a merchant’s processing costs exceed this amount, the excess portion cannot be passed on to the patient.
Network and State Restrictions
The major credit card networks, such as Visa and Mastercard, impose specific requirements related to surcharge limits, advance notification, and disclosure.
In addition, several U.S. states and territories regulate or prohibit credit card surcharging. At the time of writing, credit card surcharging is prohibited in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico. Other states, including Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, and New York, impose restrictions on surcharge amounts or require specific disclosures.
If your practice operates in a state that restricts or prohibits credit card surcharging, you must fully understand and comply with those requirements before implementing a surcharge.
Debit card transactions may never be surcharged, even if the debit card is processed as a credit transaction.
Applicability
Credit card surcharges may be applied only to credit card transactions. Other payment types, including debit cards and alternative payment methods, are not eligible for surcharging.
Regulatory Compliance
Merchants are responsible for maintaining ongoing compliance with all applicable card-network and legal requirements. This includes meeting advance notification obligations, using compliant signage and disclosures, adhering to surcharge percentage limits, and respecting jurisdiction-specific restrictions.
By following these guidelines, dental practices can implement credit card surcharging in a way that aligns with card-network rules and promotes transparency with patients. Clear and upfront communication helps maintain patient trust and supports a positive payment experience.