June 2026 Release
Throughout the week we will be rolling out an update to your GoDaddy terminals, enabling you to store a card in Crown that is processed on your device. Once enabled, the process to store a card is as follows:
Step 1: Click “Ask to Store Card”
When the payment is initialized on the terminal, click “Ask to Store Card” before processing the card. If this button is not visible, your terminal hasn’t received the update yet.
Step 2: Patient Consents on Screen
If “Ask to Store Card” was pressed prior to running the card, the patient will be presented with a consent screen before the payment is processed.
Step 3: Card is Stored in Crown
Once the payment is completed, the card will be added to the patient’s “Stored Cards” in Crown.
Note:
If the payment is taken directly on the terminal (not initiated from Crown), the patient will be required to enter their email address. The payment will show up in Crown as unassociated, and the payment will need to be assigned to a patient within 72 hours or the token will expire. Storing cards from terminal payments is currently supported in Crown only.
You can now choose to have your unearned income post to Open Dental as a prepayment or unallocated. When selecting “None” in the Unearned Income settings, Crown will post an unallocated paysplit with no unearned type (requires Open Dental 25.4+).
Primary Provider
If enabled, Crown will now post unallocated payments with the patient’s primary provider attached (requires Open Dental 25.4+).
To change your unearned settings, click your name in the top right corner of Crown and select “Settings > Open Dental”.
Crown is now using Open Dental’s new Surcharge Fee field to record surcharge amounts and has retired the way we accounted for it previously (requires Open Dental 25.4+).
The Surcharge Fee field is visible within the payment details screen. This enhancement allows surcharge fees to be recorded directly on the payment itself.
Note: If you’re on Open Dental 25.4+ and the surcharge fee isn’t visible in the payment details, please check your settings to ensure “Post Surcharges to Open Dental” is enabled. You can find this setting by clicking your name in the top right corner of Crown and selecting “Settings > Open Dental”.
To see the surcharge fee in your Open Dental payments report, please check “Show merchant fees”.
Current Limitations:
Native surcharge support in Open Dental is a great addition, but there are a few notable limitations that we have already raised with Open Dental and hope to see resolved in a future release:
Practices running a version prior to 25.4 will continue to process surcharge transactions normally, and patients paying by credit card will still incur the surcharge fee. However, Crown will only be able to post the base payment amount to Open Dental. Surcharge fee visibility and reporting will be available exclusively within Crown and your GoDaddy merchant account portal until Open Dental is upgraded.
Patient balance now display the patient’s estimated balance — the total balance minus pending insurance estimates — instead of the gross balance, so the number reflects what the patient is actually expected to pay today. (Open Dental)
Faster patient search — Searching for patients is noticeably quicker, and the dropdown no longer clutters results with past completed appointments. (Open Dental)
Faster customer profiles & payment-plan approvals — Customer pages now load right away instead of waiting on the balance to appear, and approving payment plans with surcharging is much faster.
Patient names display exactly as stored — Names now show verbatim from your practice software (e.g. McDONALD stays McDONALD instead of being re-capitalized).
Stronger payment-page security — Added protections around patient payment pages, including region limits (US/Canada) and blocking of suspicious traffic. Blocked IP visibility has also been added under your payment page settings. Invisible to legitimate patients.
Apple Pay loading hang — Apple Pay for online payments no longer gets stuck on the loading spinner and recovers cleanly if cancelled mid-flow.
Patients with apostrophes/dashes in their names — Patients like O’Brien (curly apostrophe) or names with en/em-dashes can now store and pay with a card; previously these were rejected.
Partial approvals posting the wrong amount — When a card issuer partially approves a terminal charge, Open Dental now records the actual approved amount instead of the full requested amount. (Open Dental)
Insurance payments dropping money — Procedures already marked “Received” but not paid now post correctly as supplemental payments, and Select All no longer includes already-paid procedures. (Open Dental)
Canceled plans showing as processing — A payment plan canceled on its cycle day no longer shows as “processing today.”
Membership void/refund posting — Fixed how membership voids and refunds post to Open Dental. (Open Dental)
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.