This past January, businesses gained the right to tack on a surcharge of up to four percent for purchases paid by credit card, thanks to a $7.25 billion settlement between card issuers and merchants. The fee does not apply to debit cards and it is illegal to charge the fee in ten states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.

If you live in the other 40 states, you’re faced with a decision. It’s tempting to pass on the cost of processing fees to your customer base. Every swipe costs you money in fees and it’s only fair to think that your business should not have to accept less for goods and services because someone wants to pay with their credit card instead of cash or check.

The reality is that surcharge may cost you even more in lost business. Several large retailers, including Wal-Mart, Macy’s, JC Penney, have already argued the new surcharge will compromise their ability to be competitive.

The tech blog Mashable examined this very issue and found that the surcharge question had already been answered in other countries. A study conducted in New Zealand revealed that 90 percent of people would rather buy an item at a different store than pay a surcharge. And in Canada, 95 percent of people said they would take their business elsewhere when faced with a three percent surcharge.

Ask yourself, would you be willing to pay more for goods or services available at another location if you wanted to pay via credit card? Chances are, the answer is no, you would go elsewhere and purchase it for the correct price. And so will everyone else.