What convenience fees are Convenience fees are charges levied for the privilege of paying for a product or service using an alternative payment channel, or a payment method that is not standard for the merchant.Movie theaters, for example, typically sell tickets face-to-face in the box office.o technically, you're not paying for using your credit card, but for the privilege of using the pay-by-phone option. Card issuers' policies vary. When it comes to convenience fees, different card processing networks have different policies.