Credit Card Fees Changing in New York State

Businesses will have to follow new guidelines for charging customers an additional fee when paying with a credit card starting this month.

If you are like most people today and choose to pay for purchases regularly with a credit card be aware that starting February 11th all businesses in New York State must start following new guidelines for charging customers any additional fees if they choose to pay for their purchase with a credit card.

Credit Card Transparency

A new bill that was recently signed into law requires all New York businesses to be transparent on the fees they charge customers for using a credit card according to News 10.

Assembly Bill 2672 states that vendors will be required to post the highest price that consumers might pay if they choose to pay with a credit card. The bill also states businesses need to post the price they offer if a customer chooses to pay another way using cash, check, or debit card.

Credit Card Fees in New York

Businesses that accept credit cards oftentimes are charged additional fees from card companies when customers "swipe" and in some cases, those businesses pass those fees along to customers who choose to use a card when paying. The new guidelines state that any surcharge a business can legally charge must be less or equal to the amount the business is paying the card companies.

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As you can see below, starting February 11th businesses will need to follow these specific rules when taking credit cards and can no longer simply add any % they want to a transaction.

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For example, they can no longer put a sign near a register or on a wall that notifies a fee is applied to all credit card sales. Businesses will now need to display both the credit card and cash price.

Any business that gets caught charging a customer more than the amount charged to the business by its credit card provider could be fined up to $500 after every violation.