Credit Card Surcharge Guidance
Starting February 11, 2024, there is new guidance for New York State businesses when charging an additional fee to customers paying with a credit card. (NYS GBS § 518)
What does this mean for New Yorkers?
A business has the option of passing along the actual cost of credit card processing fees as a surcharge to customers, but they must be transparent by displaying the highest total price (excluding sales tax).
LEGAL
A business can:
- Include a CREDIT CARD SURCHARGE WARNING on the item price tag.
- Advertise that all prices include a CASH DISCOUNT that does not apply to credit‑card purchases.
- Charge separate line items to credit card users on a customer receipt only, without clearly posting the total price prior to purchase.
ILLEGAL
- A business cannot:
- Use labels such as • convenience fee, • service fee, • administration fee, • non‑cash adjustment, • technology fee, • processing fee; or put a sign on the wall or at the register that notifies a fee is applied to all credit‑card sales without clearly displaying both the credit‑card price and the cash price.
- List the same price for both cash and credit‑card purchases and then add a surcharge (this effectively hides the surcharge).
Example
- Total $55.55
- Tax 8.0% $4.12
- Processing fee $1.98
- Subtotal $49.46
- “Prices include 3.9% cash discount – not applicable to credit‑card sales”
- Credit‑card processing fee 4%
- “We accept cash and credit”
Contact Information
If you have questions about the law, want to see more examples, or are not sure you are following the law correctly, please visit dos.ny.gov/CreditCardSurcharge
or contact (800) 697‑1220.
Print the Credit Card Surcharge Guidance document (PDF)