Since Jan. 27, 2013, merchants have had the ability to assess a surcharge on customers who pay with credit. However, if they choose to take this step, there are a lot of rules that must be followed, including:
- Notifying consumers that they’re being charged for using credit, both at the register and on the receipt. On the receipt, the merchant is required to state the exact dollar amount you paid in credit card surcharges.
- Charging customers only what they’re paying to the credit card payment networks in swipe fees (again, this is usually around 1%-3.5% of the cost of the transaction). In other words, merchants are allowed to pass on the fee to the customer, but aren’t allowed to make a profit on credit card surcharges.
- Staying on the right side of state laws. As of August 2014, nine states prohibit retailers from passing credit card surcharges onto consumers. They are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Texas.
- Limiting surcharges to credit card transactions. If you pay with debit, the retailer isn’t allowed assess the fee. This includes debit transactions where you sign for your purchase as opposed to entering a PIN. Only credit card users can be hit with a surcharge.
Source: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/credit-card-cha...