Written for owners of independent stores and small chains in the US: convenience and grocery, liquor and smoke shops, fashion, gifts, hardware, and garden and farm stores.
The short version
- Check your state's surcharge law first.Connecticut and Massachusetts ban credit card surcharges. New York requires the card total posted and no fee above your processing cost (As of Oct 2026).
- Read your card networks' rules too.Visa bans debit and prepaid surcharges and caps credit surcharges at your merchant discount rate or 3%, whichever is lower (As of Oct 2026).
- Keep gift cards valid at least 5 years.Federally, no expiration within 5 years of issue or the last load (As of Oct 2026). California bans most expiration dates.
"Can I add a card fee?" is a question every store owner asks sooner or later. The answer depends on your state, the card network and whether the card is credit or debit. Gift cards have their own federal and state rules.
Card surcharges, state by state
Surcharge law
Credit card surcharges are banned in Connecticut and Massachusetts. New York has allowed them since February 11, 2024 only with the total card price posted and the surcharge no more than the processing cost. As of Oct 2026.
Conn. Gen. Stat. 42-133ff; Mass. ch. 140D s.28A; N.Y. GBL 518; Rowell v. Paxton (W.D. Tex. 2018); Dana's Railroad Supply v. Florida (11th Cir. 2015); Italian Colors v. Becerra (9th Cir. 2018); 15 U.S.C. 1666f
- Texas and Florida bans were held unconstitutional, and California's ban is limited by a 2018 federal appeals court decision.
- Cash discounts are protected by federal law.
The card networks' rules apply too
Visa requires notice to your acquirer at least 30 days before you start surcharging, disclosure at the point of entry and on the receipt, a surcharge no greater than your merchant discount rate or 3%, whichever is lower, and no surcharge on debit or prepaid cards, even when run as credit. Mastercard requires notice to Mastercard and your acquirer, its own disclosures and its own cap. Read your processor's surcharge program terms before adding any fee. As of Oct 2026.
In that example, New York requires the posted price to show the card total already and the fee cannot exceed the processing cost, while Visa caps credit surcharges at 3% and bans them on debit.
Gift cards
Federal gift card rules
No expiration earlier than 5 years after issue or the last load. Dormancy fees only after 12 months without use, at most one a month, and disclosed. As of Oct 2026.
12 CFR 1005.20
- California bans most expiration dates and service fees, and requires cash back for balances under $10 (Civ. Code 1749.5). As of Oct 2026.
- Florida bans expiration dates and post-sale fees on most gift certificates (Fla. Stat. 501.95) and generally exempts them from unclaimed property.
- New York treats unredeemed gift certificates as abandoned property after 5 years.
- Texas: where the card owner's existence and location are unknown, unused value is presumed abandoned 3 years after issue if never used, or 3 years after the last use or reload, or on an earlier expiration date, subject to statutory exclusions. Check your reporting duty with the state's unclaimed property office. As of Oct 2026.
California bans that expiration date, and federal law requires at least 5 years anyway.
Refund signs
Return policies
There is no federal right to return non-defective goods. California requires a store that does not give a full refund or exchange within 7 days to post its policy. New York requires a posted policy, or else refunds within 30 days. Florida requires a posted no-refund policy. Texas has no general posting law. Implied warranties of merchantability apply unless disclaimed conspicuously, as with 'as is'. As of Oct 2026.
Cal. Civ. Code 1723; N.Y. GBL 218-a; Fla. Stat. 501.142; UCC 2-314
Asked in Greymill
New York allows a credit card surcharge only if it passes two tests (As of Oct 2026):
Posted price: the total card price must be posted. Yours is added at the register.
Cap: no more than your processing cost. Your 4% is above your 2.6%.
Visa caps credit surcharges at your merchant discount rate (what your processor charges you) or 3%, whichever is lower (As of Oct 2026).
It bans them on debit and prepaid cards, even when run as credit, and even in states that allow surcharges.
Mastercard has its own rules and cap.
The fix: post dual prices, cash and card, or drop the fee. Read your processor's surcharge program terms before adding anything back.
Say the word and I will draft a dual-price sign.
Ask it about your own business
Paste this into Greymill with your own figures, and Contracts & Disputes works it through for your business.
I run a shop in [state], in the US. We [add a card fee of x% or offer a cash discount] and sell gift cards with these terms: [paste]. Our refund sign says: [paste]. Check each against my state's law and the Visa and Mastercard rules, tell me what to change, and draft new sign wording.
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Sources
The primary sources behind this lesson, checked Oct 2026.
- Gen. Stat. 42-133ff; M.G.L. ch. 140D s.28A (Surcharges, dual pricing and gift cards)
- GBL 518 (Surcharges, dual pricing and gift cards)
- Texas State Law Library FAQ (Surcharges, dual pricing and gift cards)
- opinions (Surcharges, dual pricing and gift cards)
- Visa Core Rules (surcharging) (Surcharges, dual pricing and gift cards)
- 15 U.S.C. 1666f (Surcharges, dual pricing and gift cards)
- 15 U.S.C. 45 (Consumer protection: FTC and state udap)
- 16 CFR Part 465 (Consumer protection: FTC and state udap)
- 16 CFR Part 323 (Consumer protection: FTC and state udap)
- BPC 17200, 17500; Civ. Code 1750, 1770, 1782 (Consumer protection: FTC and state udap)
- Bus. and Com. Code 17.46(b), 17.505 (Consumer protection: FTC and state udap)
- GBL 349, 350 (Consumer protection: FTC and state udap)