Credit card surcharge laws in Georgia (2026)
Allowed, card-network rules only
You can surcharge credit cards in Georgia under card-network rules; the 'cost of acceptance' cap and entry/point-of-sale/receipt disclosures that trackers call Georgia law are the network rules restated by the Attorney General, and the only state fee statute (O.C.G.A. 13-1-15) applies just to convenience fees on loan and installment-contract payments.
The details
| Cap | None for retail surcharges. O.C.G.A. 13-1-15(b): for payments on covered loans, installment-sale, motor-vehicle-financing and premium-finance contracts, a convenience fee may not exceed actual cost (or average actual cost), or $5, whichever is greater. |
|---|---|
| Disclosure | No retail surcharge-disclosure statute; Fair Business Practices Act (10-1-393) deception standard per AG. O.C.G.A. 13-1-15(c)-(d), covered credit contracts only: a no-fee payment path (check, cash, money order or fee-free electronic) must exist and the fee must be disclosed before imposition with its dollar amount, that it is nonrefundable, and that it is charged for electronic payment. |
| Debit and prepaid | No state rule for retail; AG restates the network credit-only rule. 13-1-15 lets covered lenders charge convenience fees on debit, subject to the card acceptance agreement. |
| Statute | No state statute on credit card surcharges found (O.C.G.A. 13-1-15 governs convenience fees on covered credit-contract payments only) |
| Last change | O.C.G.A. 13-1-15 rewritten by HB 241 (Act 305), effective 2025-07-01; penny-rounding statute (HB 1112, Act 445, new Art. 38 of ch. 10-1) effective 2026-07-01 affects cash prices |
| Source check | Verified on the official site |
| Checked | Oct 7, 2026 |
How this entry was checked
Absence confirmed by full-text search of the Office of Legislative Counsel's 2025 and 2026 enacted-statutes summaries on legis.ga.gov (no surcharge act); 10-1-393.3, the section HB 726 proposed to amend, is the receipt-truncation statute. 13-1-15 text read in the enrolled act on gov.georgia.gov; subsection (e) limits it to loans under Title 7 ch. 1 and ch. 3, retail installment and home solicitation contracts, motor vehicle financing contracts and premium finance agreements. AG Consumer Ed pages (2021, 2023, 2024) say surcharges may not exceed the merchant's cost of acceptance and must be disclosed at entry, point of sale and on the receipt; they cite no statute. HB 1386 (2024) and HB 726 (2025) cost-cap bills died without a hearing (dates from a secondary source). Trackers citing 'HB 1283 (2022)' as a Georgia surcharge law: no such enactment found.
What this means for each program in Georgia
| Surcharging | Allowed under the card-network rules below. No state cap or disclosure rule beyond those was found. |
|---|---|
| Cash discounting | Permitted under the card-network rules. The posted price is the card price and cash pays less; every card, debit included, pays the posted price. |
| Dual pricing | Treated like a cash discount in practice (our reading; no Georgia statute addresses dual pricing): the card price shown first with the cash price beside it, every card pays the card price, cash pays the cash price. |
Card-network rules apply everywhere a surcharge is allowed
- Credit cards only. Never debit or prepaid, even when the customer presses "credit."
- Capped at 3% and never more than your own cost of accepting credit cards.
- Disclosed at the entrance and at the register, and printed as its own line on the receipt.
- Your processor (acquirer) gets written notice at least 30 days before you start.
Source: Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, April 2026 edition, sections 5.5.1.5 to 5.5.1.9. Mastercard's rules are comparable; its current rulebook text was not verified for this guide.
Sources
- No state statute on credit card surcharges found (O.C.G.A. 13-1-15 governs convenience fees on covered credit-contract payments only). Source read: gov.georgia.gov
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Get my fit checkThis guide is general information, not legal advice. Each entry was checked against the official statute, regulation, or court decision linked on the page, as of the date shown, by Cardeva, LLC. Laws change, legislatures are in session, and court rulings can alter the practical status of a statute that remains on the books. Before starting any surcharge, cash-discount, or dual-pricing program, confirm the rules for your state and your payment types with your processor and your own attorney. Any program Cardeva sets up starts only after your processor approves it in writing; rely on that approval and your own attorney, not this page. Nothing here is a guarantee of any outcome. See our Terms of Use. Think something has changed? Use the contact form or call (612) 250-6132.