Credit card surcharge laws in Massachusetts (2026)
Banned
You cannot add a surcharge to credit card payments in Massachusetts; you may offer a cash discount if it is offered to all buyers and clearly disclosed, and any other fee you charge must be included in the advertised Total Price under the Attorney General's 2025 fee rule.
The details
| Disclosure | Cash discount permitted and card issuers may not prohibit it; the discount is not a finance charge 'if such discount is offered to all prospective buyers and its availability is disclosed clearly and conspicuously' (c. 140D sec. 28A(b)). Separately, 940 CMR 38.00 (AG, eff. 2025-09-02) requires the Total Price, including 'credit card processing fees when there is no other viable payment option,' to be disclosed clearly and conspicuously and more prominently than other price information. |
|---|---|
| Debit and prepaid | Statute text says 'credit card' only; debit and prepaid cards not mentioned. |
| Statute | M.G.L. c. 140D, sec. 28A |
| Last change | No amendment history shown on malegislature.gov; 940 CMR 38.00 took effect 2025-09-02 |
| Source check | Verified on the official site |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 |
How this entry was checked
Verbatim: '(2) No seller in any sales transaction may impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check or similar means.' Pending S.2819 (194th General Court) would replace sec. 28A with a surcharge capped at actual processing cost plus signage, online/phone notice and receipt printing; reported favorably 1/7/2026 and sitting in Senate Rules, not law. H.4159 (half-fee surcharge) was sent to study 4/2/2026. 940 CMR 38.00 effective date and credit-card-fee language read in the AG guidance PDF hosted by the Massachusetts State Library (mass.gov blocked automated access); the regulation's own text was not read directly.
What this means for each program in Massachusetts
| Surcharging | Not available. Massachusetts prohibits surcharges; do not run one here. |
|---|---|
| Cash discounting | Permitted. The posted price is the card price and cash pays less. Massachusetts law speaks to discounts; see the Disclosure row above and the statute before setting the program. |
| Dual pricing | Treated like a cash discount in practice (our reading; the statute does not use the term), so Massachusetts's discount rules apply: the card price shown first with the cash price beside it, and cash pays the cash price. Check the statute for which payment types must get the lower 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
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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.