Credit card surcharge laws in North Carolina (2026)
Allowed, card-network rules only
North Carolina has no state law limiting credit card surcharges, so you may surcharge within card-network rules; a 2% cap bill (H13) has been stuck in committee since 2025 and is not law.
The details
| Statute | No state statute on credit card surcharges found |
|---|---|
| Source check | Verified on the official site |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 |
How this entry was checked
Absence confirmed by downloading and searching the full text of G.S. Chapters 14, 24, 25, 53, 53C, 66, 75, 105 and 147 on ncleg.gov for 'surcharge' and 'credit card'. G.S. 159-32.1 expressly lets local governments add a surcharge for card payments (ncleg.gov). Pending, not law: H13 (2025) 'Charges for Credit & Charge Cards' (2% cap, entry/POS/website notice, $500 penalty; last action 9/23/2025 re-referred to Rules) and S839 (2025) 'Price Transparency Act' (filed 4/27/2026, in Appropriations). Secondary sources citing 'G.S. 75-43' as a ban are wrong; that was the section number proposed in 2011 H626, which failed; current 75-43 concerns fees for copies of recorded documents. General UDAP law G.S. 75-1.1 applies to deceptive pricing. No NC DOJ merchant surcharge guidance found.
What this means for each program in North Carolina
| 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 North Carolina 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. Source read: ncleg.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.