Credit card surcharge laws in Pennsylvania (2026)
Allowed, card-network rules only
Pennsylvania has no state law limiting credit card surcharges, so you may surcharge within card-network rules; the one live bill (HB 1780, which would require pre-sale disclosure and cap the surcharge at actual processing cost) was laid on the table in the House on Sept. 8, 2026 and is not law.
The details
| Statute | No state statute on credit card surcharges found |
|---|---|
| Source check | Verified on the official site |
| Checked | Oct 7, 2026 |
How this entry was checked
Absence confirmed by downloading the full text of 12 Pa.C.S. (Commerce and Trade, all chapters 1-98, 470,000 characters) from legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/12/12.HTM and the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (Act 387 of 1968, 73 P.S. 201-1 et seq.) and searching for 'surcharge', 'credit card', 'charge card', 'payment card', 'cash discount': zero surcharge hits. HB 1780 (2025-26, Rep. Guzman; PN 2189) would add 12 Pa.C.S. §§ 6401-6404: merchant 'shall disclose any credit card surcharge prior to the completion of a transaction' and the surcharge 'may not exceed the merchant's actual cost to process the credit card payment', enforced by the AG's Bureau of Consumer Protection, effective in 120 days; no percentage cap, no debit or cash-discount language. History on palegis.us: referred 8/4/2025; reported 26-0 and first consideration 6/9/2026; re-committed to Rules 6/9/2026; re-reported 9/8/2026; laid on the table 9/8/2026; never passed either chamber. HB 750 (2013) 'Credit Card Surcharge Prohibition Act' died in committee. HB 2090 (2026) concerns interchange on sales tax, not surcharges. Government-payee convenience fees exist under separate authority (e.g., 204 Pa. Code 207.3 court payments, 2.75%, from a secondary source as to the figure). General UTPCPL (73 P.S. 201-2(4)) applies to deceptive pricing. No PA AG merchant-surcharge guidance found.
What this means for each program in Pennsylvania
| Surcharging | Allowed under the card-network rules below. No state cap or disclosure rule beyond those was found. |
|---|---|
| Cash discounting | Permitted. The posted price is the card price and cash pays less. Pennsylvania law speaks to discounts; see the summary above and the statute before setting the program. |
| Dual pricing | Treated like a cash discount in practice (our reading; no Pennsylvania statute addresses dual pricing), so Pennsylvania'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
- No state statute on credit card surcharges found. Source read: legis.state.pa.us
Free fee-program fit check
Send us your statement and we'll tell you which program fits Pennsylvania, show the monthly math, and set it up with your processor's written approval.
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.