Credit card surcharge laws in Rhode Island (2026)
Allowed, card-network rules only
Rhode Island has no state law on merchant credit card surcharges, so you may surcharge within card-network rules; the 'Chapter 6-26.2 ban' and 'notice at entry and point of sale, 4% cap' rules quoted by secondary trackers come from bills that never passed, and both 2026 bills (a notice requirement and an outright ban) were held for further study and died.
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 on webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes: Title 6 index has no chapter 6-26.2 (chapters run 6-26 Interest and Usury, 6-26.1 Credit Card Lending, 6-27 Truth in Lending); every section of chapters 6-13, 6-13.1, 6-26.1, 6-27, 6-30, 6-31, 6-56 and 6-58 downloaded and searched; the only 'surcharge' in Title 6 is § 6-13-12 (gift certificates). Bill status read in the official system (status.rilegislature.gov): 2026 H 7022 (notice at point of sale and on menus, amount or percentage, effective 1/1/2027 if enacted) held for further study 1/27/2026; 2026 H 7409 (outright ban as deceptive trade practice) held for further study 2/3/2026; 2022 S 2738 (notice-conditioned surcharging, $500/1-year misdemeanor) held 5/19/2022; 2021 S 925 ('RI SB925' cited by trackers) referred to Senate Commerce 5/20/2021, never heard; 2013 H 5213 (ban) held 2/5/2013. 2022 H 7434 Sub A (P.L. 2022 ch. 075) amended 6-26.1 credit card lending definitions only. 'Credit Cards' category for 2025 and 2026 shows no enacted surcharge measure; interchange-on-tax bills all held. General DTPA § 6-13.1-1(6) applies to deceptive pricing; AG enforces. No RI AG merchant-surcharge guidance; AG's own BCI form charges a $1.40 card surcharge.
What this means for each program in Rhode Island
| 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 Rhode Island 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: webserver.rilegislature.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.