Credit card surcharge laws in South Dakota (2026)
Allowed, card-network rules only
South Dakota has no state law on merchant credit card surcharges, so you may surcharge within card-network rules; the '4% cap, entrance and register signage, receipt line' rules that trackers and even the state Attorney General's consumer page describe are the 2013 card-network settlement terms, not South Dakota statute.
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 crawling the Legislative Research Council's official Codified Laws server (sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/{section}.html): every section of Title 54 (Debtor and Creditor, 16 chapters, 286 sections, including 54-11 Credit Cards and Revolving Charge Accounts) and Title 37 (Trade Regulation, 35 chapters, 594 sections, including 37-24 Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection) downloaded and searched for 'surcharge', 'cash discount', 'convenience fee', 'checkout fee', 'dual pricing': zero hits. Catchline scan of Titles 1, 6, 7, 9 and 10 found only government-payee provisions: SDCL 1-8-11 'Fees paid by credit cards' and 1-8-13.2 'Convenience fees' (state agencies), and sales/use tax exemptions for card processing services (10-45-68, 10-46-56). Bill lists for the 2025 (571 bills), 2025 special and 2026 (666 bills) sessions pulled from the Legislature's API: no bill title mentions credit card surcharges, swipe fees or interchange; the only 'surcharge' bills are 911 and eviction-filing surcharges. Attorney General Consumer Protection page (consumer.sd.gov/fastfacts/credit.aspx) describes 'checkout fees' under the 2013 settlement (max 4%, credit only, entrance/POS/homepage disclosure, receipt line) and cites no SD statute - these are network rules. No court decision found. General deceptive-practices statute SDCL 37-24-6 applies to misleading pricing.
What this means for each program in South Dakota
| 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. South Dakota 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 South Dakota statute addresses dual pricing), so South Dakota'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: sdlegislature.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.