Credit card surcharge laws in West Virginia (2026)
Allowed, card-network rules only
You may surcharge credit cards in West Virginia under card-network rules only; the state Code has no merchant surcharge statute, and the 2026 'credit card surcharge' bill (HB 4396) targeted card networks' interchange on sales tax and died in committee.
The details
| Cap | None in state law (network caps only). |
|---|---|
| Disclosure | No surcharge-specific or total-price statute; W. Va. Code § 46A-6-104 (unfair or deceptive acts) general standard. |
| Debit and prepaid | Not addressed by statute. |
| Statute | No statute on credit card surcharges found |
| Court decision | None found. |
| Source check | Verified on the official site |
| Checked | Oct 7, 2026 |
How this entry was checked
Official Code full-text search (code.wvlegislature.gov, all chapters, 2026-10-07): 'surcharge' = 49 sections, none on card payments; '+surcharge +credit' = 14, none on merchants; '+surcharge +card' = 1 (§ 11-24-3a tax definitions); '"cash discount"' = 0; '"surcharge" "credit card"' = 0. HB 4396 (introduced 2026-01-15, House Finance; text would require taxes to 'be excluded from the amount on which an interchange fee is charged' with a $1,000 penalty on payment card networks) had no action before the session adjourned sine die 2026-03-14 (from a secondary source for the date). Bill: bills.wvlegislature.gov . Government fee pass-through only: §§ 11-10-5n, 12-3A-6, 7-5-2a. No AG guidance found.
What this means for each program in West Virginia
| 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. West Virginia 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; no West Virginia statute addresses dual pricing), so West Virginia'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 statute on credit card surcharges found. Source read: wvlegislature.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.