Australia: surcharging ban now in effect (October 1, 2026). The Reserve Bank of Australia has banned surcharges on eftpos, Visa, and Mastercard card payments, which covers debit, prepaid, and credit cards, consumer and commercial. American Express also updated its Australian merchant terms so Amex transactions can't be surcharged from the same date. Interchange changes kicked in at the same time: the consumer credit cap dropped from 0.80% to 0.30%, the debit and prepaid cap is now 8 cents or 0.16% of the transaction, and commercial credit stays at 0.80%. A 1.0% interchange cap on foreign-issued cards used in Australia starts April 1, 2027. Any Australian merchant that still has a surcharge configured on a terminal or online checkout needs to switch it off right away.

Visa/Mastercard interchange settlement (U.S.), pending court approval. Under the proposed settlement announced in 2025, Visa and Mastercard would, within 90 days of final approval, allow U.S. merchants to surcharge credit card transactions at either the brand level (e.g., all Visa credit) or the product level (e.g., a specific Visa consumer rewards product), but not both for the same network. The settlement would also cap posted U.S. credit interchange rates for five years and cap rates on standard Visa Traditional/Traditional Rewards and Mastercard Core/Enhanced Value credit cards at 1.25% for eight years. Final approval is expected in late 2026 or early 2027.

Visa rule refresh (October 2025). Visa's most recent Core Rules update (published October 18, 2025) keeps the U.S. brand-level surcharge cap at 3% and maintains the 30-day acquirer-notification requirement. Product-level surcharging remains available, subject to network and state limits.

Visa Level 2 interchange programs sunset (April 2026). As part of ongoing changes to Visa's Card Eligibility Determination Program (CEDP), Level 2 interchange programs were retired in April 2026. This doesn't change surcharge caps directly but may affect the economics behind a merchant's cost-of-acceptance calculation.

U.S. state activity continues. State-level changes over the last year (notably Minnesota, California, and New York) are reflected in Section 4 below.

Visa: lesser of the merchant's cost of acceptance or 3% (brand-level); product-level surcharging is also permitted up to the same cap.

Mastercard: lesser of the merchant's average effective merchant discount rate or 4% (the Maximum Surcharge Cap).

American Express & Discover: surcharging is permitted, but merchants cannot surcharge these brands at a higher rate than Visa/Mastercard.

Canada: maximum surcharge of 2.4%, and surcharges are prohibited in Quebec under provincial consumer protection law.

Australia: surcharging banned since October 1, 2026 on eftpos, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express card payments.

UK & EU: surcharging on most consumer credit/debit cards is prohibited under the Payment Services Directive / Payment Services Regulations.

Disclosure must occur before the transaction is completed, at the point of entry (e.g., storefront, website landing page) and again at the point of sale.

The surcharge must appear as a separate line item on the transaction receipt.

If surcharging at the product level, signage and digital disclosures must make clear which specific card products are surcharged.

Connecticut: surcharges banned; cash discounts permitted. Violations up to $500 each.

Massachusetts: surcharges prohibited by statute.

Maine: surcharges by private merchants prohibited; government entities may surcharge for certain payments.

Puerto Rico: surcharges prohibited.

California: the anti-surcharge statute was held unconstitutional as applied to truthful disclosure, so surcharging is effectively permitted; however, California's 2024 "junk fee" law (SB 478) requires mandatory fees to be included in the advertised price. As a result, separate credit-card line-item surcharges are restricted, but dual pricing (posting both a cash and card price) and all-in pricing remain allowed. Restaurants are subject to narrower rules.

Colorado: surcharges capped at 2% (or the merchant's processing cost, whichever is lower); on-premises and online signage required.

Minnesota: as of January 1, 2025, surcharging is legal if the fee is avoidable (e.g., by paying cash). All other mandatory fees must be baked into advertised prices, and the surcharge must be disclosed at the point of sale with conspicuous on-premises signage.

New York: under General Business Law § 518 (effective Feb. 11, 2024), merchants must clearly and conspicuously post the total price including the surcharge before checkout. The surcharge cannot exceed the merchant's cost of acceptance. Penalties up to $500 per violation.

Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah: statutory surcharge bans have been struck down or enjoined on First Amendment grounds; surcharging is effectively permitted with proper disclosure, but compliance risk remains, so confirm with counsel.

Canada: permitted outside Quebec, max 2.4%, 30-day notice to acquirer and card networks, clear disclosure at point of sale and on receipts.

Australia: banned since October 1, 2026 on eftpos, Visa, and Mastercard card payments (debit, prepaid, and credit, consumer and commercial) under the RBA's rules, and on American Express under Amex's own merchant terms. Payment methods outside those networks, like buy now pay later, aren't covered by this ban and are under separate RBA review, so check the provider's terms before charging any fee on them. Merchants can still recover costs through their overall pricing, and a clearly explained discount for paying by cash or PayID is generally fine as long as the discount is smaller than the payment costs avoided. Confirm with counsel before setting one up.

United Kingdom & European Economic Area: surcharging prohibited on most consumer card payments under PSD2 / UK PSRs. Commercial cards and non-EEA-issued cards may be surchargeable subject to local rules.

Other markets: rules vary significantly; merchants should consult their acquirer for market-specific requirements.

The CFPB's ongoing junk-fee initiative, state "all-in pricing" laws (California SB 478, Minnesota), and FTC unfair-practice enforcement have all reinforced the requirement that mandatory fees be disclosed up front, not added at checkout.

Litigation activity, including First Amendment challenges to state surcharge bans, continues in multiple jurisdictions. Merchants should monitor updates in states where the anti-surcharge statute has been enjoined but not repealed.

Customer perception: surcharges can impact customer experience, particularly in competitive retail categories.

Fee transparency: how and where the surcharge will be disclosed, and whether dual pricing or all-in pricing would better fit the jurisdiction.

Alternative options, such as cash discounts, where permitted and compliant.

Operational readiness: 30-day network notifications, POS configuration, receipt formatting, and signage refreshes should be planned in advance. For Australian merchants, that means confirming surcharge settings are removed from every terminal and checkout and that old surcharge signage is taken down.

Adyen surcharging attestation: Valpay is the payfac and has already submitted a surcharging attestation to Adyen that covers our partners and their merchants, so there's nothing extra for you to file with Adyen before turning surcharging on. The network rules, state laws, and disclosure requirements in this guide still apply to each merchant though.

Only apply to eligible credit card transactions, and only in markets where surcharging is still allowed (not Australia, the UK, or the EEA for most consumer cards).

Stay within network caps (Visa 3% / Mastercard 4%) and the merchant's actual cost of acceptance, whichever is lower.

Provide clear and prominent disclosure at the point of entry, point of sale, and on the receipt.

Comply with applicable state and local laws, and monitor the pending Visa/Mastercard interchange settlement.

Provide 30 days' advance written notice to your acquirer before starting, changing, or stopping a surcharge program.