Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 726: Commerce and trade; surcharges charged by merchants for purchasers' use of credit cards; limit amount
Last action March 10, 2025 · House Second Readers
House Bill 726 would cap the credit card surcharges Georgia merchants can charge customers, limiting them to the merchant's actual cost of processing the transaction.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia law already regulates how merchants can use a purchaser's credit card information, under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.3. This bill adds a new provision to that section addressing surcharges, which are extra fees merchants sometimes add when a customer pays with a credit card instead of cash. Under the bill, a merchant could not charge a surcharge for credit card use that is greater than what it actually costs the merchant to process that transaction. The bill does not set a specific dollar limit or percentage; instead it ties the cap to the merchant's real processing cost. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not state a delayed effective date, so it would take effect under Georgia's standard rules once signed.
What the bill does
- Adds a new subsection to Georgia's credit card protection law (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.3) addressing merchant surcharges for credit card use.
- Prohibits merchants from charging a credit card surcharge that exceeds their actual cost of processing that transaction.
- Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new limit.
Who it affects
Georgia merchants and businesses that accept credit cards and currently add surcharges for card use, as well as consumers who pay those surcharges when using credit cards for purchases.
Why it matters
If enacted, shoppers who pay by credit card could no longer be charged a surcharge higher than what it actually costs the merchant to process that payment, potentially reducing extra fees at checkout for many Georgia consumers.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds subsection (d.1) to O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.3, capping credit card surcharges at the merchant's actual processing cost for the transaction.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause clearing away inconsistent existing statutes.
From the bill
“A merchant shall be prohibited from requiring a purchaser using a credit card for any transaction to pay a surcharge in an amount that exceeds the actual cost to the merchant to process the transaction.”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Terry Cummings (D, HD-39)
- Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
- Dexter Sharper (D, HD-177)
- Michael Smith (D, HD-41)
- David Wilkerson (D, HD-38)
- Segun Adeyina (D, HD-110)
Topics
- credit card fees
- consumer protection
- merchant surcharges
- commerce and trade