Under Massachusetts credit card surcharge law, a business cannot charge you more for paying with a credit card than for paying with cash or check. The rule sits in Chapter 140D, Section 28A of the Massachusetts General Laws, and it applies to every seller in every sales transaction, with no minimum amount and no industry carve-outs.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Part I, Title XX, Chapter 140D, Section 28A A merchant who wants to recover card-processing costs has one legal option: offer a discount to customers who pay cash.
What Section 28A Prohibits
The statute does three things. It bars credit card companies from stopping merchants who want to offer cash discounts. It prohibits any seller from imposing a surcharge on a customer who pays by credit card. And it confirms that a cash discount is not a “finance charge” under Massachusetts lending disclosure rules, provided the discount is available to all buyers and clearly advertised.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Part I, Title XX, Chapter 140D, Section 28A
The wording “no seller in any sales transaction” covers everyone doing business in the state. A corner store, a restaurant, a professional services firm, and an online retailer shipping to a Massachusetts address all sit inside the same rule. There is no dollar threshold below which the ban stops applying.
Surcharge Versus Cash Discount
The line between an illegal surcharge and a legal cash discount is not just wordplay. A surcharge takes a base price and adds a fee when the customer pays by card. A cash discount starts from the regular price (the amount a card-paying customer sees) and takes something off when the customer pays cash. The math can look similar on a receipt, but only one is allowed in Massachusetts.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Part I, Title XX, Chapter 140D, Section 28A
How the price is presented is what decides it. The posted price on shelves, menus, and tags has to be the regular price, meaning what the credit card customer will actually pay. The cash price is then shown as a reduction. Signage like “$10.00 card / $9.70 cash” at the entrance, at the register, and on the receipt keeps the program on the right side of the law. A store that posts a “cash price” and then adds an amount at the register for card users has created a surcharge no matter what the sign calls it.
If you are a customer and see a line item on your receipt labeled “credit card fee,” “card surcharge,” “non-cash adjustment,” or something similar added on top of the posted price, that is the pattern the statute forbids.
What About Debit Cards
Debit card surcharges are also off-limits, but through a different route. Federal law at 15 U.S.C. § 1666f bars merchants from surcharging debit card transactions nationwide.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1666f – Inducements to Cardholders by Sellers of Cash Discounts So in Massachusetts, both credit and debit surcharges are prohibited; the credit card ban comes from state law, the debit card ban comes from federal law. A debit surcharge can be reported to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in addition to the state Attorney General.
Penalties for Merchants
Section 28A itself does not set a specific dollar fine. Enforcement runs through the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, which uses the state’s broader consumer protection statute, Chapter 93A. The Attorney General can bring civil enforcement actions, seek injunctions to stop ongoing violations, and pursue penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.
Consumers can file their own claims under Section 9 of Chapter 93A and recover actual damages or $25 in statutory damages, whichever is greater. Where a court finds the violation was willful or knowing, damages can be multiplied.
The Attorney General has also signaled broader interest in hidden fees. In 2025, Attorney General Campbell proposed regulations under 940 CMR 38.00 requiring businesses to disclose the total price of a product, including all fees and charges, at the point of advertising.3Commonwealth of Massachusetts. AG Campbell Proposes Regulations To Combat Junk Fees And Bolster Transparency For Consumers If those rules are finalized, they add another layer of exposure for a business that buries card-related costs in its pricing.
How to File a Complaint
If a Massachusetts business charges you a credit card surcharge, you can report it to the Attorney General’s Consumer Advocacy and Response Division. Complaints can be filed online, by phone at (617) 727-8400, by mail to the Boston office, or in person at any AG office location during business hours.4Commonwealth of Massachusetts. File a Consumer Complaint
Keep your receipt. A receipt showing a separate charge labeled as a credit card fee, card surcharge, or something equivalent is the strongest evidence you can hand over. Individual complaints are how the AG’s office spots patterns, so a small charge is still worth reporting; it can trigger a broader look at a business that surcharges routinely.
You can also pursue your own claim under Chapter 93A, Section 9. That is the route for recovering damages personally, rather than relying on the state to act. Many consumers use the AG complaint process first, since it costs nothing and can produce results without litigation.
Steps to Take Before You File
Before filing, it is worth checking a few things on the receipt and at the point of sale:
- Was the posted price on the menu, shelf, or website the same amount you were charged for paying by card? If the card total is higher than the posted price, that is the pattern the statute prohibits.
- Is there a separately labeled fee tied to card use? A line item labeled “credit card fee,” “card surcharge,” or “non-cash adjustment” is what the law forbids. A line item labeled as a cash discount, applied to reduce the total for cash payers, is legal.
- Was the pricing disclosed before you paid? A cash discount program has to be advertised clearly. A charge that only appears after you hand over your card is a bigger problem, not a smaller one.
Photograph the signage if you can, along with the receipt. Note the date, time, and location. That is the record the AG’s office will ask about.
Pending Legislation
The framework could change. Senate Bill 2819, titled “An Act Relative to Credit Card Surcharges and Transparency in Credit Card Fees,” was reported favorably from the Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure in January 2026 and referred to the Senate Committee on Rules.5General Court of Massachusetts. Bill S.2819 194th Session The bill consolidates earlier petitions aimed at limiting surcharges and increasing fee transparency. Its final text has not been published, so the precise effect on Section 28A is not yet clear. Until the legislature acts, the outright ban is the operative rule.