Credit Card Surcharge Laws in Louisiana (2026 Guide)

Is it legal to surcharge credit cards in Louisiana?

Yes. Louisiana permits credit card surcharging up to 4% (3% for Visa transactions), subject to the standard federal card-network caps and signage/receipt disclosure requirements (Payments.gi regulatory summary). See the full national rules guide for the notice, disclosure, and rate cap requirements that apply.

New in 2026: debit card surcharges are now explicitly banned

Debit card surcharging has always been illegal nationwide under federal card network rules and the Durbin Amendment — but as of August 1, 2026, Louisiana has its own law making that explicit and enforceable at the state level. Louisiana Act 751 (formerly Senate Bill 254), signed by Governor Jeff Landry on June 2, 2026 and codified at La. R.S. 51:3081, prohibits a retail business from imposing "any additional amount of money" on a customer who pays with a debit card, however that fee is labeled — "card fee," "service fee," or "non-cash adjustment" (Act751.com official FAQ, Arnall Golden Gregory).

Act 751 carries real teeth: the Louisiana Attorney General can bring a civil action, and a violating business faces a civil fine of up to $500 per violation. A cardholder who is charged a debit surcharge must be given written notice and 30 days to refund it before the business loses the law's liability protection. The Attorney General's office also runs a toll-free consumer hotline for reporting violations (Act751.com). Legal commentary on the law notes it contains no exception for a fee that merely matches the merchant's actual debit processing cost — any additional amount tied to debit use is prohibited (Louisiana Restaurant Association).

What this means for Louisiana merchants

• Credit-only surcharging is still legal in Louisiana — Act 751 does not touch credit card surcharges.
• The compliance risk is a surcharge program that claims to be "credit-only" but whose point-of-sale system can't reliably keep the fee off debit transactions — that's the exact trap Act 751 targets.
• A debit card run as "credit" (signature debit) still pulls from a deposit account and is still a debit card under Act 751, regardless of how it's routed.

How PayWavez keeps this compliant

PayWavez's compliant surcharging program detects card type automatically at the terminal and never applies a surcharge to debit — there's no manual step for staff that could accidentally trigger an Act 751 violation.

Related guides

• Credit Card Surcharge Laws & Compliance Rules — the full national rulebook.
• How to Add a Credit Card Surcharge Legally — the six-step setup checklist.
• Surcharging vs. Dual Pricing vs. Flat Rate — which pricing model fits your business.