08/01/2026
I would like further clarification on this newly enacted Louisiana law.
Act 751 of the 2026 Regular Session (formerly Senate Bill 254) prohibits retail businesses from imposing a surcharge on customers who pay for goods or services using a debit card. The law becomes effective August 1, 2026.
1. This law appears to apply only to debit cards. If a customer uses a traditional credit card to make a purchase, the retailer is allowed to add the surcharge to cover the processing fees.
2. However, in most situations, both credit cards and debit cards are assessed a processing fee that the retailer must cover. So why does this new law not apply to traditional credit card transactions as well?
3. Retailers most often do not know if a transaction will be paid by debit or by credit. In most cases both types of cards are handled in the same manner without any thought of type of account the customer has with their banking institution.
4. What would prevent a retailer from simply increasing their prices across the board in order to compensate for the loss due to having to pay for card processing? This would cover his cost for card processing fees; but would not this also penalize those customers who choose to pay by cash or check?
5. Are retailers who access additional fees for card transactions now subject to criminal charges and prosecution?
6. How is this new law realistically expected to be enforced?
Operating a business is always a challenge and full of legal hurdles to navigate. But as with so many things the government does to solve problems that don’t exist, actual problems will ultimately arise. I worry that this new law will spur on the same result.
