✅ Is surcharging legal in Illinois?
Yes. Illinois is one of the “remaining 35 states” where merchants can surcharge credit‑card transactions without violating state law.
There are no Illinois‑specific caps, no special disclosure rules, and no state‑level bans.
📌 Rules you must follow in Illinois
Even though Illinois doesn’t add extra restrictions, you still must comply with:
Federal law
- Maximum surcharge: 4%
- Debit‑card surcharges: illegal nationwide
- Prepaid‑card surcharges: also prohibited
Visa/Mastercard rules
- Surcharge cannot exceed your actual processing cost (Visa often limits to 3%, even though federal law allows 4%)
- Must notify Visa/Mastercard 30 days before starting surcharging
- Must disclose surcharge:
- At the store entrance
- At the point of sale
- On the receipt
POS requirements
- Surcharge must be applied only to credit, never debit
- Must be a percentage, not a flat fee
- Must be consistent across all credit cards of the same brand