Credit Card Laws for Retailers

Many consumers don't realize that retailers are required to follow certain rules, regulations and laws in order to accept credit cards at their establishments. Regardless, retailers sometimes ignore these laws and are charged hefty fines or even have their credit card agreements terminated. These are a few common laws and regulations that merchants must follow in order to accept credit cards.

Surcharges

A retailer can't charge you a surcharge in order to use a credit card. They can be charged a fine if they do.

Personal Information

A retailer cannot ask you to provide your phone number and address on a credit card receipt in case something goes wrong. They have to deal directly with the credit card company.

Minimums

If you've ever been told that you have to buy a certain amount of product from a store in order to use your credit card, the retailer was in violation of credit card laws set by Visa and MasterCard.

Records Management

Credit card retailers have to keep customer information under lock and key. Customer credit card numbers have to be kept out of the reach of other customers and store employees or the retailer could be held responsible for any identify theft that occurs.

Truncating Information

A retailer cannot print the customer's entire credit card number and expiration date on the receipt; it must be "truncated" or reduced to just the last four digits of the card number with the expiration date blanked out.

Resources

• More on Credit Card Laws
• FTC Laws for Credit Card Retailers