06/12/2026
Our Founder Derrick Hess Quoted State Affairs about the Senate Bill 254
https://pro.stateaffairs.com/la/news/debit-card-surcharge-law?ref=AAAAAAAD2woAANZlAA
Here is the text:
A newly enacted law in Louisiana increases enforcement and makes it easier for customers to sue businesses for illegally charging more for paying with a debit card.
Gov. Jeff Landry signed
Senate Bill 254
after it was passed unanimously by the Senate and overwhelmingly in the House. The law goes into effect on Aug. 1.
“What most people don't realize is that surcharging a debit card was never actually allowed, but many Louisiana merchants brushed off the rules for years with little to no enforcement,” said Derrick Hess, a certified payments professional and founder of the Louisiana-based merchant services provider ZeroPoint.
Merchants are restricted under the Durbin Amendment of the federal Dodd-Frank Act from adding surcharges to purchases made with debit cards, regardless of how the payment is processed — as “debit” or “credit.”
Hess advocated for the passage of
SB 254
, which empowers the state attorney general to take action against offenders by increasing penalties to up to $500 per violation and establishing a toll-free reporting hotline and online reporting portal. The new law makes it easier for customers to sue for damages without a class action suit and to submit complaints to the attorney general with a receipt indicating the surcharge as proof.
“This closes that gap and shows merchants that Louisiana is serious about consumer protection,” Hess told State Affairs.
The new law gives businesses a 30-day window to remedy the violation and reimburse the customer of the surcharge, as long as the business catches it and fixes it before a complaint is filed; if the business does so, the civil action will not move forward.
Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, who chairs the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs, told State Affairs the bill became a personal mission as more constituents expressed to her it was a problem.
“In my area I’d noticed more and more businesses adding a 3% charge on ‘all card purchases’ — everything from pizza to po boys to haircuts,” Mizell said. “A family member asked me how that was allowed on debit card purchases since there is not a percentage charged to the merchant. Apparently the debit card fee was only possible because people who felt wronged by it or questioned the legality of it didn’t know who to complain to.”
Mizell said even though charging more for using a debit card has been against federal law for more than 15 years, “the feeling among some is that the prohibition punishes the small merchant. That seems to be why people have willingly paid a fee that was unjustified.”
Surcharges on bills paid with a debit card that are labeled as a “service fee” or a “non-cash adjustment” are illegal. What is legal is surcharging credit cards or offering a discount for customers who choose to pay in cash.
Emma Kinery is a State Affairs national reporter covering state politics and policy out of our Washington, D.C. office. Contact Emma Kinery at [email protected] or on X .
Louisiana enacts law to increase enforcement and make it easier for customers to sue businesses for illegally charging more for paying with a debit card.
