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If you’re shopping or eating out in the Triangle, you’re likely going to see an extra fee on your receipt if you’re paying with a credit card.
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If you’re using a debit card, you won’t — or you shouldn’t — see a surcharge, even though merchants are still paying processing fees, just as they do when they accept credit cards.
It’s against the law for merchants to add a surcharge to payments made with debit cards, said Andy Ellen, president and general counsel for the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association. Even if you pay with a debit card and select “credit” on the point of sale terminal, you shouldn’t be charged an extra fee.
Also, companies including Mastercard and Visa prohibit merchants from applying a surcharge on debit cards.
But in some transactions, you might pay more if you use a debit card than you would if using cash.
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A good example of this is when you’re buying gas. Gas stations usually charge different prices depending on whether you’re paying with a card or with cash. If you pay with a credit or debit card, you’re probably spending a few cents more per gallon than if you pay with cash.
But in that case, the merchant is offering a cash discount, and it’s totally legal.
“They haven’t surcharged you,” Ellen said. “They’ve just given you a discount off of what the credit or debit price was.”
Now, let’s say you go to a restaurant, and your meal costs $10. The restaurant can’t then charge you, say, an extra 3% if you pay with a debit card. But it can charge you an extra 3% if you pay with a credit card. That’s a surcharge.
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