If I understand the ruling corretl, this has become illegal in the EU recently.
It's been against the rules (card network? clearinghouse? not sure) for a long time in the United States, too. But it still happens.
As an example, a bookstore I was in a couple of weekends ago had a sign at the cash register notifying people that all transactions incur a 4% "customer service fee." There was a sign immediately below that one noting that there is a 4% discount for paying with cash.
It depends on where you live. 10 states have laws that prohibit or restrict discounts for cash transactions: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas. Some of those restrictions have been invalidated by federal courts, but I was somewhat confused about which states were affected.
Cash discounting was blanket permitted in all 50 states under Durbin. [1] It also de facto invalidated any clause in a merchant agreement that precluded this practice.
Some states previously used to also restrict the ability of merchant agreements to do that, though usually only in specific industries. E.g. in Texas, liquor stores (but nobody else) have been able to offer cash discounts for ages. Now anyone can.
AFAIK they've been allowed and disallowed and re-allowed under contracts with the payment networks over the years; currently I think at least in the US they're allowed, but regardless, I'm not aware of them having been illegal.
Is that even allowed? I don't know the specific law here, but in my country (France) a shop can not legally refuse to be paid in the legal currency (in cash). It can refuse credit card or checks, though.
Only illegal to not accept cash for debts. A merchant can refuse to do business with you in cash since you're not in debt at the checkout counter (as no transaction has occured)
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