Prohibits seller providing service or selling goods from charging surcharge to customer using debit card or gift card.*
A5110 amends New Jersey’s existing law on payment-card surcharges to expand consumer protections beyond credit cards. Under current law, sellers may impose a surcharge on credit card transactions only up to the seller’s actual processing cost, and they must provide clear notice of any surcharge. This bill adds a new prohibition making it unlawful for a seller providing goods or services to charge any surcharge to a customer who pays with a debit card or a gift card in a New Jersey transaction.
The bill also updates the statutory definitions in the consumer fraud law to define “gift card” by reference to an existing New Jersey statute and to clarify the meaning of “debit card,” including ATM cards and electronic benefit transfer cards. The amendment preserves the existing disclosure rules for credit card surcharges, while expressly requiring sellers to tell customers that surcharges cannot be applied to debit card or gift card payments. A violation remains an unlawful practice under the state Consumer Fraud Act, exposing violators to the act’s enforcement remedies.
The bill amends P.L.2023, c.146, codified at C.56:8-156.1 and C.56:8-156.2, by broadening the surcharge ban to cover debit card and gift card transactions for goods and services. It affects sellers statewide, including retailers, restaurants, and service providers, and it reinforces enforcement by treating violations as unlawful practices under New Jersey’s consumer fraud statutes. The bill also requires sellers subject to the law to maintain records available to the Division of Consumer Affairs for compliance review, as under the existing credit-card surcharge framework.
The available record shows no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge detailed sentiment. Based on the bill’s structure, the measure appears consumer-protective and consistent with the state’s existing restrictions on payment surcharges. Its sponsor list and committee-reported status suggest the bill was advanced in a routine consumer-affairs context rather than amid visible controversy.
The main policy issue is whether sellers should be allowed to pass along payment-processing costs to customers using debit cards or gift cards. Supporters would likely view the bill as preventing hidden fees and protecting consumers who use common non-credit payment methods, while opponents may argue it limits merchants’ ability to recover transaction costs and could increase prices elsewhere. Because the bill specifically excludes cash from the amended disclosure language and focuses on debit and gift cards, any contention would likely center on the scope of surcharge prohibitions and the compliance burden on merchants, restaurants, and online sellers.