Short answer: yes, Zero-Fee processing is legal in Florida — and has been since 2007 when the state repealed its old anti-surcharge statute. But the way you implement it matters more than whether it's allowed. Mess up the disclosure and you can get fined by the state AG's office, by Visa, or both.
Here's the 2026 version of how surcharging, cash discounting, and dual pricing actually work in Florida.
Florida Statute 501.0117 — What It Says
Florida used to have one of the strictest anti-surcharge laws in the country. Florida Statute 501.0117 prohibited merchants from imposing a surcharge on a buyer who paid with a credit card.
In 2023, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Dana's Railroad Supply v. Bondi ruled the statute unconstitutional as a violation of commercial free speech — the same logic that gutted similar laws in New York and California. The Florida legislature formally repealed the surcharge prohibition shortly after.
As of 2026, Florida has no state-level prohibition on credit card surcharges. You can pass the cost through. But state silence does not equal permission to be sloppy — the card brand rules still bind you, and Florida's general consumer protection statute (FDUTPA) still punishes deceptive pricing.
Visa Rule 5.11.1 — The Real Constraint
The card brand rules are stricter than Florida law. Visa Rule 5.11.1 (updated April 2023) sets the surcharge ceiling at 3% of the transaction amount or the merchant's actual cost of acceptance, whichever is lower. Mastercard caps at 4%. American Express caps surcharging differently and Discover follows the Visa cap.
The practical maximum is 3%. Charge 4% and Visa will fine your processor, and your processor will fine you, and eventually your account will get terminated.
Other Visa requirements:
- Register the surcharge program with Visa and Mastercard at least 30 days before you start.
- Surcharge credit cards only — debit and prepaid debit are prohibited under the Durbin Amendment.
- The surcharge must be a separate line item on the receipt, not baked into the base price.
- You can't surcharge more than you do on other card brands (no charging 4% on Visa and 2% on Mastercard).
Surcharge vs Cash Discount vs Dual Pricing
These three terms get used interchangeably and they're not the same thing. Picking the wrong model is how merchants get sued.
Surcharging
The listed price is the cash price. Credit card customers pay an additional fee on top. Disclosure required at entry and at POS. Visa-registered. Capped at 3%. Debit cards cannot be surcharged.
Cash Discount
The listed price is the credit price. Cash and check customers get a discount off that price. This is the inverse framing of surcharging and the FTC has been clear: the math has to be symmetric — you can't list $100, discount $4 for cash, and claim it's a discount program if every customer is actually paying the listed price with a card.
A properly implemented cash discount doesn't need card-brand registration. That's why it's popular with restaurants.
Dual Pricing
Both prices are posted — “$10 cash / $10.30 credit”. The customer chooses. This is the most legally defensible model because every customer sees both prices before deciding. Both Florida law and the card brands treat this favorably.
Most of the modern Zero-Fee programs run as dual pricing.
Required Disclosure in Florida
Florida doesn't mandate specific signage language, but combining FDUTPA + Visa rules + the safe-harbor language from the NY/CA cases gives you a clear template. You need:
- Entry signage at the front door and at every counter visible before the customer commits to buying.
- POS-visible signage at the register or terminal.
- Receipt line itemshowing the surcharge amount and the surcharge percentage.
- For online: a disclosure on the cart and at checkout, before the customer hits pay.
Safe-harbor sign language: “We add a 3% surcharge on credit card purchases. This surcharge is not greater than our cost of acceptance. There is no surcharge for debit or cash.”
Why Merchants Get Fined
In every case I've seen, fines come from one of three things:
- Surcharging debit cards. Federal law (the Durbin Amendment) bans this outright. Your terminal has to detect debit and skip the surcharge.
- Surcharging above 3%. The cap is the cap. Some processors set merchants at 3.5% or 4% to leave themselves margin — that's a Visa rule violation.
- Missing disclosure. No sign, no receipt line item. The Florida AG has settled multiple cases under FDUTPA for hidden credit surcharges. Disclosure is the easiest thing to get right and the most common thing merchants skip.
The 2024 Court Rulings That Matter
Two cases that shaped where we are in 2026:
- Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman (2017, SCOTUS). New York's anti-surcharge law treated as a speech restriction. Set the constitutional ceiling on these laws.
- Dana's Railroad Supply v. Bondi (11th Cir. 2023). Killed Florida's version. Cleared the path for modern Zero-Fee programs.
The card brand rules still bind you. The state can't ban surcharges, but Visa absolutely can fine you for breaking 5.11.1 — and your processor absolutely will pass that fine through.
How to Set It Up Right
A clean Florida Zero-Fee setup looks like this:
- Pick a model: dual pricing is the cleanest, cash discount is the most popular for restaurants, surcharging is fine if you register with Visa.
- Use a terminal that auto-detects debit and excludes it from the surcharge. Clover, Dejavoo, and PAX all support this.
- Register with Visa and Mastercard 30 days before launch if you're surcharging. Your processor files this for you.
- Print signage for entry, register, and drive-thru/online order page.
- Train your staff to answer the “why am I being charged extra” question calmly. Customers complain less than you'd expect when the answer is honest.
We handle steps 2-4 for every Florida merchant we onboard — terminal config, brand registration, and printed signage are included.
The Bottom Line
Zero-Fee processing is legal in Florida. The state law that used to ban it has been dead since 2023. What you have to follow are the card brand rules — 3% cap on Visa, no debit surcharging, required disclosure, brand registration.
Set up right, a $50,000/month merchant saves $18,000-$24,000 a year in processing costs. Set up wrong, you get fined.
Run the math on your own business with our savings calculator or review the pricing options.
Related: Zero-Fee vs Interchange-Plus and Tip Pooling at the POS.