ISSUE: Should Florida ban surcharges on debit card transactions.

DISCUSSION: For many years, Florida has banned surcharges on credit card transactions, but not on debit cards. This allows a retailer to pass bank fees on debit card transactions on to the customer if necessary. In the 2010 Legislative Session, an effort was made to ban surcharges on debit card transactions. Federation members and the AIP team fought hard to defeat the ban and were ultimately successful. This mirrored an effort by retailers at the federal level to rein in excessive charges by banks. While no legislation involving debit card surcharges surfaced during the 2011 Legislative Session, the Federation needs to be vigilant and prepared to again fight any such legislation in the 2012 session.

POSITION: The Florida Retail Federation opposes any effort to statutorily mandate a ban on debit card surcharges.