* § 518. Credit card surcharge prohibited. No seller in any sales transaction may impose a surcharge on a holder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means. Any seller who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars or a term of imprisonment up to one year, or both. * NB Effective until February 11, 2024 * § 518. 1. Credit card surcharge notice requirement. Any seller in any sales transaction imposing a surcharge on a customer who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means shall clearly and conspicuously post the total price for using a credit card in such transaction, inclusive of surcharge, provided however, any such surcharge may not exceed the amount of the surcharge charged to the business by the credit card company for such credit card use. The final sales price of any such sales transaction, inclusive of such surcharge, shall not amount to a price greater than the posted price for such sales transaction. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to prohibit merchants from offering a two-tier pricing system. For the purposes of this section, "two-tier pricing system" shall mean the tagging or posting of two different prices in which the credit card price, inclusive of any surcharge, is posted alongside the cash price.

1. 2. Any seller who violates the provisions of this section shall be liable for a civil penalty, recoverable in an action or proceeding brought in a court of competent jurisdiction not to exceed five hundred dollars for each such violation. The provisions of this subdivision may be enforced concurrently by the director or commissioner of a municipal consumer affairs office, or by the town attorney, city corporation counsel, or other lawful designee of a municipality or local government, and all moneys collected thereunder shall be retained by such municipality or local government. * NB Effective February 11, 2024