Digital Transactions: “Oklahoma’s Attorney General Says the State’s Credit Card Surcharge Ban Restricts Speech”
“Proponents of credit card surcharging have received a Christmas present in the form of an Oklahoma attorney general’s official opinion declaring the state’s no-surcharging law unconstitutionally restricts free speech. The development means surcharge bans remain in only four states.
CardX LLC, a Chicago-based tech firm specializing in credit card surcharging programs for merchant acquirers that has been a high-profile proponent of removing state bans, said in the release that it worked with Brooks ‘to identify the issue and call out how this dated statute was impeding the ability of merchants and consumers to adopt a mutually beneficial modern payments technology.’ Brooks is a member of the state Senate’s Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee.
‘This result in Oklahoma solidifies an inevitable payments-industry makeover,’ Jonathan Razi, CardX founder and chief executive, said in a statement. ‘Until today, Oklahoma was one of five states where we couldn’t serve businesses, and this decision means that 94% of the United States by population is now open to credit card surcharging.’
The other states where surcharge bans continue are Kansas, Colorado, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, according to CardX.”