Effective July 1, 2026, Florida restaurants and bars face new disclosure requirements. If you’re passing payment processing costs to your customers, it’s more important than ever to make sure your pricing strategy complies with both card brand rules and Florida law.
Want to Pass Along Your Credit Card Processing Costs? It’s More Complicated Than You Think.
Every restaurant owner understands the challenge of rising payment processing costs. Credit card acceptance has become one of the largest operating expenses for many businesses, so it’s reasonable to look for ways to recover those costs.
The problem is that simply adding a fee at checkout isn’t enough. In many cases, it can create compliance issues.
Today, restaurants must comply with two separate sets of rules:
- Card brand rules established by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.
- Florida’s new disclosure requirements under SB 606, effective July 1, 2026.
The common theme is simple:
Customers should know what they’re going to pay before they place their order. There should never be a surprise at checkout.
Florida’s New Law Focuses on Transparency
Beginning July 1, 2026, Florida’s SB 606 requires restaurants and other food service establishments to clearly disclose mandatory operational charges before a customer orders.
The law doesn’t prohibit these fees.
Instead, it requires businesses to be transparent about them.
If your customer doesn’t learn about an added charge until they receive the receipt, you may already have a compliance problem.
Visa Rules Already Required Transparency
Long before Florida enacted SB 606, Visa and the other card brands required merchants to disclose surcharges before accepting payment.
If your business adds a fee for credit card transactions, Visa rules generally require:
- The surcharge cannot exceed 3%.
- Debit and prepaid cards cannot be surcharged.
- Customers must be notified before completing the purchase.
- Required signage must be posted at the point of entry and the point of sale.
- The surcharge must appear as a separate line item on the receipt.
Florida’s new law reinforces the same principle:
No surprise fees.
Surcharging vs. Cash Discounting: They’re Not the Same
Many payment companies use these terms interchangeably. They shouldn’t.
Surcharging
A surcharge increases the purchase price because the customer chooses to pay with a credit card.
A compliant surcharge program:
- Applies only to eligible credit cards.
- Never applies to debit cards.
- Never exceeds the allowable percentage.
- Is disclosed before the purchase.
- Appears separately on the receipt.
Cash Discounting
A true cash discount works differently.
The card price is the advertised price, and customers who pay with cash receive a discount.
This means:
- The card price should appear on the menu or price display.
- The customer receives a discount for paying cash.
- The receipt reflects the discount rather than adding a fee.
If your menu displays a lower cash price but your POS increases the total only after the customer presents a card, your program is surcharge than a legitimate cash discount regardless what your pos provider labels it.
Your POS System Should Protect You, Not Put You at Risk
Many restaurant owners assume their point of sale system automatically keeps them compliant.
Unfortunately, that’s often not the case.
If your POS system:
- Applies a fee to debit cards,
- Charges more than 3% on credit card transactions,
- Raises the purchase price only after the customer reaches the register,
- Relies on employees to determine whether a card is debit or credit, or
- Doesn’t properly disclose pricing before the order is placed,
your business may be exposed to unnecessary compliance risk.
With Florida’s new disclosure requirements now in effect, it’s more important than ever to ensure your payment system is configured correctly.
A properly configured POS system should automatically:
- Recognize debit and credit cards.
- Prevent fees from being applied to debit cards.
- Enforce surcharge limits.
- Support compliant cash discount or dual pricing programs.
- Display pricing in a manner that complies with both card brand rules and Florida law.
Technology should eliminate human error, not depend on it.
Beyond Compliance: Turn Your POS Into a Growth Tool
Compliance is only one part of what a modern POS system should do.
At Ethical Pay Pro, we help restaurants improve operations while creating new opportunities to increase revenue.
Our restaurant platform includes:
- Free digital menu boards for your TVs with no monthly software fees.
- Customer phone number collection at checkout.
- Built-in SMS marketing tools so you can promote specials, events, and loyalty offers.
- Modern cloud based restaurant software designed for speed and efficiency.
- Compliance tools to help reduce payment processing risk.
Instead of paying more every month for additional software, our system includes the tools many restaurants already need.
Schedule Your Free Restaurant Compliance Review
If you’re unsure whether your restaurant’s payment program complies with Visa rules or Florida’s new disclosure requirements, now is the time to find out.
We’ll review:
- Your receipts
- Your menu pricing
- Your customer signage
- Your POS configuration
- Your cash discount, dual pricing, or surcharge program
If your current system isn’t compliant, we’ll show you a better option.
Our restaurant promotion includes:
- Free POS software
- Five station hardware package for just $2,500
- Free digital menu boards
- No monthly menu board software fees
- Integrated customer text marketing
Don’t wait until a customer complains or a compliance issue costs your business money.
