The ban on credit card surcharges

Since 13 January 2018, traders in the UK have been banned from charging consumers a fee for paying by personal credit card, debit card or most other common payment methods¹. Before that date, shops, councils and other sellers could add a percentage to the bill if you chose plastic over cash, and many did. The rules changed in stages: first card schemes lost the power to stop shops surcharging, then fees were capped at the trader's own cost, and finally any fee for paying with a consumer card was banned outright².

The ban sits in regulation 6A of the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012, which states that "a payee must not charge a payer any fee in respect of payment by means of" a card-based payment instrument that is not a commercial card, a payment instrument that would not fall within the definition of a commercial card, or a payment service to which the relevant EU regulation applies². In plain terms: if you pay with your own personal card, or by a covered non-card method such as a bank transfer, the seller cannot add a charge for it.

The ban matters because card use is near universal. Credit cards were the most widely held mainstream credit product in 2024, held by 65% of all UK adults at the time or in the previous 12 months³. Every one of those payments, and every debit card payment, is covered. This page explains what the ban covers, where it stops, the card fees it does not touch, and what to do if a trader adds a surcharge anyway.

Shops cannot charge you extra for paying by card

The starting point is simple: under the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012, traders are banned from imposing surcharges on consumers for using certain payment methods¹. That ban covers the payment methods most people use every day, including personal credit cards and personal debit cards, and it applies across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland because the regulations are UK-wide.

The rule did not appear overnight. It was the third step in a sequence that stretched back more than three decades. In 1990, the government made an order stopping card schemes from imposing "no discrimination rules", which had prevented shops from charging card users more. From 7 March 1991 it was unlawful to make or carry out such an agreement, and existing agreements had to be terminated before that date⁸. That did not ban surcharges; it simply removed the schemes' power to forbid them.

The second step came on 6 April 2013, when a new rule took effect for contracts entered into from that date: "a trader must not charge consumers, in respect of the use of a given means of payment, fees that exceed the cost borne by the trader for that means"⁹. Fees were still allowed, but only up to what the trader itself paid to accept the payment. In practice many traders charged the maximum, and card fees at checkouts, on utility bills and on tax payments remained common.

The third step removed the fees altogether. Regulation 6A, which delivers the full ban, applies in relation to contracts entered into after the date on which the Payment Services Regulations 2017 were made, which put the ban's effective start at 13 January 2018¹⁰. From that point, a fee for paying with a consumer card was not capped but prohibited.

What the ban covers: credit cards, debit cards and purchases

The ban is deliberately wide in the payment methods it protects. Regulation 6A prohibits a payee from charging a payer any fee for payment by means of a card-based payment instrument that is not a commercial card, a payment instrument that would not fall within the definition of a commercial card, or a payment service to which Regulation (EU) 260/2012 applies². The first limb covers personal credit and debit cards. The second catches payment instruments that are not cards at all in the commercial-card sense. The third extends the ban to payment services such as credit transfers and direct debits, so a trader cannot charge you extra for paying by bank transfer where those rules apply.

The ban sits alongside the wider legal framework for credit cards. Credit cards are regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the Payment Services Regulations 2009 and the FCA's Consumer Credit Sourcebook¹². The surcharge ban is one consumer protection within that framework; others, such as Section 75 purchase protection, are covered later on this page.

The legislation behind the ban is the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR), described by the Payment Systems Regulator as EU legislation that "took effect on 8 June 2015 and brought major changes to the way card schemes operate, most notably by introducing a cap on certain interchange fees applicable to payment cards"¹³. Interchange fees are what a shop's bank pays the cardholder's bank on each transaction, and they are one of the core costs a trader bears to accept cards. The IFR capped consumer credit card interchange fees at 0.3% of transaction value from 9 December 2015¹², and since that date it has capped the interchange costs passed on to merchants processing card payments¹⁴.

That cost cap is what made the outright surcharge ban workable: once the fees traders paid to accept consumer cards were capped and transparent, there was no cost argument for passing a separate charge on to the customer. The surcharge ban followed within the same body of rules.

One point worth knowing is that the ban applies to the contract, not the card. Regulation 6A applies to contracts entered into after the relevant date¹⁰, so a consumer who signed a contract before the ban took effect may have been treated under the earlier cost-cap rule for that agreement.

Business cards and banks outside the EEA

The ban has two edges, and both matter in particular situations.

Business cards. Commercial cards are outside the ban. The payment methods covered by the ban are described in guidance published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and commercial cards are excluded from the range regulation 6A protects¹⁵. A business credit card is defined in the FCA's rules as a credit card promoted solely for the purposes of the customer's business⁴. The FCA's policy statement confirms that certain consumer protections in its credit card rules do not apply to a business credit card¹⁶. So if you pay with a card issued for your business, a trader may lawfully charge a fee for it.

Cross-border card payments. The interchange caps that underpin the ban no longer protect every transaction in the same way after Brexit. Consumer cross-border card payments between the UK and the EU, or any other third country, where either the acquirer or the issuer is based outside the UK's jurisdiction, are no longer subject to the interchange fee caps¹⁷. Shortly after the UK's withdrawal from the EU, Mastercard and Visa increased interchange fees for card-not-present UK-EEA transactions using consumer debit and credit cards, from 0.2% and 0.3% to 1.15% and 1.5% respectively¹⁸. The PSR notes these fees have increased five-fold since the UK left the EU¹⁹.

This affects businesses rather than consumers directly: the fees apply when people use Mastercard or Visa debit or credit cards issued in the EEA for online retail transactions with UK businesses, and the PSR estimated that in 2022 alone UK businesses paid an extra £150-200 million because of the increases²⁰. The surcharge ban still stops those businesses passing the cost on as a card fee to a consumer paying with a UK consumer card. In 2019 the European Commission accepted binding commitments by the card schemes to cap fees on cards issued outside the EEA and used at merchants in the EEA¹⁸.

Card fees the ban does not stop: cash, foreign use and balance transfers

The surcharge ban stops sellers charging you for how you pay. It does not stop your own card provider charging fees that are part of the card deal itself, and it does not stop every kind of payment charge. The FCA lists the fees a credit card can carry: annual fees, balance transfer fees, default fees, fees for cash withdrawals and foreign transaction fees²¹. None of these is a surcharge in the sense the ban addresses, because none is charged by the seller for accepting your card.

• Cash withdrawal fees. Withdrawing cash on a credit card is a provider charge, not a payment to a trader, so the ban does not cover it. The dedicated guide to cash withdrawals on a credit card explains how these work.
• Foreign transaction fees. Using a card abroad can attract a foreign transaction fee from the card provider²¹. See using a credit card abroad for how these apply.
• Balance transfer and money transfer fees. Moving debt onto or out of a card carries its own fee, set by the card issuer²¹. See balance transfer fees and money transfer fees.
• Default fees. Charges for late or missed payments are regulated separately, as late payment charges explains.

Some government payments sit in their own category. HMRC is not a trader in the ordinary sense, and after the surcharge ban the government introduced regulations allowing a fee for paying taxes by card, because card fees it paid could no longer be recovered through a surcharge. The Fees for Payment of Taxes, etc. by Card Regulations 2020 revoked and replaced the 2016 and 2017 credit card fee regulations and increased the range of cards in respect of which a fee is payable to HMRC²². Earlier regulations had removed the fee where Vehicle Excise Duty was paid using a personal, non-business credit card, on the basis that the payment services rules prohibited charging fees for the use of a credit card that was not a commercial card²³. The practical position is that paying HMRC by personal credit card carries a fee, while other public bodies vary: HMRC's child benefit overpayment repayments carry no fee if you pay by personal debit card²⁴, and voluntary repayments of student loans attract a surcharge for credit card payments²⁵. The guide to paying council tax or HMRC with a credit card covers this in detail.

Paying by card still gives you protection: Section 75 and chargeback

Paying by card does more than avoid a surcharge: it can give you a route to your money back if the purchase goes wrong, and the two main protections work differently.

Section 75 is part of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. If you paid for what turned out to be bogus goods or services by credit card, and the cost was more than £100 and less than £30,000, you are protected: the card provider is jointly liable with the seller, so you can claim from the lender directly⁵. The same guidance confirms the range and the exclusion: Section 75 does not apply to charge cards or debit cards²⁶. The thresholds work on the cash price of the item, and the guide to the £100 to £30,000 threshold explains the edge cases.

Chargeback is a scheme run by the card networks rather than a law. If you use a debit card to buy goods, or a credit card and the price of the goods is less than £100, you may be able to take advantage of the chargeback scheme⁶. MoneyHelper notes that debit cards also offer chargeback protection on all purchases, but not Section 75²⁷. Chargeback is not a legal right, and outcomes depend on the scheme rules and the evidence you supply.

One newer point: buy now pay later agreements that are regulated as deferred payment credit can also carry Section 75 protection, so you may be able to get a refund from the lender if something goes wrong with what you have bought, the same protection you would have if you used a credit card²⁸. The comparison page on Section 75 or chargeback sets out which to use when.

What to do if a shop adds a card surcharge

If a trader charges you a fee for paying with a personal credit or debit card, that fee is not enforceable against you: the regulations ban traders from imposing surcharges on consumers for using covered payment methods⁷. You have several routes, and they can be used in order.

1. Check the card. The ban covers personal credit and debit cards. If you paid with a business credit card, the trader may charge a fee, because commercial cards are excluded¹⁵.
2. Ask the seller. Ask for the fee to be removed before paying, or refunded afterwards. Point out that charging a consumer a fee for paying by personal card has been banned since January 2018².
3. Report the trader. Trading standards enforce the surcharge rules⁷. In Wales, your local trading standards service handles consumer complaints about traders; Citizens Advice handles the equivalent referrals in England, and similar services operate in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
4. Use your card protections if the purchase itself went wrong. Section 75 or chargeback can recover the whole payment, including any fee wrongly added, if the underlying transaction qualifies⁵.

A fee that appears under a different name is still a surcharge. Descriptions such as a "card handling charge", "processing fee" or a higher price for card customers all count as charging a fee in respect of payment by a covered means, and regulation 6A prohibits them regardless of the label². The one thing to watch is the distinction between a surcharge and a genuine discount: a trader may offer a discount for cash, provided the card price is the normal price and the cash price is lower, though the earlier cost-cap rule and the ban both exist to stop that difference being used to load the cost of cards onto card users⁹.

Complaints about credit cards and where to get help

The surcharge ban is enforced by trading standards, but complaints about credit cards more broadly go first to the card provider and then, if unresolved, to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Credit cards generate a substantial share of the ombudsman's workload. In 2025/26 credit cards were the third most complained about product, with around 22,800 complaints, of which 8,800 were about perceived irresponsible or unaffordable lending; the ombudsman upheld 28% of credit card complaints in that year³⁰. In the first quarter of 2025/26 there were 6,600 new credit card complaints with a 25% uphold rate³¹. In the first quarter of 2026/27 the ombudsman opened 5,783 credit card complaints, 757 debit card complaints and 62 business credit card complaints³².

The issues behind those complaints have been consistent. In 2024/25 the most complained about issues were irresponsible or unaffordable lending, administration or customer service, and complaints about Section 75³³. The ombudsman has noted that perceived unaffordable lending has driven complaints relating to credit cards, and that between October and December 2023/24 it received 5,660 complaints about credit cards, the highest ever level for a three-month period at that time³⁴.

If you need to complain about a credit card, the process is:

1. Complain to the card provider first, in writing. It has eight weeks to respond.
2. If it rejects the complaint or eight weeks pass, take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free.
3. If the complaint is about a surcharge rather than the card itself, report the trader to trading standards instead⁷.

Free, impartial help is available. MoneyHelper, the government-backed money guidance service, covers safe shopping and card protections²⁷. For problems with debt, the guides to help with credit card debt, credit card debt in Scotland and credit card debt in Northern Ireland set out the options, and nidirect offers basic guidance for Northern Ireland consumers, including that credit card holders must be 18 or older and that interest is charged on the whole amount if you do not pay off the full balance each month³⁵. The page on complaining about a credit card provider covers the complaints process in full.