CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Starting Sunday, consumers could pay more when they use plastic at their favorite stores.
Retailers can now pass on a credit card surcharge to customers. For years, retailers paid the fee themselves.
"When we swipe the card, we get charged a percentage on the dollar amount," said Christopher Wysocki owner of the Yarn House in Noda.
Wysocki and other business owners can choose to pass that processing fee onto customers, charging them anywhere from 1.5 to 4 percent of their purchase cost. The change is the result of a settlement from a lawsuit between retailers and credit card companies.
Wysocki and other local business owners expressed concern about the charge and even said it could upset customers.
"I don't think it would go over well. I don't think it would go over well at all." he said.
The National Retail Federation said surcharging is already banned by law in 10 states. North Carolina and South Carolina are not among them.
A Walmart spokesman stated, “We are not interested in surcharging customers in order to allow credit card companies to continue charging unfair fees. The proposed modification to the no-surcharging rule for Visa and MasterCard provides no benefit to customers or merchants such as Walmart.”