Credit card checkout fees may be coming to VT, NH stores

HADLEY, Mass. (WWLP) - You may want to read up on your credit card agreements before shopping in New Hampshire or Vermont.

That is because credit card companies could soon charge checkout fees of up to 4% for credit card purchases there.

The practice of charging the fees is outlawed in 10 states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, but it's not illegal in New Hampshire or Vermont. 

What is behind the fees? The owner of the Stop & Go Convenience Store in Hadley told 22News that he pays anywhere from a dime to 60 cents every time he swipes a customer's credit card.  He told 22News that shoppers don't like extra charges, and would rather use cash.

“Customers don't like fees. Mostly sometimes they use ATM machine and withdraw the cash and come in my store,” Syed Javed Ali said.

Retailers will have the option to charges these checkout fees, which cannot exceed what they pay to accept the card.  And they must also inform the customer by posting signs at the entrance and the registers, and by printing the fees on the receipt.