GREENSBORO, N.C. — Can a business charge you extra to use your credit card?
Aren't all businesses required to allow you to pay in cash?
These are two of the many questions folks are asking after a recent story about a Greensboro restaurant overcharging sales tax.
DOES A BUSINESS HAVE TO TAKE CASH?
The Federal Reserve answers this on an FAQ page.
There is no federal statute mandating that a private business person or organization must accept currency or coins as payment.
Private businesses are free to develop their one polices on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law that says otherwise.
NC does not have any kind of law about it.
IS IT LEGAL FOR A BUSINESS TO CHARGE ME FOR USING A CREDIT CARD?
It is legal for a business to charge you for using your credit card, but federal law stipulates the surcharge cannot exceed 3%, which is how much a business pays to the credit card company for running your card.
The business charging the processing fee cannot make a profit.
And yes, a business can require cash only or card only.
Again, these questions came up after a WFMY News 2 viewer caught a Greensboro restaurant overcharging the amount of sales tax.
The receipt from the Taco Bell on Battleground Avenue shows the sales tax was 23 cents when it should have been 14 cents.
2 Wants To Know got in touch with the North Carolina Department of Revenue. They got in touch with the business.
We went back to the Taco Bell location and confirmed the tax had been fixed, but who knows how long it was rung up wrong and how many people overpaid?