the application of increased commissions to customers who want to pay with a credit card or debit card is illegal, and in two different respects.
First of all, it is expressly prohibited by art. 62 of the consumer code. And although many merchants or e-commerce sites – often small ones such as tobacconists, stationers and small family-run businesses or websites that have not invested in adequate legal support – insist on charging customers a commission, this behavior However, it represents a punishable offense. The Competition and Market Guarantor has intervened on several occasions to fine violators, and in a recent note it then specified that “sellers of retail goods and services cannot apply supplements on the price of goods or services sold against of those who use instruments such as credit or debit cards to make their payments, regardless of the issuer of the card.”
Also PSD2 (Payment Service Directive II), implemented into our system by legislative decree 15 December 2017, n. 218 intervened on the matter, underlining what was already specified in the consumer code, and extending the validity of the rule to the territory of the entire European Union. Furthermore, the application of the commission is illegal, even if it is simply charged to those who use relatively less widespread circuits (such as American Express or Diners) compared to the more “classic” Visa or MasterCard.
From a second point of view, the application of a commission to the customer then entails, for offline sales, the violation of the contract with the credit institution that provided the merchant with the POS: almost all institutions, in fact, expressly prohibit merchants from the charging of commissions to customers for the use of cards (and the related POS) and this may give rise to the application of penalties or termination of the contract for non-compliance. With a determination issued on 24 October 2023 by the director of the Agency of Excise, Customs and Monopolies, an exemption has been introduced from the obligation of retailers to accept payments with debit cards and credit cards in relation to the sale of monopoly goods, postal stamps and revenue stamps.
