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Maryland has no bespoke merchant-acquiring statute; acquiring risk practice follows the card networks' national rulebook (Honor All Cards, surcharge caps) as recently amended by the pending national interchange antitrust settlement, and the state's failed 2024 surcharge-cap bills leave Maryland merchants subject to network-set surcharge limits rather than a state-specific cost-of-acceptance cap.
Outlook
The acquiring-risk trajectory is escalating: merchants and acquirers should begin adapting card-acceptance policy to the modified Honor All Cards framework now that court approval has removed the prior uncertainty over the settlement's status.
no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief
Sources and findings (3 unique sources · R-3/R-4)
- [W8-E1] T2 Derived: Confirmed in_forcehttps://www.americanbar.org/groups/antitrust_law/resources/newsletters/in-re-payment-card-interchange-fee-merchant-discount-antitrust-litigation/ re-verified
The amended MDL settlement divides the card universe into three tiers (standard consumer, premium consumer, commercial) and permits merchants nationally, including in Maryland, to selectively decline higher-cost card categories while still honoring all cards within any accepted category.
- [W8-E2] T4 Derived: Uncertain in_forcehttps://www.getflexpoint.com/credit-card-surcharging-us-states/maryland re-verified
A Maryland-based merchant processing $75,000 in monthly credit card payments at an average 3% processing fee incurs roughly $27,000 in annual fees, illustrating the acquiring cost pressure driving Maryland merchant surcharge adoption.
- [W8-E3] T3 Derived: Probable in_forcehttps://merchantcostconsulting.com/lower-credit-card-processing-fees/maryland-surcharge-laws/ re-verified
Maryland merchant surcharge practice requires merchants to give 30 days advance notice to card networks before implementing a new surcharge and to exclude debit and prepaid cards from any surcharge, consistent with national network mandates rather than a distinct state acquiring statute.