New Mexico Credit Card Surcharge Law
New Mexico leaves credit card surcharging almost entirely to the card networks: no statute here bans it, caps it, or spells out how a private business like a dealership has to disclose it, so Visa's and Mastercard's ceilings carry that weight instead. The one exception sits inside city limits: Albuquerque wrote its own local ordinance requiring advance disclosure of the surcharge.
New Mexico Allows Credit Card Surcharging
No ban, no cap, no statewide disclosure rule. New Mexico never wrote one for a private merchant.
As of July 2026, New Mexico still has no statute of its own regulating credit card surcharging, with nothing pending before the Legislature. That silence hands the entire rulebook to Visa and Mastercard: their 3 percent and 4 percent ceilings are the only numbers a New Mexico dealership has to run against, since Santa Fe has never put a ban, a lower cap, or a statewide disclosure rule on the books. A service drive charging a standard surcharge is not testing some unsettled question here; the card networks have simply owned this ground the whole time.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Status | Allowed |
| State cap | None, card network caps apply |
| State disclosure law | None statewide |
| Statute in force | None |
New Mexico sits inside the 47 states that allow credit card surcharging; only Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts ban it outright, and New Mexico was never among that trio of holdouts. See the full state by state table at credit card surcharge laws by state. The one place that statewide picture picks up a local addition is Albuquerque, whose own ordinance is the subject of the next section.
The Card Networks Set the Ceiling
With no state statute on the books, Visa and Mastercard write the whole rulebook.
-
Visa: 3% Cap
Visa caps a credit card surcharge at 3 percent nationwide. New Mexico sets no lower ceiling of its own.
-
Mastercard: 4% Cap
Mastercard caps a credit card surcharge at 4 percent, its own standard running alongside Visa's.
-
Debit Never Surcharges
Debit, prepaid, and gift cards can never carry a surcharge, in New Mexico or any other state.
-
Disclosure Is Mandatory
Post notice at the door and the counter, and itemize the surcharge as its own line on the receipt.
The "Federal Cap" Myth
Some guides describe the 3 and 4 percent ceilings as if they came from a federal rule that covers every merchant in the country. No federal law caps credit card surcharges. Those numbers are Visa's and Mastercard's own network rules, not an act of Congress, and they are the only ceilings a New Mexico dealership needs to run against today.
Albuquerque Has Its Own Disclosure Ordinance
New Mexico writes no statewide rule. The city of Albuquerque wrote one anyway.
Albuquerque is the one place inside New Mexico where a local government put its own words around credit card surcharging. Article 13 of the Albuquerque Code of Ordinances, adopted in 2010, covers customer surcharges directly. It permits a merchant to add a surcharge for using a credit card, unless the card issuer or another law forbids it, so a dealership inside city limits starts from the same green light the rest of the state already has.
The ordinance adds one requirement on top of that permission, advance disclosure. Before a customer becomes obligated to pay, the ordinance calls for adequate notice of the surcharge, given orally or in writing. Adequate notice means a printed notice clearly and conspicuously placed, or spoken notice given directly, so the customer understands the surcharge before paying, not after. The ordinance reaches any business selling goods or services inside the city, a dealership included, and a violation carries the city's general municipal penalty.
As of July 2026, that advance disclosure requirement is the entire extra step Albuquerque adds. It is not a different disclosure standard, it is the same one. Visa and Mastercard already require notice before the customer pays, at the door and at the point of sale, so a dealership running a properly disclosed surcharge under the network rules is already doing what Albuquerque's ordinance asks.
What Our Program Provides
Every program we set up ships with the point of sale disclosure signage, the same notice that gives a customer advance warning of the surcharge before they pay. We track the state and the city, not your front desk.
What This Means at the Counter
One rulebook at the counter, whether the store sits inside Albuquerque or anywhere else in the state.
Inside Albuquerque or anywhere else in the state, the counter runs the same way: debit never carries a surcharge, no exceptions, no workarounds. Credit card customers pay the standard surcharge; it is disclosed at the door, disclosed again at the point of sale, and itemized as its own line on the receipt. Phone, text to pay, and online link payments carry that same required disclosure. Refunds return the surcharge automatically and in proportion: a full refund returns the full surcharge, a partial refund returns its share. We track the state, not your front desk.
Payments post straight to the repair order in CDK Drive, so the surcharge line shows up where your advisors already work. See the full mechanics on the surcharge program page, or walk through what happens at the terminal on the how it works page.
Straight Answers on New Mexico Rules
Yes, and it is not a gray area. New Mexico has no statute banning or capping a private merchant's credit card surcharge, and none is on the books today. The card networks' rules are what actually govern.
No. The 3 percent and 4 percent ceilings come from Visa and Mastercard, not from Santa Fe, and New Mexico has never added a state limit of its own on top of either network's number.
Yes. Article 13 of the Albuquerque Code of Ordinances, adopted in 2010, permits surcharging and requires advance disclosure, adequate notice given to the customer before they become obligated to pay. It reaches any business selling goods or services inside the city, a dealership included.
No. That rule belongs to the card networks, and it travels with the card type itself, whether you are at a dealership in Albuquerque or anywhere else in the state: debit, prepaid, and gift cards never carry a surcharge.
No. New Mexico sets no statewide disclosure statute of its own. The disclosure standard, notice at the door, notice at the counter, and an itemized receipt line, comes from the card networks, and inside city limits, from Albuquerque's local ordinance too. For pricing and program questions beyond state law, see the FAQ page.
Straight Answers on New Mexico
Know Where Your Dealership Stands
Book a demo: your New Mexico rules, the Albuquerque wrinkle, and how the program handles disclosure at your counter, walked through on a real repair order. 100+ franchise dealerships nationwide · 20 years in payments · Houston, TX.
Book a Demo