Q) I’ve heard it said that it’s illegal for businesses to have a credit card minimum, yet many local shops in my area (mostly mom-and-pop stores), have $10 or $20 minimums. Is that within their right?
A) As of 2010, a merchant is legally allowed to charge a minimum of no more than $10. However, the merchant must apply this rule to all the cards they accept if they do decide to have a minimum fee.
The details can be found on this legal document, page 698: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr4173enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr4173enr.pdf