Florida Credit Card Surcharge Statute Unconstitutional

Yesterday, the 11th Circuit struck down Florida’s criminal statute, Fla. Stat. § 501.0117, which allows businesses to give a discount for paying with cash, but not to charge a surcharge for paying with credit. The Court basically determined that since the economic effect of a cash discount or a credit surcharge was the same, Florida was not prohibiting economic conduct but speech – how the price difference was characterized – and that this speech prohibition did not survive the intermediate scrutiny and Central Hudson test applicable to commercial speech. Interesting case.

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