Credit Card Fairness Act.

WORKING DRAFT
2012
STATE OF
WYOMING
12LSO-0199

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0064

Credit
C
ard
F
airness
A
ct.

Sponsored by:

Representative(s) Zwonitzer, Dv.

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to
consumer protection; establishing the
Credit Card Fairness Act
as specified; specifying the requirements for contracts between financial institutions and merchants; providing
definitions
;
specifying
applicability; providing penalties
;
and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S. 40
‑
25
‑
101 through 40
‑
25
‑
107
are created to read:

CHAPTER 25
CREDIT CARD FAIRNESS ACT

40
‑
25
‑
101.

Short title.

T
his act shall be known and may be cited as the
"
Credit Card Fairness Act
."

40
‑
25
‑
102.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this

act
:

(i)

"
Acq
uiring bank
"
means a financial institution licensed to do business in this state providing merchant accounts;

(ii)

"
Chargeback
"
means a credit card or debit card transaction that is either billed back to a merchant or deducted from a merchant
'
s account;

(iii)

"
Credit card
"
means:

(A)

A
ny instrument or device, whether known as a credit card, charge card, credit plate, courtesy card or identification card or by any other name, issued with or without a fee by an issuer for the use of the cardholder in obtaining money, goods, services, or anything else of value, either on credit or in possession or in consideration of an undertaking or guaranty by the issuer
of the payment of a check drawn by the cardholder on a promise to pay in part or in full at a future time, whether or not all or any part of the indebtedness represented by this promise to make deferred
payment is secured or unsecured;

(B)

A
ny stored value card, smart card, or other instrument or device that enables a person to obtain goods, services or anything else of value through the use of value sto
red on the instrument or device;
and

(C)

T
he number assigned to an instrument or de
vice described in subparagraph (A) or (B)
of this paragraph even if the physical instrument or device is not used or presented
.

(iv)

"
Debi
t card
"
means:

(A)

A
ny instrument or device whether known as a debit card, ATM card, electronic benefit transfer card, or any other access instrument or device, other than a check, that is signed by the holder or other authorized signatory on the deposit account that draws monies from a
deposit account in order to obtain money, goods, serv
ices
or anything else of value;
and

(B)

T
he number assigned to an instrument or de
vice described in subparagraph (A)
of this paragraph even if the physical instrument or device is not used or presented
.

(v)

"
Financial institution
"
means any bank, savings associat
ion, savings bank, credit union
or industrial loan company;

(vi)

"
Interchange fee
"
means the fee that an acquiring bank pays to an issuing bank when a cardholder uses a credit card or debit card as payment during a retail transaction;

(vii)

"
Issuing bank
"
means a financial institution which issues credit cards to cardholders;

(viii)

"
Merchant account
"
means a bank account that allows a merchant to accept credit card or d
ebit card payments;

(ix)

"
Merchant
"
means a person or entity licensed to do business in this state which offers goods or
services for sale in this state;

(x)

"
This act
"
means W.S.
40
‑
25
‑
101 through 40
‑
25
‑
107
.

40
‑
25
‑
103.

Requirements to be included in contract
; disclosure; penalty.

(a)

No credit card
company, financial institution
or card processor shall impose any
requirement, condition, penalty
or fine on a merchant relating to that merchant
'
s acceptance of credit or debit cards other than that specifically set in the actual terms of a contract with the merchant or in a copy of the rules provided to the merchant and incorporated by reference in the contract.

(b)

No credit card
company, financial institution
or card processor shall require a merchant to agree not to disclose any of the rules or rates the merchant is subject
to
.

(c)

Any credit card
company, financial institution
or card processor found to have violated this section shall reimburse all affected merc
hants for all chargebacks, fees
and fines collected from those merchants during the period of time in which the credit card
company, financial institution
or card processor was in violation and
shall
be
liable for a civil penalty of ten thousand d
ollars (
$10,000.00) per chargeback, fee
or fine levied.

(d)

Any merchant whose rights pursuant to this section have been violated may maintain a civil action for damages or equitable relief as provided for in this section.

40
‑
25
‑
104.

Provision of rules by financial institution; credit card contract requirements; penalty.

(a)

If
a contract authorizing a merchant to accept a credit card or debit card specifies that the merchant is bound by the rules of a financial institution, the contracting financial institution shall:

(i)

Give the merchant access in this state to the complete rules referenced in the contract, either individually or through an acquiring bank;

(ii)

Notify the merchant when a referenced rule has been changed or a new rule added; and

(iii)

Provide a copy of the new or modified rule.

(b)

A contract authorizing a merchant to accept a credit card shall contain:

(i)

The contracting financial institution
'
s complete schedule of interchange fees, credit card and debi
t card transaction rates
and any other fees that the financial institution charges to merchants; and

(ii)

An explanation of which rates apply to the merchant and the situations in which those rates apply.

(c)

A contract authorizing a merchant to accept a credit card or debit card shall not require a merchant to agree not to disclose the contracting financial
institution
'
s rules or rates as a condition of receiving access to the rules or rates.

(d)

If an issuing bank or credit card company fails to give a merchant access to its rules or rates as required by this section:

(i)

The merchant shall not be liable for any chargeback or fees associated with its credit card or debit card transactions from the time the contract was executed until the rules and rates are provided; and

(ii)

The issuing bank or credit card company
shall
be
liable for a civil penalty of ten thousand d
ollars ($10,000.00) per charge levied prior to providing the rules.

(e)

Any merchant whose rights under this section have been violated may maintain a civil action for damages or equitable relief as provided for in this section.

40
‑
25
‑
105.

Prohibited items for a credit card contract; penalty.

(a)

A contract authorizing a merchant to accept a credit card or debit card shall not:

(i)

Give a financial institution the right to charge a merchant or deduct from the merchant
'
s account the cost of a credit card or debit card transaction because the cost of the transaction exceeds a predetermined amount; or

(ii)

Require a merchant to limit or waive its rights under
this act
.

(b)

Any merchant whose rights under this section have been violated may maintain a civil action for damages or equitable relief as provided for in this section.

(c)

Any person who violates this section shall be
subject to a civil penalty of five thousand d
ollars ($5,000.00) per violation.

40
‑
25
‑
106.

Rates prohibited from being applied to the tax portion of a sale; penalty.

(a)

Discount rates, transac
tion charges, interchange rates
or any other charges or fees charged to merchants or
deducted from credit card or debit card sales for processing credit card or debit card transactions shall not be applied to the tax portion of any credit card or debit card sales.

(b)

Any merchant whose rights under this section have been violated may maintain a civil action for damages or equitable relief as provided for in this section.

(c)

Any person who violates this section shall be
subject to a civil penalty of five thousand d
ollars ($5,000.00) per violation.

40
‑
25
‑
107
.

Applicability.

The provisions of this act shall not be construed to impair any contract between a financial institution and a merchant which was entered prior to July 1, 2012. The provisions of this chapter shall apply only to new contracts between a financial institution and a merchant entered into on or after July 1, 2012.

Secti
on 2.
This act is effective July 1, 2012.

(END)

1
HB0064