No. CS/HB 959
Filed under Transportation.
Electronic Payment Processing Fees for Motor Vehicle Purchases; Authorizes holders of retail installment contracts & their agents to collect fees for processing payments made by motor vehicle retail buyers under certain circumstances.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA holder of a motor vehicle retail installment contract, or its agent, may now charge a separate fee for processing a buyer's electronic payment, by credit card, debit card, electronic funds transfer, or electronic check.
The fee cannot exceed $10, or 3 percent of the payment if that would be smaller. For a typical vehicle payment, well above $334, the $10 cap is what actually limits the charge.
The holder must always offer a way to pay without triggering the fee, including a no-cost ACH bank transfer, and cannot make electronic payment the default or expected method.
Before a buyer agrees to a fee-triggering payment method, the holder must disclose the fee amount and tell the buyer about fee-free alternatives, including cash, check, money order, or ACH transfer.
AIA holder of a motor vehicle retail installment contract, or its agent, may now charge a separate fee when a buyer pays electronically, but only if every listed condition in this new section is met.
AIThe fee cannot exceed $10, or 3 percent of the payment if that is a smaller amount, meaning for most vehicle payments, which typically exceed roughly $334, the fee is capped at a flat $10.
AIThe holder must let the buyer pay by some other method that avoids the fee and must always keep a no-fee ACH bank-transfer option available; electronic payment can never be the buyer's only option.
AIBefore a buyer agrees to pay by a method that incurs a fee, the holder must disclose the exact fee amount and tell the buyer they can instead pay by cash, check, money order, or ACH transfer.