Ireland plans credit card surcharge ban.

On March 14, 2007, the Irish Times (Dublin) ran a story on new laws proposed by the government that would ban surcharges on purchases based on the method of payment-credit cards, debit cards, or any other non-cash method.

A wave of consumer protest swept Ireland when an Irish cable company imposed a surcharge on customers who paid with a credit card and not a debit card.

According to the Times, "New regulations will also force traders to provide information on the full price of goods and services. This measure will require airlines and concert promoters, for example, to include all charges and fees when listing prices." Concert promoters in Ireland are notorious for including hidden charges in the price of concert tickets.

Retail industry reaction to the laws was negative. The industry maintains that it is now prohibited from passing along discounts to consumers who pay by more cost efficient methods than credit cards, namely debit cards. One of the reasons that the laws were proposed was that other retailers were termed "likely" to copy the local cable company in imposing surcharges.

The Irish lawmaker who introduced the law said consumers should not be penalized for their payment method because all payment methods generate costs for retailers.