Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4061 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R5341 SRA-D
2	2	By: Patterson H.B. No. 4061
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to unlawful practices relating to credit card
10	10	transactions; providing a civil penalty.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Title 12, Business & Commerce Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Chapter 604B to read as follows:
14	14	CHAPTER 604B. UNLAWFUL PRACTICES RELATING TO CREDIT CARD
15	15	TRANSACTIONS
16	16	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
17	17	Sec. 604B.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
18	18	(1) "Assessment fee" means a fee paid to the payment
19	19	card network for allowing a merchant to use a payment card or other
20	20	payment code or device in a credit card transaction.
21	21	(2) "Cardholder" means the person named on the face of
22	22	a credit card to whom or for whose benefit the credit card is
23	23	issued.
24	24	(3) "Credit card" means a card or device issued under
25	25	an agreement by which the credit card issuer gives to a cardholder
26	26	the right to obtain credit from the issuer or another person.
27	27	(4) "Credit card issuer" means a lender, including a
28	28	financial institution, or a merchant that receives applications and
29	29	issues credit cards to individuals.
30	30	(5) "Credit card transaction" means a transaction in
31	31	which a person uses a credit card or other payment code or device
32	32	issued or approved through a payment card network to use a line of
33	33	credit, whether authorization is based on a signature, personal
34	34	identification number, or other means.
35	35	(6) "Fee schedule" means any schedule, list, table,
36	36	chart, or similar document or agreement, whether or not publicly
37	37	disclosed, that sets forth or fixes the amount, or the formula for
38	38	determining the amount, of one or more fee rates.
39	39	(7) "Interchange fee" means a fee charged to a
40	40	merchant for the purpose of compensating the credit card issuer for
41	41	the issuer's involvement in a credit card transaction.
42	42	(8) "Merchant" means a person who accepts payment for
43	43	goods or services through a credit card transaction.
44	44	(9) "Payment card network" means an entity that
45	45	directly, or through a licensed member, processor, or agent,
46	46	provides the proprietary services, infrastructure, and software
47	47	that:
48	48	(A) route information and data to conduct a
49	49	credit card transaction authorization, clearance, and settlement;
50	50	and
51	51	(B) the entity uses to accept as a form of payment
52	52	a brand of credit card or other device that may be used to carry out
53	53	credit card transactions.
54	54	(10) "Swipe fee" means the interchange fee and, if
55	55	applicable, the assessment fee.
56	56	SUBCHAPTER B. CREDIT CARD ISSUERS
57	57	Sec. 604B.051. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
58	58	to a credit card issuer that, together with any affiliates, had
59	59	consolidated worldwide banking and nonbanking assets, including
60	60	affiliate assets, other than trust assets under management, of more
61	61	than $85 billion at any point during the previous calendar year.
62	62	Sec. 604B.052. PROHIBITED PRACTICES BY CREDIT CARD ISSUER.
63	63	A credit card issuer may not:
64	64	(1) fix or conspire to fix a swipe fee with, or on
65	65	behalf of, another credit card issuer or payment card network;
66	66	(2) receive or charge an interchange fee with respect
67	67	to a credit card transaction in an amount that is included on or
68	68	determined by a fee schedule that:
69	69	(A) has been fixed, established, or recommended
70	70	by a payment card network; or
71	71	(B) the credit card issuer knows, or reasonably
72	72	should know, is being used in the same calendar year by another
73	73	credit card issuer subject to this subchapter to determine the
74	74	amount of an interchange fee with respect to a credit card
75	75	transaction that issuer receives or charges;
76	76	(3) charge a cardholder or a merchant a fee due to a
77	77	disputed credit card transaction unless:
78	78	(A) a finding of fact concludes that the
79	79	cardholder or merchant is responsible for the disputed transaction;
80	80	and
81	81	(B) the cardholder or merchant is provided
82	82	written notification of the finding of fact; or
83	83	(4) prohibit or penalize a merchant that offers a
84	84	cardholder a discount for using cash, a debit card, or a gift card
85	85	instead of a credit card for payment.
86	86	Sec. 604B.053. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE OF SWIPE FEES TO
87	87	CARDHOLDERS. A credit card issuer shall disclose in a clear and
88	88	conspicuous manner on a monthly statement sent to a cardholder that
89	89	has been issued a credit card by the credit card issuer:
90	90	(1) if one or more swipe fees have been charged to the
91	91	cardholder on a credit card transaction; and
92	92	(2) the amount of the swipe fee charged to the
93	93	cardholder on a credit card transaction.
94	94	SUBCHAPTER C. PAYMENT CARD NETWORKS
95	95	Sec. 604B.101. PROHIBITED PRACTICES BY PAYMENT CARD
96	96	NETWORK. A payment card network may not:
97	97	(1) fix or conspire to fix a swipe fee with, or on
98	98	behalf of, another credit card issuer or payment card network;
99	99	(2) require a merchant to accept as payment any credit
100	100	card issued by the credit card issuer;
101	101	(3) charge a cardholder or a merchant a fee due to a
102	102	disputed credit card transaction unless:
103	103	(A) a finding of fact concludes that the
104	104	cardholder or merchant is responsible for the disputed credit card
105	105	transaction; and
106	106	(B) the cardholder or merchant is provided
107	107	written notification of the finding of fact; or
108	108	(4) prohibit or penalize a merchant that offers a
109	109	cardholder a discount for using cash, a debit card, or a gift card
110	110	instead of a credit card for payment.
111	111	Sec. 604B.102. DISCLOSURE BY PAYMENT CARD NETWORKS OF FEES
112	112	CHARGED TO MERCHANTS. A payment card network shall, not later than
113	113	the 45th day after the date of the credit card transaction, disclose
114	114	in a clear and conspicuous manner to the merchant or another person
115	115	who assists the merchant in processing credit card transactions and
116	116	who has been designated by the merchant to receive the disclosures,
117	117	the rate and total amount of each swipe fee or other fee charged on
118	118	each credit card transaction.
119	119	SUBCHAPTER D. ENFORCEMENT
120	120	Sec. 604B.151. INVESTIGATION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. If the
121	121	attorney general is made aware or independently learns of a
122	122	violation of this chapter, the attorney general may investigate the
123	123	alleged violation to the same extent and in the same manner as an
124	124	alleged antitrust violation under Chapter 15.
125	125	Sec. 604B.152. CIVIL SUITS FOR ANTICOMPETITIVE VIOLATIONS.
126	126	The attorney general may file suit in district court in Travis
127	127	County or in any county in the State of Texas in which any of the
128	128	named defendants resides, does business, or maintains its principal
129	129	office on behalf of the State of Texas to collect a civil fine from
130	130	any person whom the attorney general believes has violated any of
131	131	the prohibitions in Section 604B.052(1) or (2) or Section
132	132	604B.101(1) or (2). An individual or other person adjudged to have
133	133	violated any of these prohibitions shall pay a fine to the state in
134	134	an amount not to exceed:
135	135	(1) if an individual, $300,000; or
136	136	(2) if any other person:
137	137	(A) $3 million, if the lesser of the person's
138	138	assets or market capitalization is less than $100 million;
139	139	(B) $20 million, if the lesser of the person's
140	140	assets or market capitalization is at least $100 million but less
141	141	than $500 million; or
142	142	(C) $30 million, if the lesser of the person's
143	143	assets or market capitalization is $500 million or more.
144	144	Sec. 604B.153. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. The attorney general may
145	145	file suit against any person in district court in Travis County or
146	146	in any county in the State of Texas in which any of the named
147	147	defendants resides, does business, or maintains its principal
148	148	office on behalf of the State of Texas to enjoin temporarily or
149	149	permanently any activity or contemplated activity that violates or
150	150	threatens to violate any of the prohibitions in this chapter. In
151	151	any such suit, the court shall apply the same principles as those
152	152	generally applied by courts of equity in suits for injunctive
153	153	relief against threatened conduct that would cause injury to
154	154	business or property. In any such suit in which the state
155	155	substantially prevails on the merits, the state shall be entitled
156	156	to recover the cost of suit.
157	157	Sec. 604B.154. TRANSFER OF SUIT. No suit filed under this
158	158	subchapter may be transferred to another county except on order of
159	159	the court.
160	160	Sec. 604B.155. AUTHORITY OF ATTORNEY GENERAL NOT LIMITED.
161	161	Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to limit the
162	162	constitutional or common law authority of the attorney general to
163	163	bring actions under state and federal law.
164	164	Sec. 604B.156. MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES. Remedies
165	165	available under Sections 604B.152 and 15.20(a) are mutually
166	166	exclusive.
167	167	Sec. 604B.157. NO PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION. This chapter
168	168	does not create a private cause of action.
169	169	SECTION 2. To the extent of a conflict between Section
170	170	604B.052(3) or (4) or Section 604B.101(3) or (4), Business &
171	171	Commerce Code, as added by this Act, and a provision of a contract
172	172	entered into before the effective date of this Act, the contract
173	173	provision prevails.
174	174	SECTION 3. Notwithstanding Section 604B.053, Business &
175	175	Commerce Code, as added by this Act, a credit card issuer is not
176	176	required to comply with that section until March 1, 2026.
177	177	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.