Credit card processing and merchant services in Oklahoma
Oklahoma went from banning card surcharges to allowing them on November 1, 2025, with a 2% cap that's tighter than Visa's 3% or Mastercard's 4%.
Card surcharges
Allowed with limitsAllowed on credit cards since Nov. 1, 2025, capped at 2% or your actual processing cost, whichever is less, with posted notice.
Sales tax
4.5% state rate, plus local
Last checked
October 6, 2026
For decades Oklahoma barred sellers from adding a surcharge when a customer paid by credit or debit card. Senate Bill 677 repealed that ban, 14A O.S. 2-417, and rewrote Section 2-211 of the Consumer Credit Code, effective November 1, 2025. You can now add a credit card surcharge, but the state cap is tight: 2% of the transaction or your actual cost to process the card, whichever is less. Visa's ceiling is 3% and Mastercard's is 4%, so in Oklahoma the state number usually decides.
The notice rules are specific. In person, post the amount at the point of entry and the point of sale. Online, put it on your home page and your payment page. On the phone, say it before you charge. And if you take only credit cards, the statute says your customer hasn't chosen to pay by credit card, so the surcharge provision doesn't work for you. Debit cards stay off limits under Visa and Mastercard rules.
Here's a worked example. On a $250 sale, 2% is $5.00. If your actual processing charge on that card is $4.10, your surcharge can't go above $4.10. That's why it helps to know your real cost per card, which is exactly what interchange-plus pricing shows you.
Sales tax starts at 4.5% statewide, and cities and counties add their own rates. The Tax Commission sources a sale to where the customer receives the goods: your own location's rate at the counter, the delivery address's rate when you deliver. In most of Oklahoma City, state and city tax together come to 8.625%.
The SBA Office of Advocacy counted 395,520 small businesses in Oklahoma in its 2025 profile, 99.4% of the state's businesses. If you run one of them, a free statement review shows what you're paying now.
What Oklahoma merchants should know
Credit card surcharges are capped at 2% or your cost
Senate Bill 677 took effect November 1, 2025. It repealed 14A O.S. 2-417, the old ban on surcharges for credit and debit cards, and amended Section 2-211 to set the conditions for a credit card surcharge.
The cap: no surcharge may exceed 2% of the total transaction or the actual amount charged to the seller to process the credit card transaction, whichever is less. As of October 2026 that is the rule in force; confirm it with the linked statute before you change your pricing.
Sources: Justia, Oklahoma Statutes Section 14A-2-211 (2025); Oklahoma Legislature, Enrolled Senate Bill No. 677 (PDF); Oklahoma Legislature, Bill information for SB 677
Required notice, and no surcharge for credit-only sellers
Notice of the surcharge amount must be posted clearly and conspicuously:
- at the point of entry and the point of sale for in-person sales
- on the home page and the point-of-sale webpage for online sales
- verbally, with all required information, for sales over the phone
A customer isn't considered to have chosen a credit card if, at the time of the sale, the seller accepts only credit cards. Card-only businesses can't use the surcharge provision.
Sources: Justia, Oklahoma Statutes Section 14A-2-211 (2025); Oklahoma Legislature, Enrolled Senate Bill No. 677 (PDF)
Card network rules still apply
Visa caps a credit card surcharge at your merchant discount rate or 3%, whichever is lower, and requires written notice to your acquirer 30 days before you start. Mastercard caps it at your average effective merchant discount rate or 4%, and says it isn't currently requiring merchants to register their intent to surcharge while it revises its rules.
Neither network allows surcharges on debit or prepaid cards, so the repeal of the old state ban doesn't open the door to debit fees.
Sources: Visa, U.S. Merchant Surcharge Q and A; Mastercard, Credit card surcharge rules and fees for merchants; Mastercard, Submit merchant surcharge form
Sales tax: 4.5% state, sourced to where the customer receives the goods
Oklahoma levies sales tax at 4.5% of gross receipts, and cities and counties add their own rates, which the Tax Commission publishes in a quarterly rate and code chart. When a product is delivered to the customer at another location, the place where the customer receives it becomes the source, and you charge the rate in effect there.
Groceries are the exception. Since a 2024 law, most grocery items no longer carry the state's 4.5%, though local city and county rates still apply to them; set a grocery tax code to the local rate, not zero.
Registering for a sales or use tax permit through the Tax Commission's online portal costs $20 plus a handling fee.
Sources: Oklahoma Tax Commission, Sales and use tax; Oklahoma Tax Commission, Rates and codes for sales, use, and lodging tax, first quarter 2026 (PDF); City of Broken Arrow, State portion of grocery sales tax eliminated; Oklahoma.gov, Licenses and permits
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Common questions
Is it legal to charge a credit card surcharge in Oklahoma?
Yes, since November 1, 2025. The surcharge can't exceed 2% of the transaction or your actual cost to process the card, whichever is less. Post the amount at the entrance and the point of sale, show it on your website's home and payment pages, and say it on phone orders. Sellers that accept only credit cards can't use it.
Can I add a fee for debit cards in Oklahoma?
No, in practice. SB 677 repealed the old state ban on credit and debit surcharges, but Visa and Mastercard still don't allow surcharges on debit or prepaid cards, even when a customer runs a debit card as credit. Ask your processor to confirm your surcharge applies to credit cards only.
How does Oklahoma's 2% cap compare with Visa and Mastercard limits?
It's lower. Visa caps credit card surcharges at your merchant discount rate or 3%, and Mastercard at your average effective rate or 4%. Oklahoma caps them at 2% or your actual processing cost, whichever is less, so the state rule is usually the one that binds. Know your real cost per card before you set the percentage.
What sales tax do I charge on deliveries in Oklahoma?
The rate where the customer receives the goods. The Oklahoma Tax Commission says that when a product is delivered to the customer at another location, the place of receipt becomes the source, and you charge the rate in effect there. For sales at your counter, use your own location's rate.
What does an Oklahoma sales tax permit cost?
$20 plus a handling fee when you register through the Oklahoma Tax Commission's online portal, according to the state's licenses and permits page. Get the permit before you start making taxable sales, then set your terminals to the state rate plus your city and county rates.
Other states we serve besides Oklahoma
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- West Virginia
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Disclaimer: general information, not professional advice
This page is general educational information, not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Rules and rates vary by place and change, so confirm them with the official source and a qualified professional before you act. Full terms are in our Terms of Service.
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