Credit card processing and merchant services in Rhode Island
Rhode Island stores must accept cash, and restaurants add a 1% local meals and beverage tax to the 7% sales tax. We help Rhode Island merchants set it up and pay less for cards.
Card surcharges
Surcharging allowedNo Rhode Island law limits surcharges; Visa's 3% and Mastercard's 4% caps apply, and debit cards are off limits.
Sales tax
7% state rate
Last checked
October 6, 2026
Rhode Island treats a card-only store as a deceptive trade practice. Under R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 6-13.1-30, a retail establishment can't require customers to use credit, and every retail establishment has to accept legal tender currency. The section carves out online purchases and sales made over the internet. If you've been thinking about going cashless at the counter, this is the rule that stops you, so budget for a cash drawer, change and deposits.
Restaurants have an extra tax to set up. The sales tax is 7% of gross receipts from taxable sales. Restaurants and other eating and drinking establishments also have to collect and remit a 1% local meals and beverage tax. A restaurant that also sells taxable retail goods therefore charges 8% on food and drink and 7% on those goods, and the POS needs both codes.
Rhode Island has no surcharge statute, so a credit card surcharge here only has to meet the Visa and Mastercard rules listed below. Debit cards can't carry one under either network.
We work with Rhode Island merchants remotely, on interchange-plus pricing with no cancellation fee. If you also run a location in Massachusetts or Connecticut, keep in mind that both ban surcharges. Send a statement for a free statement review and we'll walk you through the numbers.
What Rhode Island merchants should know
Credit card surcharges in Rhode Island
Rhode Island has no statute that bans or caps credit card surcharges, and NCSL's table of state surcharge laws lists none for the state. The card network rules apply:
- Visa: the cap for a Rhode Island business is its merchant discount rate or 3%, whichever is lower, and its acquirer must get written notice 30 days before surcharging starts.
- Mastercard: Rhode Island merchants are limited to their average effective merchant discount rate or 4%.
- No surcharges on debit or prepaid cards.
- Rhode Island customers have to be told about the surcharge at the point of entry and the point of sale, and it must appear on every receipt.
Sources: NCSL, Credit or debit card surcharges statutes (table last updated 2016); Visa, U.S. Merchant Surcharge Q and A (PDF); Mastercard, Merchant surcharge rules (US)
Cash acceptance in Rhode Island
Under R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 6-13.1-30, it is a deceptive trade practice for a retail establishment to discriminate against a customer by requiring the use of credit, and all retail establishments must accept legal tender currency when offered as payment. The section does not apply to online purchases or sales made over the internet.
Source: Rhode Island General Laws Sec. 6-13.1-30, Cash payment for retail purchases
Sales tax and the local meals and beverage tax
The sales tax is 7% of gross receipts from taxable sales. Eating and drinking establishments must also collect and remit a 1% local meals and beverage tax.
Source: Rhode Island Division of Taxation, Sales and use tax
Cities we cover in Rhode Island
Payment services we provide
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Common questions
Can a Rhode Island business refuse cash?
Not at a retail counter. R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 6-13.1-30 makes it a deceptive trade practice to require customers to use credit, and all retail establishments must accept legal tender currency. Online purchases are excluded.
What tax does a Rhode Island restaurant charge?
The 7% sales tax plus the 1% local meals and beverage tax that eating and drinking establishments must collect, so 8% on meals and beverages. Taxable retail goods you sell on the side take the 7% sales tax.
Can I surcharge credit cards in Rhode Island?
Yes, under card network rules, since Rhode Island has no surcharge statute. Keep the fee to credit cards, at or below your cost and within Visa's 3% and Mastercard's 4% caps, and disclose it at the entrance, at checkout and on the receipt. If you also have a store in Massachusetts or Connecticut, leave the surcharge off there: both states ban it.
Do I have to accept cash for online orders?
No. The cash law doesn't apply to online purchases or sales made over the internet. In-person sales at your retail location are covered, so keep a cash option at the counter.
Other states we serve besides Rhode Island
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, DC
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
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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