Here is the while email, if anyone cares:
Thank you for contacting Visa. We value your business and appreciate your writing to clarify merchant practices.
Visa has certain regulations that all merchants which accept Visa cards must follow. Visa merchants are not permitted to:
Minimum/Maximum – Debit
Visa merchants in the U.S. are not permitted to establish minimum or maximum transaction amounts on debit card transactions, even on sale items.
Minimum/Maximum – Credit
A new U.S. law (effective July 21, 2010) has gone into effect, which now allows retailers to establish a minimum purchase amount on credit card transactions. The minimum purchase amount must not exceed $10. This minimum purchase amount does not apply to transactions made with a debit card.
Visa merchants are not permitted to establish maximum transaction amounts on credit card transactions. However, some government agencies and institutions of higher education may establish a maximum purchase requirement on a credit card transaction.
Dishonored Check
Visa merchants in the U.S. are not permitted to submit a Visa sales draft for a dishonored check.
Check Out Fees (Surcharges)
Beginning January 27, 2013, merchants in the United States and U.S. Territories will be permitted to impose a checkout fee on consumers when they use a credit card.
Historically, Visa has not permitted retailer surcharging, as we believe it penalizes consumers for using their preferred form of payment. However, allowing surcharging was a key provision required to settle long-standing litigation brought by a class of retailers in 2005.
For more information on merchant surcharges and states where surcharges are not allowed, click here Merchant Surcharging – Understanding Payment Card Changes .
A merchant may offer a discount for cash, check, and, effective July 21, 2010, debit, credit or prepaid. However, the cardholder must be made aware of this prior to entering into the transaction.
No Amount on Sales Draft
Visa merchants in the U.S. are not permitted to require a Visa cardholder to sign a sales draft that does not have a specific amount indicated.
Supplemental ID or Information
U.S. merchants may not refuse to honor a Visa card simply because the cardholder refuses a request for supplementary information or Identification.
Please notify the disputes area of the financial institution that issued your card of any merchant practices that you feel are inappropriate. Your card issuing bank has access to the appropriate Visa rules and regulations as well as to the Visa complaint forms, which should be used by your bank to document and file merchant complaints. It is not necessary for your bank to be the offending merchant's financial institution in order to file a complaint for you.
As an alternative, to report merchant practices that you feel are inappropriate, you may wish to contact the Visa Global Customer Care Services at 1-800-VISA-911 (1-800-847-2911) or go to our website at
Credit Cards and Credit Card Offers | Visa USA. When calling, please advise the representative that you were referred to file a complaint. The staff will be able to initiate a complaint form over the phone.
We hope this information proves helpful and thank you for writing.