Dive Summary:

• As of this week, merchants are free to charge customers extra for paying by credit cards, though Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Macy's Inc. have indicated that they have no plans to add fees for Visa and MasterCard use.
• The new allowance resulted from a proposed lawsuit settlement reached by retailers with credit card companies and banks in July.
• California, Florida, New York and Texas have existing laws that will still limit such fees.

From the article:

"... 'We fully expect most retailers won’t surcharge credit cards with the abundance of alternatives available to consumers,' said Joe Ridout, a San Francisco-based spokesman for Consumer Action, a nonprofit group focused on consumer rights. Smaller, independent stores may be more willing to levy the fees because they pay higher charges to banks for credit card transactions and don’t have the bargaining power to negotiate lower ones, Ridout said. ..."