§ 9-02 Fee for Credit Card Transactions.
(a) Definitions. As used in this section:
(1) Card issuer. "Card issuer" means an issuer of a credit card, charge card or other value transfer device.
(2) Covered agency. "Covered agency" means an agency described in subdivision (a) of Section 385 of the Charter, including all units within the Executive Office of the Mayor, and the following:
(i) Board of Standards and Appeals;
(ii) Business Integrity Commission;
(iii) Commission on Human Rights;
(iv) Conflict of Interest Board;
(v) Franchise and Concession Review Committee;
(vi) Landmarks Preservation Commission;
(vii) Public Design Commission (Art Commission);
(viii) Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, including the Environmental Control Board;
(ix) Office of Chief Medical Examiner; and
(x) Taxi and Limousine Commission.
(3) Credit card. "Credit card" means any credit card, credit plate, charge card, charge plate, courtesy card, debit card or other identification card or device issued by a person to another person which may be used to obtain a cash advance or a loan or credit, or to purchase or lease property or services on the credit of the person issuing the credit card or a person who has agreed with the issuer to pay obligations arising from the use of a credit card issued to another person.
(4) Financing agency. "Financing agency" means a person engaged, in whole or in part, in the business of purchasing retail installment contracts, obligations or credit agreements or indebtedness of buyers under credit agreements from one or more retail sellers or entering into credit agreements with retail buyers. The term includes but is not limited to a bank, trust company, private banker, industrial bank or investment company, if so engaged. "Financing agency" shall not include a retail seller.
(5) Muni-meter. "Muni-meter" means an electronic parking meter that dispenses timed receipts that must be displayed in a conspicuous place on a vehicle's dashboard.
(6) Non-covered agency. "Non-covered agency" means an agency of the City of New York that is not a covered agency.
(7) Person. "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation or any other legal or commercial entity.
(b) Credit card fee imposed by covered agencies.
(1) Except as provided in paragraphs two, three, four and five of this subdivision and in subdivision (d) of this section, as a condition of accepting a credit card as payment of a fine, civil penalty, tax, fee, rent, rate, charge or other amount, a covered agency must charge and collect from the person offering a credit card as a means of payment a nonrefundable fee in the amount of 2% of the amount of the fine, civil penalty, tax, fee, rent, rate, charge or other amount to be paid with the credit card. A covered agency must not charge any other fee for accepting a credit card as payment of any such charges in lieu of, or in addition to, the fee authorized by this section.
(2) Prior to thirteen months from final publication of this rule in the City Record, the fee provided in paragraph one of this subdivision shall not be charged or collected by any of the following covered agencies unless the agency first notifies the Commissioner of Finance in writing that charging and collecting the fee would not materially impede such agency's operations or services to the public:
(i) Business Integrity Commission;
(ii) Department of Citywide Administrative Services;
(iii) Department of Environmental Protection;
(iv) Department of Finance;
(v) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene;
(vi) Department of Investigation;
(vii) Department of Sanitation;
(viii) Department of Transportation;
(ix) Fire Department;
(x) Human Resources Administration;
(xi) Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings;
(xii) Office of the Mayor; and
(xiii) Taxi and Limousine Commission.
(3) Prior to nineteen months from final publication of this rule in the City Record, the fee provided in paragraph one of this subdivision shall not be charged or collected by any of the following covered agencies unless the agency first notifies the Commissioner of Finance in writing that charging and collecting the fee would not materially impede such agency's operations or services to the public:
(i) Department of Buildings;
(ii) Department of Consumer Affairs;
(iii) Department of Housing Preservation and Development;
(iv) Department of Parks and Recreation; and
(v) Police Department.
(4) The Commissioner of Finance may grant a waiver from charging and collecting the fee provided in paragraph one of this subdivision for up to six months beyond the thirteen and nineteen months in paragraphs (2) and (3) respectively, for agencies specified in such paragraphs, upon a determination that charging and collecting the fee earlier creates a risk of materially impeding an agency's operations or services to the public.
(5) A covered agency must charge and collect from the person offering a credit card as a means of payment a nonrefundable fee of 2% of the amount to be paid unless such covered agency notifies the Commissioner of Finance in writing that doing so negatively affects such covered agencies' operations or services to the public. If a covered agency provides such written notice it may continue to charge and collect a nonrefundable fee of 2.49%. However, all covered agencies must charge and collect the nonrefundable fee of 2% as of November 15, 2018.
(c) Credit card fee imposed by non-covered agencies. Any non-covered agency may by rule opt to be treated as a covered agency pursuant to this section, in which case the provisions of this section shall apply to such agency in their entirety. Any non-covered agency that does not opt to be treated as a covered agency will not be subject to this section and may charge a fee in accordance with section 11-105 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York.
(d) When fee must not be imposed. The fee provided by this section must not be imposed:
(1) for parking time purchased from a muni-meter or parking cards purchased to use at a muni-meter;
(2) for retail transactions for the sale of merchandise or the purchase of parking time at municipal garages;
(3) for payments made as donations, except when the donation is paid as part of an existing transaction for which a fee is charged;
(4) for re-payments of Medicaid, Cash Assistance, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for overpayments by any of these programs, for payments owed for child support, and for payments made by beneficiaries to reduce their income in order to qualify for eligibility for Medicaid;
(5) for fees paid for emergency medical ambulance services;
(6) for birth and death certificates issued by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Vital Records Bureau;
(7) for fees paid to the Department of Parks and Recreation for tennis permits, summer camps, and recreation center memberships; and
(8) where payment by credit card is the only means of payment accepted.
(9) for payment of bail, unless the chief administrator of the courts requires a party making a payment of bail to pay a reasonable administrative fee.
(e) Refund of fee. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (b) of this section, a credit card fee will be refunded when the credit card payment was:
(1) the result of certain technical errors, not caused by the customer, such as a duplication of a charge or an erroneous entry by a covered agency; or
(2) was a fraudulent payment not made by the customer where the customer notifies the agency of the fraudulent payment.
(f) A covered agency must not accept a particular credit card for payment if imposition of the fee pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section would not be consistent with the terms of any agreements of such covered agency or the City of New York with any financing agency, card issuer or other commercial entity governing the acceptance of such credit card.
(Amended City Record 9/14/2018, eff. 10/15/2018; amended City Record 10/11/2019, eff. 11/10/2019)
