RI H8212

Prohibits credit card issuers, payment card networks, acquirer banks, and processors from charging merchants interchange fees on the sales tax, use tax, or excise tax portion of electronic payment transactions

Requires merchants to transmit tax amount data during authorization or settlement to avoid interchange fees on the tax portion of transactions

Allows merchants who fail to transmit tax data upfront to submit tax documentation within 180 days of the transaction, with issuers required to credit back fees within 30 days of receiving documentation

Prohibits payment card networks from circumventing the law by increasing interchange fees on the non-tax portion of transactions

Violations constitute deceptive trade practices with civil penalties up to $1,000 per transaction, plus required refund of interchange fees charged on tax amounts