A 6541: Prohibits payment card networks from assessing penalties against small businesses or financial intermediaries who fail to comply with the credit card surcharge notice requirement; declares any clause of a contract, agreement, or arrangement in violation of such provision void.
What A 6541 does, verified January 6, 2026
The proposed law aims to protect small businesses and financial intermediaries from penalties imposed by payment card networks. Payment card networks are defined as entities that provide proprietary services and infrastructure for debit and credit transactions. The law prohibits payment card networks from assessing penalties against small businesses or financial intermediaries that fail to comply with the credit card surcharge notice requirement. Any clause or portion of a contract that would assess penalties against a small business or financial intermediary is automatically void. The law takes effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: enacting clause stricken (2026-01-05)Alert me
Quick answers about A 6541
- What is the current status of A 6541?
- As of January 6, 2026, A 6541 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 5, 2026, was "enacting clause stricken".
- Did A 6541 pass?
- Not yet. A 6541 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 6541, and where is it now?
- A 6541 was authored by Asm. Zohran Mamdani with 8 coauthors. It is filed under GBS, alongside 10 other New York GBS bills this session.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 05, 2026 | enacting clause stricken |
| Mar. 05, 2025 | referred to consumer affairs and protection |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 5, 2025 · 354 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6541 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 5, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MAMDANI -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting payment card networks from assessing penalties against small busi- nesses or financial intermediaries who fail to comply with the credit card surcharge notice requirement The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 511 of the general business law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision 11 to read as follows: 3 11. "Payment card network" means an entity that directly, or through 4 licensed members, processors, or agents, provides the proprietary 5 services, infrastructure, and software that route information and data 6 to conduct debit card or credit card transaction authorization, clear- 7 ance, and settlement, and that a person uses in order to accept as a 8 form of payment a brand of debit card, credit card or other device that 9 may be used to carry out debit or credit transactions. 10 § 2. Section 518 of the general business law is amended by adding a 11 new subdivision 3 to read as follows: 12 3. No payment card network or any subdivision thereof doing business 13 in the state of New York shall assess penalties against any small busi- 14 ness or any financial intermediary for violating the provisions of this 15 section. Any clause or portion of a contract, agreement, or arrangement 16 that would assess penalties against a small business or financial inter- 17 mediary in violation of this subdivision shall be automatically void. 18 For the purposes of this subdivision, "small business" shall have the 19 same meaning as defined in section one hundred thirty-one of the econom- 20 ic development law. 21 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04388-01-5
Text of A 6541 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions