Card fees on sales tax? Illinois just lit a fuse. We unpack who really pays, how ISOs get squeezed, and why “compliance” might mean three prices at checkout.

When lawmakers target “junk fees,” the payments engine doesn’t stop—it reroutes. We dive into Illinois’ push to exclude sales tax from the interchange base and trace how that single change ripples through card networks, processors, ISOs, ISVs, and ultimately the merchants serving customers at the counter and online. From geolocation puzzles to settlement rails, we unpack why a tidy policy headline can turn into a systems overhaul with real costs.

We mark our 100th episode hosted by James Huber and Christopher Dryden, managing partners of Global Legal Law Firm, by unpacking Illinois’ move to bar interchange on sales tax and the cascade of costs, risks, and confusion it creates across networks, processors, ISOs, and merchants. Along the way, we tackle broken surcharging myths, multi state carve outs, and a jaw dropping processor clawback story.

• Illinois ruling removing sales tax from the interchange base
• Geolocation and where online transactions “occur”
• Who bears costs when networks retool pricing and rails
• Visa and MasterCard rules versus state law limits
• Dual pricing and three price confusion at checkout
• Wisconsin’s “swipe fee” approach to surcharges on tax
• Contract clauses shifting programming liability to ISOs
• Enforcement leverage by AGs and regulators
• Data opacity, dispute windows, and clawbacks
• Practical protections for merchants and ISOs

We share concrete scenarios that expose the friction: ecommerce orders where the buyer, website registration, and settlement all live in different states; dual pricing menus that could morph into three prices to stay compliant; and Wisconsin’s “swipe fee” twist that blocks surcharges on tax and forces software to re sequence calculations. We also challenge common myths around surcharging caps, explain how network rules differ from laws, and show why bundled software vendors often limit configuration in ways that quietly shift costs back to merchants.

Beneath the policy debate sits a harder truth about liability and transparency. Contracts are moving risk downstream, pinning programming and compliance errors on ISOs while processors hold the data and the levers. We walk through a live case where a routine underpayment inquiry ballooned into a multi million dollar clawback, highlighting how short dispute windows and opaque reporting can silence smaller players. Still, the legal standard recognizes that you can’t waive claims you couldn’t discover, which makes better disclosures, audit rights, and data access non negotiable.

If you work anywhere in the payments stack—merchant, ISO, ISV, or counsel—this conversation offers practical guardrails: tighten contract language around discovery and fee transparency, cap programming indemnities to vendor specs, demand auditable location logic, and push for coordinated state rules to avoid patchwork chaos. Subscribe, share this with a colleague who handles fees or pricing, and leave a review with your take: does state by state policymaking fix the problem or just raise the bill?

Think you know surcharging rules? Visa caps, state carve outs, and web geo gotcha’s say otherwise. We break down the Illinois ruling and the hidden costs merchants will eat.

**Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice. All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.**

PEP Links:
https://www.globallegallawfirm.com/podcasts/
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2176695

A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm

Merchants are told they have “choices.” But do they? We unpack the Visa–Mastercard settlement, the honor all cards rule, and why surcharging still trips up pros. Listen now and tell us: does this help small businesses or not?

What happens when the rules that govern card acceptance start shifting under your feet? In this episode, we break down one of the most misunderstood and potentially far-reaching developments in payments: the evolving “Honor All Cards” framework and the broader interchange settlement proposals that could reshape how merchants accept, price, and manage card transactions.

Hosts Christopher Dryden and Jeremy Stock sit down with associate attorney Jessica Walsh to unpack the real mechanics behind the two-sided card network system, where incentives are constantly balanced between cardholders and merchants. They explore why the proposed rule changes may sound like merchant empowerment on paper, but in practice could introduce new layers of complexity, technology hurdles, and operational risks.

We unpack Visa and Mastercard’s proposed settlement, from “honor all cards” tweaks to surcharging changes, and ask whether merchants truly gain leverage or just new complexity. We share why education may be the only useful concession and where real savings could appear.

• how two-sided card networks shape incentives
• honor all cards rule history and limits
• proposed card category carve-outs and labeling
• feasibility for POS systems and staff training
• interchange reductions and tiered pricing effects
• the Amex-linked surcharge constraint and removal
• real-world compliance hurdles and fines risk
• why merchant education could drive practical gains

The conversation dives into the realities merchants face every day: distinguishing between card products, navigating interchange tiers, managing surcharging compliance, and understanding why “freedom of choice” in card acceptance often collides with business reality. Along the way, the team examines whether the proposed settlement truly delivers meaningful cost relief or functions more as strategic window dressing designed to maintain the status quo.

You’ll also hear practical insights into how data flows through the payments ecosystem, why POS systems may struggle to keep up with rule changes, and how merchant education could ultimately be the most valuable piece of the entire proposal.

If you work in merchant services, fintech, underwriting, compliance, or payments law, this episode gives you a clear lens into where network rules are headed and what it could mean for your clients, your portfolio, and the future of card acceptance.

**Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice. All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.**

PEP Links:
https://www.globallegallawfirm.com/podcasts/
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2176695

A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm

Stablecoins aren’t a side conversation anymore — they’re knocking on the front door of the payments ecosystem.

In this episode of the Payments Experts Podcast, we sit down with Adam T. Hark, managing member of Wellesley Hills Financial (https://www.wellesleyhillsfinancial.com/), for a wide-ranging, candid discussion on how stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and wallet-based payments could fundamentally reshape merchant acceptance, interchange economics, and the role of card networks.

We explore a provocative question most of the industry is quietly wrestling with: Are companies like Coinbase and Circle actually payments companies — and if so, what happens next? From Walmart-scale economics and closed-loop possibilities to the realities of consumer incentives, education gaps, and merchant readiness, this conversation cuts past headlines and into operational truth.

Adam breaks down where stablecoins realistically fit today (ACH, debit, and cash replacement), where they don’t (credit and rewards), and why JPMorgan’s tokenized deposit strategy may be the most underestimated development in modern payments. We also examine who bears responsibility for educating merchants, how ISOs and processors may be bypassed entirely in some models, and why free-market dynamics — not regulation alone — will determine winners and losers.

This episode is not about hype. It’s about what changes first, what breaks second, and what payments professionals need to understand now to stay relevant as rails, wallets, and value transfer evolve in real time.

If you work anywhere near payments strategy, merchant services, fintech infrastructure, or financial services M&A, this is a conversation you’ll want to hear.

**Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice. All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.**

PEP Links:
https://www.globallegallawfirm.com/podcasts/

A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm