A new law will change how New York business owners inform their credit card-using customers of surcharges. State leaders say it’s in the interest of transparency and protecting consumers, but some business owners are wary.

“We’ve got, I don’t even know. We did inventory, and it took us three days,” said Impressions of Saratoga owner Marianne Baker. “We’ve got thousands of items.”

All of which may need to be relabeled per a modified state law dictating how fees associated with using a credit card are disclosed to consumers.

“For long as I remember, even when we were doing the manual slides, there was still a percentage that came out of it,” Baker said.

It’s a cost of doing business that many businesses are trying to recover via surcharges. The state is now mandating those fees be displayed in one of three ways: a price tag showing the credit card and cash price; a tag listing the higher credit card price and cash discount; or just charging the same price for credit card and cash purchases.

“I mean, for myself, I’d have to have my computer company develop a whole new label process, and we’d have to buy all new labels,” Baker explained.

Baker has been in retail in Saratoga Springs for decades. She called this another expense business owners don’t need, and believes there is an easier way to provide transparency.

“Personally, I think having a sign that there is a surcharge,” she said. “I’ve seen people doing that.”

Baker predicts most business owners will roll the fees into one price and adapt.

“We’ve been at it for 45 years,” Baker said. “We’ve certainly seen a lot of things come and go, but here is just another one.”

The new policy takes effect Sunday across the state. For business owners who have questions, the state has rolled out an educational video and other resources online.