The fee appears after the decision is already made, tucked between the bill and the final click. In Philadelphia, a City Council proposal is taking aim at the extra charges that show up when residents pay utility bills, tickets, rent and other everyday expenses online. The measure is still only a proposal, but it arrives as routine payments increasingly come with their own little toll booth.
Councilmember Rue Landau, who introduced the measure, told CBS Philadelphia that consumers should not have to pay an extra charge simply to pay what they already owe. “People really think that they shouldn’t have to pay to pay,” Landau said.
What Philadelphia’s Junk-Fee Bill Would Change
The proposal is aimed at the payment moment itself, covering websites, mobile apps and automated telephone systems. Landau introduced Bill No. 260640 in June, with the measure targeting charges variously labeled convenience fees, processing fees, service fees or pay-to-pay fees.
Under the bill text, a business or city entity charging a convenience fee would have to provide at least one fee-free electronic payment option in the same portal. That option would need to be displayed with equal prominence, and the proposal calls for upfront disclosure of the fee and the total price before a consumer accepts the charge.
The proposed free option could include ACH or a bank transfer, while standard card-processing costs would not necessarily disappear if they reflect documented, direct expenses. The measure would instead target charges that materially exceed the actual cost of processing the specific payment.
Philadelphia already offers a glimpse of that split payment model: the city’s commercial trash-fee instructions say eCheck payments carry no processing charge, while credit and debit card payments come with fees. That kind of fee-free electronic alternative is the approach Landau’s proposal would make more widely available if it becomes law.
The Proposal Would Add Legal Teeth
The bill would allow the city or a consumer to request records supporting a convenience fee, including processor invoices and merchant statements. Violations would be treated as unfair trade practices, and consumers who prevail in court could seek actual damages or $500 per violation, whichever is greater, along with attorney fees and other relief.
The proposal also includes a private right of action and would not block class actions. In other words, the fight would move beyond confusing checkout screens and into the courts if businesses continued charging fees that could not be justified.
Businesses Warn Fees Could Reappear Elsewhere
Critics of junk-fee restrictions have argued that companies may simply shift the money into higher base prices or different charges. A recent CBS Philadelphia report pointed to Ticketmaster as an example, while The Guardian reported that the ticketing giant removed some fees to comply with federal rules before raising other fees at some venues.
That leaves Philadelphia with a familiar policy tug-of-war: consumers want the real price up front, while businesses argue that payment systems, card networks and other transaction costs still have to be covered. The practical question is whether transparency will produce genuinely lower costs or simply make the same costs easier to spot.
Landau’s latest proposal is part of a broader fee-focused agenda. Her earlier rental-fee push sought to cap application charges and make security deposits easier for Philadelphia renters to pay.
The Bill Is Still In Committee
As of Wednesday, Bill No. 260640 remained in the City Council’s Committee on Commerce & Economic Development, with no final action listed in the city’s legislative record. If adopted, the ordinance would take effect 90 days after becoming law.
Until then, Philadelphia consumers may want to look closely for ACH or eCheck options before accepting a payment surcharge. The small-print fee may not be gone yet, but City Council is trying to make it harder for that charge to stay hidden.
