In general, yes, it's legal, except where prohibited by state or local laws. States that currently prohibit processing fee deductions from tips are California, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts. According to Nolo.com, the law is not clear in two additional states: Kentucky and Montana. In the latter two states, existing laws regarding tips don’t...

You’ve probably seen wait staff carrying tablets to let customers pay tableside, or noted the sleek, low-profile systems at trendy bars. While many smaller establishments use a tablet at the counter, Olive Garden, Panera Bread, and Chili’s are among the major restaurant chains using them at tables. These tablets allow diners to view menus, order fo...

Some point of sale systems and credit card machines are now able to adjust for tips after the card is run, but others cannot. How did the process of tipping change with EMV chip cards? In some cases, EMV cards changed the way restaurants handle tips paid by credit and debit cards. Some types of EMV chip card machine did not allow adding a t...

Tips over a certain percentage of the bill can trigger flags for fraud, resulting in card issuer-initiated chargebacks, or can cause your transaction to be downgraded to a more expensive interchange category. Tip Tolerance When credit and debit cards are swiped in a restaurant, the amount authorized includes a 20% “tip tolerance.” This mean...