Credit card processing in Kentucky
Kentucky merchants have one simplification many states lack: the Department of Revenue says there are no local sales taxes on top of the 6% state rate. Their challenges are elsewhere, from Derby-week crowds to bourbon-trail visitors and a big logistics workforce.
The Kentucky Department of Revenue says Kentucky sales and use tax is imposed at 6% of gross receipts or purchase price, and that there are no local sales taxes.
From small-town auto shops to Louisville bourbon bars: Kentucky's business mix
Louisville mixes a major air cargo hub, healthcare and manufacturing with a restaurant and bourbon-bar scene that peaks around the Kentucky Derby. Lexington adds the university, horse farms and equine businesses, where some transactions run very large.
Distilleries and their visitor centres spread tourism across small towns, and the eastern coalfields and western farm counties rely on local retail, auto repair and service trades.
Card fees in Kentucky, legally
Kentucky has no credit card surcharge statute that we could confirm, so for distillery visitor centres in Kentucky the card networks' rulebook is what applies: surcharge credit only, stay within cost and Visa's 3% cap, notify your acquirer a month ahead and post the fee.
Surcharge law roundup · general information, not legal advice
Which pricing suits Louisville bourbon bars?
Bourbon bars and restaurants that serve many visitors with premium cards benefit from transparent interchange-plus pricing that shows what those cards cost. Equine and high-ticket sellers should talk to providers about large-ticket limits and ACH for big sales. Rural shops with debit-heavy customers often overpay on flat rates.
POS for distillery visitor centres, equine and farm businesses and more
- Louisville bourbon bars
- Tab management, age-verification prompts and tip adjustment for busy Derby weeks.
- Distillery visitor centres
- Retail and tasting-room POS with shipping-aware inventory and ticketed tours.
- Equine and farm businesses
- Invoicing with ACH and high-ticket card limits set in advance.
- Small-town auto shops
- Integrated shop software to cut keyed transactions, set up around how small-town auto shops in Kentucky sell.
City-level pages
Send one statement. Every fee named, back, usually within 4 hours.
It is free, there is nothing to sign and nothing to cancel. We read your current merchant statement line by line, name every fee on it — including the ones buried in the fee schedule — work out your true effective rate, and send the written analysis back, usually within 4 hours. Do not want to wait? Call 1-888-705-7896 and we will read your statement with you on the call in about 5 minutes.
Towns and cities we serve in Kentucky
Louisville · Lexington · Bowling Green · Owensboro · Covington · Richmond · Georgetown · Florence · Hopkinsville · Nicholasville · Elizabethtown · Henderson · Jeffersontown · Frankfort · Paducah · Independence · Radcliff · Ashland · Madisonville · Winchester · Erlanger · Murray · St. Matthews · Danville · Somerset
Commercial corridors
Louisville
Bardstown Road · Frankfort Avenue · Market Street · Fourth Street · Shelbyville Road · Baxter Avenue
Lexington
Main Street · Limestone Street · Nicholasville Road · Southland Drive · Jefferson Street
Bowling Green
Fountain Square · Scottsville Road · Campbell Lane
Asked by Kentucky merchants
Kentucky has no credit card surcharge statute that we could confirm, so for distillery visitor centres in Kentucky the card networks' rulebook is what applies: surcharge credit only, stay within cost and Visa's 3% cap, notify your acquirer a month ahead and post the fee.
The Department of Revenue says sales and use tax is 6% and there are no local sales taxes, which keeps POS tax setup simple.
Give the provider your expected peak volume at application and warn them before big events.
All of it, from Covington to Hopkinsville. For small-town auto shops: Louisville and Lexington have their own pages here. For small-town auto shops: Everything is handled by phone, email and video, and terminals arrive programmed and ready to plug in.