Payment processing in Illinois.
VitaPay serves merchants in Illinois, as it does in every US state. Below is a plain guide to how a cash discount and a surcharge differ, and how Illinois treats surcharges, plus the official offices worth knowing before you take your first card payment there: the sales-tax agency and where the business is registered.
How the rules differ in Illinois.
A cash discount and a surcharge are not the same thing. With a cash discount, the posted price is the card price, and customers who pay cash get a discount from it. With a surcharge, an extra amount is added on top of the posted price when a customer pays by card. State rules and card-network rules treat the two differently.
In Illinois: We found no state law in Illinois limiting card surcharges.
Card-network rules apply in every state, alongside state law.
VitaPay's restaurant default is a true cash discount program: your posted price is the card price, and customers who pay cash get a discount. It is set up to follow card-network and state rules.
Rules change; check your state's current rules before changing how you price.
General information, not legal advice.
Sales tax and registration in Illinois.
Sales tax at the point of sale
Sales tax is configured on the terminal before you go live. In Illinois, the agency to register with is:
Illinois Department of RevenueIllinois calls its sales tax the Retailers' Occupation Tax.
Registering the business
A merchant account is opened in the name of a registered business. In Illinois, business entities are registered with:
Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business ServicesSources and date checked.
- Illinois Department of Revenue Checked September 21, 2026
- Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services Checked September 21, 2026
Priced the same way in every state.
A cash discount program for restaurants, and for larger groups a cash discount program or transparent interchange-plus, quoted in writing for your business. No long-term contract and no early termination penalty.
