(a) Unless permitted under subdivision (c), no person accepting a negotiable instrument as payment in full or in part for goods or services sold or leased at retail shall do any of the following: (1) Require the person paying with a negotiable instrument to provide a credit card as a condition of acceptance of the negotiable instrument, or record the number of the credit card. (2) Require, as a condition of acceptance of the negotiable instrument, or cause the person paying with a negotiable instrument to sign a statement agreeing to allow his or her credit card to be charged to cover the negotiable instrument if returned as no good. (3) Record a credit card number in connection with any part of the transaction described in this subdivision. (4) Contact a credit card issuer to determine if the amount of any credit available to the person paying with a negotiable instrument will cover the amount of the negotiable instrument. (b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) âCheck guarantee cardâ means a card issued by a financial institution, evidencing an agreement under which the financial institution will not dishonor a check drawn upon itself, under the terms and conditions of the agreement. (2) âCredit cardâ has the meaning specified in Section 1747.02, and does not include a check guarantee card or a card that is both a credit card and a check guarantee card. (3) âNegotiable instrumentâ has the meaning specified in Section 3104 of the Commercial Code. (4) âRetailâ means a transaction involving the sale or lease of goods or services or both, between an individual, corporation, or other entity regularly engaged in business and a consumer, for use by the consumer and not for resale. (c) This section does not prohibit any person from doing any of the following: (1) Requiring the production of reasonable forms of positive identification, other than a credit card, which may include a driverâs license or a California state identification card, or where one of these is not available, another form of photo identification, as a condition of acceptance of a negotiable instrument. (2) Requesting, but not requiring, a purchaser to voluntarily display a credit card as an indicia of creditworthiness or financial responsibility, or as an additional identification, provided the only information concerning the credit card which is recorded is the type of credit card displayed, the issuer of the card, and the expiration date of the card. All retailers that request the display of a credit card pursuant to this paragraph shall inform the customer, by either of the following methods, that displaying the credit card is not a requirement for check writing: (A) By posting the following notice in a conspicuous location in the unobstructed view of the public within the premises where the check is being written, clearly and legibly: âCheck writing ID: credit card may be requested but not required for purchases.â (B) By training and requiring the sales clerks or retail employees requesting the credit card to inform all check writing customers that they are not required to display a credit card to write a check. (3) Requesting production of, or recording, a credit card number as a condition for cashing a negotiable instrument that is being used solely to receive cash back from the person. (4) Requesting, receiving, or recording a credit card number in lieu of requiring a deposit to secure payment in event of default, loss, damage, or other occurrence. (5) Requiring, verifying, and recording the purchaserâs name, address, and telephone number. (6) Requesting or recording a credit card number on a negotiable instrument used to make a payment on that credit card account. (d) This section does not require acceptance of a negotiable instrument whether or not a credit card is presented. (e) Any person who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed two hundred fifty doll
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