Card Payment Surcharges Banned in Australia from 2026

[Buzzard]

Does anyone still write cheques?

I got one in the mail on Friday, the dividend from a stock I hold.

 

[Buzzard]

Paid a cruise balance of just over $7,000 yesterday, no CC fee. Nice win.

 

[kpc]

Local fish & chip shop....no price rise, no credit card surcharge, and no Sunday surcharge.

I will be back

 

[SeaWolf]

My internet provider TPG used to surcharge if you wanted to pay by AmEx, now it's surcharge free.

 

[SYD]

My internet provider TPG used to surcharge if you wanted to pay by AmEx, now it's surcharge free.

Oh, nice one. I must switch it over - finally!

 

[ellen10]

Many of our local cafes and eating places charge a Sunday and public holiday surcharge, very rare that any place doesn't. It has been that way for many years.
My other half always ask the servers if they get the penalty rates, if they say yes, we stay.

I was at the local Vietnamese bread shop yesterday with granddaughter, we bought a couple of things, (which included a cookie with smarties on top) $11, no CC now. I only had a $10 note in my phone case. I looked at the lady and she said you owe me $1 next time.

 

[Jacques Vert]

I went to Aldi today for the first time in a while and...no surcharge. About time; I may even shop there more often now.

I wouldn't be surprised if Aldi's sales increase and they make more profit going forward.

 

[DC3]

I got one in the mail on Friday, the dividend from a stock I hold.

Hopefully it’s not from the US. I received one last year and couldn’t find an Oz bank that would accept it. Ended up loading an image into my US Amex checking account. So, worked out okay.

 

[Duffa]

I was charged $48.96 for Amex use in a wine bar Friday - 2% surcharge still on there.
Raised a chargeback with Amex and they credited the 96 cents immediately and closed the query, stating "resolved".
Intertesting.
On the effort for 96 cents? That's not the issue for me. Credit card surcharges have been one of my biggest bugbears for the last 10 years. Especially those credit card surcharges which weren't disclosed at the time of sale and just added to my bill. Or worse, asking a staff member if they surcharge and them having no idea.
And on Saturday, Mrs D's hairdresser has asked her to pay by bank transfer instead of card. WTF??? Watch his bad debts soar!

p.s. I never surcharged my customers when I had my own business

 

[AuSammy]

I was charged $48.96 for Amex use in a wine bar Friday - 2% surcharge still on there.
Raised a chargeback with Amex and they credited the 96 cents immediately and closed the query, stating "resolved".
Intertesting.
On the effort for 96 cents? That's not the issue for me. Credit card surcharges have been one of my biggest bugbears for the last 10 years. Especially those credit card surcharges which weren't disclosed at the time of sale and just added to my bill. Or worse, asking a staff member if they surcharge and them having no idea.
And on Saturday, Mrs D's hairdresser has asked her to pay by bank transfer instead of card. WTF??? Watch his bad debts soar!

p.s. I never surcharged my customers when I had my own business

I hope you report the business.

 

[MelbFlyer]

I went to Aldi today for the first time in a while and...no surcharge. About time; I may even shop there more often. now.

I would be surprised if Aldi's sales increase and they make more profit going forward.

I'm an Aldi regular (I love looking at the Special Buys even if not intending to buy anything - I do sometimes though) and even taking into account the surcharge that used to apply, I'd say a standard shop for like for like products is around 5-10% cheaper than elsewhere.

 

[Be.au]

I suspect now that the ATO has pulled the plug that the various State Revenue Offices and local councils will follow suit in due course for much the same reason: to avoid having other taxpayers/ratepayers eat the cost of the interchange fee.

I'd say a far more likely reason why nothing's been announced by the Victorian SRO is that there's an election in two months and having the sort of asinine kerfuffle that blew up this week over the ATO and coffee prices is something the current government wishes to avoid.

In NSW at the state govt level, the fees were removed a while back - Merchant fees changes

End of financial year reports identified some NSW Government agencies may not have a legitimate authority to pass on merchant fees to customers. The Department of Customer Service is now removing fees from all affected transactions. This commenced with the removal of fees from Revenue NSW and the Rental Bond Board. Fees have been removed from most Service NSW transactions with work to address the remainder progressing.

It was raised back in July 2024 - Millions of people in NSW charged illegal merchant fees by state agencies, government says

 

[Happy Dude]

Hopefully it’s not from the US. I received one last year and couldn’t find an Oz bank that would accept it. Ended up loading an image into my US Amex checking account. So, worked out okay.

I got a cheque for about $16 from the Bank of Ohio the other day, in relation to some Amazon class action (about a year ago (?) I received a postcard thing but ignored it).

I will wait till I'm in the US to cash it somehow, and then absolutely savour a Starbucks drink (+ tip).

 

[Jacques Vert]

I'm an Aldi regular (I love looking at the Special Buys even if not intending to buy anything - I do sometimes though) and even taking into account the surcharge that used to apply, I'd say a standard shop for like for like products is around 5-10% cheaper than elsewhere.

Maybe so, but the surcharge annoyed me so I preferred to go to Colesworth. Plus they don't accept Amex; are they serious?

 

[muppet]

NewsCorp is running multi-day coverage of the surcharge ban and the inability of small business to pay the ATO by credit card as some kind of economy-destroying calamity.

Can someone explain to me why small businesses won’t exist if they can’t pay tax by credit card?

 

[Pushka]

NewsCorp is running multi-day coverage of the surcharge ban and the inability of small business to pay the ATO by credit card as some kind of economy-destroying calamity.

Can someone explain to me why small businesses won’t exist if the can’t pay tax by credit card?

Because not all businesses have reliable cash flow and if accruals accounting they have to pay GST before funds are received. For some they have to account monthly, we are a small business and do this quarterly. One is now due.

 

[muppet]

Because not all businesses have reliable cash flow and if accruals accounting they have to pay GST before funds are received. For some they have to account monthly, we are a small business and do this quarterly. One is now due.

Would the same issue exist if they adopted cash-basis accounting? Surely then they only remit to ATO after they’ve received the cash?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Surely then they only remit to ATO after they’ve received the cash?

Try payment of GST at time of import - then can be up to 6mths lead time before sales funds received - so many business experts in this thread with ZERO knowledge but it doesn’t stop them spruiking their knowledge far and wide

 

[Pushka]

Would the same issue exist if they adopted cash-basis accounting? Surely then they only remit to ATO after they’ve received the cash?

Yes. Cash can accounting do this But accruals accounting is the better way to assess how a business is doing. From Xero accounting.

Accrual accounting:

• Records income and expenses when they're earned or incurred, regardless of when cash moves.
• Gives a more accurate picture of your financial position at any point in time.
• Required for Australian businesses with a GST turnover of $10 million or more.
• Better suited to businesses that invoice clients or carry inventory.

Cash accounting:

• Records income and expenses only when cash is received or paid.
• Simpler to manage, especially for very small businesses with straightforward transactions.
• Available to Australian businesses with a GST turnover under $10 million as an option for GST reporting.
• Can give a misleading picture if you have outstanding invoices or unpaid bills.

For most growing small businesses, accrual accounting provides better visibility into your true financial health, even though it takes a bit more effort to maintain.

@Cruiser Elite has given an excellent example.

 

[Zero]

I'm an Aldi regular (I love looking at the Special Buys even if not intending to buy anything - I do sometimes though) and even taking into account the surcharge that used to apply, I'd say a standard shop for like for like products is around 5-10% cheaper than elsewhere.

Even if Aldi's base prices are slightly lower, Colesworth regularly has points offers for an effective 5%-25% off, plus you can buy a 10% off voucher for $7.

And nobody who is bothered by a 0.5% surcharge at Aldi should be paying directly at Colesworth, given that their gift cards can be regularly obtained for 4-6% off (and you still get credit card rewards when buying the gift cards).