Card payment sucharges banned in Australia from 2026

[gfm]

But many merchants just add a surchage without advertising it clearly and then place a terminal in front of one without the ability of the customer to see the full amount. Or on a website just as you are about to pay. That is why I think it is sneaky! Or else they give they give info just as you are on a screen that is the payment screen.
Surely that is unAustralian. And maybe tourists might think so too!

I dont think we want to be like the Americans when there is a price + state tax + city tax added on when there is a purchase!

 

[Freq Flier 2013]

When the surcharges came in all the banks introduced diamond, platinum ect cards to justify higher merchant fees. Logic was they could charge higher fees and the business didn’t care as it would be passed on to the customer.
Also remember that the rate charged by the business doesn’t have to be the exact rate they are charged by the bank - terminal rental fee and ..

Additional costs​

There may be some additional costs that don’t appear on these statements which businesses may include in their surcharges.

These include costs paid to providers other than their bank or payment facilitator, such as gateway fees, terminal fees, fraud prevention costs and costs of specific types of insurance. Businesses need to calculate these costs themselves.

So a direct merchant fee of 1.45% (square) can end up being 1.7% to the end user.

 

[gfm]

That is fine, just add it to the price that is advertised to the consumer. Put it on the price tag. Instead of adding at the end.

 

[gfm]

We dont want surcharges depending on the cost to the merchant (these should already be part of the price!) The price should be the price!

 

[Freq Flier 2013]

We dont want surcharges depending on the cost to the merchant (these should already be part of the price!) The price should be the price!

Then the people with cash or debit cards will be discriminated against and have to pay a higher price?

 

[Quickstatus]

So a direct merchant fee of 1.45% (square) can end up being 1.7% to the end user.

it's the cost of doing business.
We don't see business charging a fee for handling cash.

 

[Viridis]

The airlines method of surcharging is pretty fair. With the exception of Rex which requires you to visit an airport sales desk to pay, the major airlines do actually provide convenient ways of paying the advertised price without any surcharge. If someone wants credit card points on top of it, it’s only fair that they pay a surcharge.

I disagree. Perhaps, what I find most irritating is paying many thousands of dollars to, say, Qantas with a Qantas branded credit card and being charged a fee for the privilege of doing so.

I’m tempted to rock up to the airport with $12k in cash to buy my ticket and see how much they enjoy the costs of handling that.

As far as I’m concerned they’re just taking the p***

I completely agree with @Quickstatus, it’s the cost of doing business.

 

[dajop]

it's the cost of doing business.
We don't see business charging a fee for handling cash.

For a quite a number of small business’s I bet cash costs considerably less to accept than electronic forms of payment in terms of the idea that cash can result in undeclared sales.

I’ve seen at least one business imposing a 2% surcharge for electronic forms of payment whilst also offering a 5% discount for cash. I wonder why.

 

[gregff]

Great Britain and the whole EU zone have been able to ban ALL card surcharges (without the need to discriminate between credit and debit) without trouble. Australia should follow their lead.

 

[RealtimeY]

EU interchange fees are capped at 0.2% for debit cards and 0.3% for credit.
Australian caps are 0.22% and 0.88%
No caps in USA.

If they were to ban card surcharges there would probably be further downward pressure on interchange fees and therefore card benefits...

 

[Happy Dude]

This is already the law. Businesses can’t impose a card surcharge if they only accept card payments, because in effect that means they lied on the price tag. Surcharges are only permitted where customers can choose to pay in cash but don’t.

This isn't correct. For a business that does not accept cash (which is allowed), that business can impose a card surcharge. But the surcharge must be included in the displayed price (or as you correctly say, "it means they lied on the price tag").

It's interesting how often this topic is trotted out on radio.

Edit: to add link to ACCC website (confirming what card-only businesses can and must do)

Card surcharges

If a business charges a payment surcharge, it must be able to prove the costs it's based on. If there's no way to pay without a surcharge, the surcharge must be included in the displayed price.

www.accc.gov.au

 

[gregff]

EU interchange fees are capped at 0.2% for debit cards and 0.3% for credit.
Australian caps are 0.22% and 0.88%
No caps in USA.

If they were to ban card surcharges there would probably be further downward pressure on interchange fees and therefore card benefits...

Maybe that sounds like a good plan then. Ban all surchages and the fees to merchants can go down.

 

[wohoo]

If they banned interchange fees, then forums like this will die given the dearth of points earning opportunities.

 

[AIRwin]

Scoot reinstating it in SIN:

Scoot brings back credit and debit card processing fees for flights from Singapore

Payment processing fees for flights departing from Singapore will range between 1.40 and 2.26 per cent.

cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com

 

[Catweazle]

Should we fork out additional % fees on top of all transactions for other business expenses - pens, paper, printing materials, staff rates, stock shelving, furniture e.t.c ?

Personally, and this does come from my Australian cultural lens of one who doesn't do tipping, I think adding these fees for customers is silly. At the very least, the fees are way overpriced and in many cases don't cost anything like the amount charged for the transaction by the bank.

Moreover, I wouldn't notice if the price of an item went up by 1.5% anyway.

 

[JohnK]

Still thinking about it?

Ban surcharges already.

 

[albyd]

I’m biased but it’s a cost of doing business just like every other cost. Merchants just get a free kick to add it on. I’m sure there are heaps of advantages over handling cash and banking the proceeds including the security risks.

It’s wrong to demonize the cost of this business expense the way it has been. Should just be removed as an add on and go back to how it’s always been - just another thing merchants consider when setting their prices. It’s not that hard is it?

 

[SeaWolf]

The RBA has released a consultation paper for the Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging review. This paper outlines proposed changes and provides an opportunity for stakeholders to responds to the proposal.
Key changes proposed are:

• Surcharging on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa cards should be removed.
• The interchange fees paid by businesses to card providers should be reduced.
• Card networks and large acquirers should publish the fees they charge.

The first proposal is the one that will really impact customers, the others are aimed at businesses and back-end services.

 

[lovestotravel]

Domestic issuers are expected to experience a reduction in interchange revenue of around $900 million under the preferred package and $800 million under the alternate option. However, the proposed interchange settings are still above issuers’ costs. Some issuers may choose to increase cardholder fees or reduce benefits such as rewards points, particularly on credit cards, to boost their profitability in response to reductions in interchange settings. Issuer revenue may also increase if more consumers choose to use credit cards or substitute away from cash use as a result of surcharges being removed

 

[moa999]

eftpos, Mastercard and Visa cards

Is that meant to mean debit cards for the last two? Or also extends to credit cards?