Card payment sucharges banned in Australia from 2026

[VPS]

The amount or the %?

They must disclose that a surcharge will be added but, thinking about small transactions at cafes, butcher etc, I'm not often told the amount. Sometimes the amount is listed on the receipt but I'm not told that prior to receiving it. Often I get a tax receipt which has a lower amount (ie sans surcharge) than the transaction receipt (customer copy from the payment terminal) which includes the surcharge. This is a PITA when claiming expenses for work.

It's different online when everything is spelled out before I hit "pay now".

some of the local stalls in the Adelaide central market will usually say 5 or 10 cents which annoys me if it's a debit card.

I want to see the percentage before I pay

 

[Happy Dude]

some of the local stalls in the Adelaide central market will usually say 5 or 10 cents which annoys me if it's a debit card.

I want to see the percentage before I pay

I've seen plenty of that too so presumably it's also fine to charge a flat rate. But there's no way of knowing that is reasonable if they don't show the %. Surcharging is so common that it's a given - it's just the specifics that can be a surprise. But I doubt I've ever not proceeded with a purchase because of the fees.

 

[burmans]

I'm sure plenty of organisations are already breaking the law on surcharges. But has anyone heard of them being held to account? No point in a law you don't enforce.

 

[VPS]

I've seen plenty of that too so presumably it's also fine to charge a flat rate. But there's no way of knowing that is reasonable if they don't show the %. Surcharging is so common that it's a given - it's just the specifics that can be a surprise. But I doubt I've ever not proceeded with a purchase because of the fees.

Oh I have especially in the market because there are plenty that don't charge the surcharge

 

[Saab34]

I'm sure plenty of organisations are already breaking the law on surcharges. But has anyone heard of them being held to account? No point in a law you don't enforce.

Always been a weak spot.

I’ll never forget how the airlines previously exploited the ‘per passenger per sector’ rort last decade by paying with card, and it was something like $8.

 

[SeaWolf]

For the curious, the responses to the latest round of consultation on the proposed reforms have now been published on the RBA's website.
There's obviously quite a few that are just restating their position from previous consultations, but also quite a few submissions from interested individuals.

Submissions on Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging

Submissions on Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging

www.rba.gov.au

 

[burneracc]

For the curious, the responses to the latest round of consultation on the proposed reforms have now been published on the RBA's website.
There's obviously quite a few that are just restating their position from previous consultations, but also quite a few submissions from interested individuals.

Submissions on Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging

Submissions on Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging

www.rba.gov.au

Some fascinating responses. From the big players, these ones stood out to me specifically around interchange fees.

CommBank:
“We do not believe the Cost Study’s assumed net benefits to consumers and merchants will materialise. Further, we believe there will be a material and surely unintended value transfer away from Australian businesses and payments infrastructure providers to offshore service providers.”

Mastercard: Capping interchange fees “is flawed”. Not sure what else to expect as it’s their entire business model, but selfishly, I agree with them.

NAB: complaining about Apple Pay fees. I thought those were minimal? Quote that stands out: “ 30 bps makes the economics behind offering consumer credit unsustainable”

 

[Mr_Orange]

All this whinging is pure BS, since card surcharging has been banned in Europe and Great Britain for years and VISA/MC/etc continue to make money in those markets.

 

[kpc]

All this whinging is pure BS, since card surcharging has been banned in Europe and Great Britain for years and VISA/MC/etc continue to make money in those markets.

As much as I love FF points, I absolutely detest credit card surcharging even more...the quicker they ban surchaging the better!!

 

[VPS]

Seeing a few more of these signs which is really annoying because I don't carry any actual cards

 

[Mr_Orange]

Seeing a few more of these signs which is really annoying because I don't carry any actual cards

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Except that most terminals do not display the actual amount to be charged until after you have tapped. I would have though that to be illegal.