Card payment sucharges banned in Australia from 2026

[Be.au]

Don't forget most businesses didn't apply a surcharge prior to covid, but those costs still existed prior to surcharging becoming rampant. Businesses had already built those costs into their prices.

So when they added a surcharge, they should have reduced the price for cash payers. I doubt any did.

Most were just pocketing the surcharge as extra profit.

Prices also went up though - we saw more blended rates or single rates, and we saw smarter terminals that could apply the appropriate surcharge.

Prior to the blended rate, a debit Mastercard could have a different fee to a debit Visa to a credit Mastercard or a credit Visa or an eftpos SAV/CHQ transaction - making it almost impossible to apply manually.

But bring on smarter terminals or simpler processing fees, surcharging becomes much easier to pass on.

 

[transpactraveller]

I think you missed the point. Most businesses had already included these costs in their prices before they started surcharging, so when they later added a surcharge, say 2%, they should have reduced their prices by 2%, because they started charging those costs separately instead of including them in the price. But they didn't, so they are just pocketing the surcharge as increased profit.

 

[lovestotravel]

All this RBA nonsense is doing is to increase the cost of using a credit card for most of us.. Purely and simply.

If the Govt cant get it right, it should just keep its nose out of it.

Increases the cost for those using cash as well!

 

[SeaWolf]

If the Govt cant get it right, it should just keep its nose out of it.

This change to surcharging is the government getting its nose out of it. Originally there was no rules around this, so the card networks banned surcharges in their terms and conditions. Then the RBA intervened and made a regulation that the card networks couldn't do that as part of their T&Cs. Now the RBA is removing that regulation (getting their noses out of it, to use your term) and allowing the card networks to decide for themselves if they want to include conditions around surcharging or not.

The Bank's Card System Reforms | Review of Card Payments Regulation

www.rba.gov.au

To implement this, the RBA has removed its prohibition on ‘no-surcharge’ rules with effect on and from that date. When effective, these changes will allow the designated card networks to impose a ban on surcharging for credit, debit and prepaid card payments on their networks.

The networks have all decided that, now they have the choice, they'll prohibit surcharges as part of their T&Cs.

The three designated card networks, eftpos, Mastercard and Visa, have each decided to introduce ‘no-surcharge’ rules from 1 October 2026. American Express has also decided to remove surcharging from 1 October 2026. American Express is not currently subject to formal regulation by the RBA.

 

[transpactraveller]

That would help explain why surcharges are so rare around the world.

Australia must have been one of the only countries that put in extra regulation to overrule the default 'no surcharge' rules from Mastercard/Visa/Amex.