The changes from 1 October 2026 will only impact surcharges related to card payments. If you have other surcharges in your business, such as weekend or public holiday surcharges, these won’t be affected. Always make sure any surcharges are clearly communicated to your customers.
Card surcharges for Visa, Mastercard and EFTPOS payments will soon be banned. Here’s what you need to know and how to prepare your business before the changes come into effect.
Paying by card is a popular and convenient way for Australians to buy goods and services from a range of businesses, online and in person. At the moment, businesses can charge a surcharge or merchant fee for payments made by card, as long as the surcharge is:
- Not more than the processing fee the business pays for that payment type.
- Clearly displayed/communicated to customers before they make a payment.
This is set to change from 1 October 2026.
Here’s your guide to what’s changing and how to prepare for these changes in business.
Changes to debit card, credit and prepaid card surcharges
In March 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced changes to the surcharge rules for prepaid, debit and credit cards from certain card networks.
As a result of these changes, your business will not be able to charge a surcharge for Visa, Mastercard or EFTPOS payments from 1 October 2026 onwards.
If you currently allow American Express or PayPal payments for your products or services, the surcharge or merchant fee won’t be impacted. Just make sure the fee you’re passing on isn’t higher than your actual processing costs for these types of payments.
Tip: These changes don’t apply to all surcharges
How to prepare for these changes
As a business owner, you will still need to pay merchant fees (for example, your bank) for the ability to accept payments by Visa, Mastercard and EFTPOS.
While you can’t pass these costs on as a surcharge or credit card fee, you do have some options. You could:
- Absorb the cost of processing card payments.
- Make sure your bank or acquirer is offering you the right level of pricing for card payments – or shop around if you think a better deal might be available.
- Raise the price of your products or services to allow for what you might lose in processing fees.
- Set a minimum transaction value and communicate this clearly to your customers. For example, you might introduce a $5 or $10 minimum spend for card payments.
- Consider moving to cash only payments.
These options all present different potential risks and opportunities – so you need to find the right balance for your business. For example, customers might decide not to make smaller purchases at all if there is a minimum transaction amount, or they might start to explore other alternatives if your products cost more than they used to. On the other hand, absorbing the cost of card payments could impact your business margins.
Whichever option you choose, communicating with your customers is important. For example, you might need extra signage at your point of sale if you introduce a minimum transaction amount. If you decide to adjust your prices, here are some tips about how to tell your customers about your price rise.
Tip: You can’t avoid the ban
Don’t be tempted to keep the card surcharge under another name such as handling fee, processing fee or admin fee. Under Australian Consumer Law, this could be considered misleading conduct, and your business could face a penalty.
Useful tools, information and resources
To keep your bottom line as healthy as possible through changing conditions, such as these changes to card payment surcharges, you might like to explore these SBDC tools and resources:
- Free financial documents and tools
- Operating expenses forecast calculator
- Cost of goods sold calculator
To learn more about how to manage rising costs in your business, read our Coping with inflation article.
