Card payment surcharge changes are coming

The changes follow a review by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which concluded that card surcharging is no longer working as intended and has become increasingly complex for businesses and customers.

From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to apply surcharges to card payments. This includes Visa, Mastercard, eftpos and American Express transactions.

Until these changes take effect, businesses must continue to follow the current card payment surcharging laws.

The new rules only apply to card payment surcharges.

They do not affect:

• weekend surcharges
• public holiday surcharges
• booking fees
• service fees
• other non-card-related charges.

For example, hospitality businesses can still apply weekend or public holiday surcharges where permitted.

While businesses will still pay card processing fees and other payment-related costs, the RBA is also reducing interchange fee caps. These changes are expected to help lower card payment costs, particularly for small businesses, which often pay higher fees.

If your business currently relies on card surcharges to recover payment processing costs, it's worth reviewing how the changes may affect your pricing and operating costs.

You may want to review how your business will respond to the new rules including considering alternative payment arrangements, adjusting your prices or ceasing card acceptance in some circumstances.

While the changes do not start until 1 October 2026, now is a good time to:

• review your pricing strategy
• understand how much card payments currently cost your business
• talk to your payment provider about future arrangements
• research best payment provider for your business
• review any systems that automatically apply card surcharges
• update customer pricing and payment information where required.

Taking time to prepare early can help you understand the impact on your business and avoid last-minute changes before the new rules begin.