[Change] Card payment surcharges stop from 1 Oct 2026

In Australia, “card payment surcharges stop from 1 October” means that from 1 October 2026, businesses generally cannot charge customers an extra fee simply because the customer pays by card. The change comes from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)'s reforms.

The ban covers eftpos, Visa and Mastercard, including credit, debit and prepaid cards. American Express, UnionPay and PayPal have also announced that they will remove surcharging from around the same time.

1. Does this mean businesses can no longer recover card costs?

Not exactly.

Businesses will still have to pay their banks/payment providers for accepting cards. They just cannot separately pass that cost to the customer as a card surcharge.

The RBA expects some businesses to incorporate payment costs into their normal prices.

2. Why is Australia doing this?

The RBA's stated reasons include making prices more transparent and simplifying the existing surcharge system. At the same time, the RBA is reducing certain interchange fee caps, which are fees within the card-payment system that businesses pay.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide general information only and does not constitute professional advice for specific circumstances.  It should not be relied upon as a substitute for tailored advice.