Today (25 March 2026), the Reserve Bank of Australia confirmed that surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard, and Visa card payments will be banned from 1 October 2026.
From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to charge customers an additional surcharge when paying by card. This applies to eftpos, Mastercard, and Visa. (American Express is not currently included, however as a separate review is planned for mid-2026, it is expected that American Express will also be covered in due course.)
Alongside the surcharge ban, the RBA also announced a reduction in interchange fees — the fees charged between card networks on transactions — which the RBA expects will lower the overall card acceptance costs borne by businesses.
While the media has welcomed the removal of hidden surcharges, most commentators predict that businesses will simply raise the prices of their goods and services to compensate for no longer being able to surcharge. As a result, the actual financial burden on customers is not expected to decrease significantly.
Payment systems such as Square, Stripe, and PayPal, as well as most card payment terminals, currently offer automatic surcharging setups. From 1 October, the use of these automatic surcharge systems is expected to no longer be permitted. We recommend keeping a close eye on announcements from your card payment provider in the lead-up to the deadline.
Disclaimer
This material has been prepared for information purposes ONLY, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on without Tax/Accounting/Legal/Financial/Credit advice from a relevant qualified adviser.