Businesses across Australia can no longer add payment surcharges to transactions made using Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos cards from 1 October 2026.
The change covers relevant credit, debit and prepaid card payments. The Reserve Bank of Australia changed its regulatory standards to allow designated card networks to introduce no-surcharge rules, which eftpos, Mastercard and Visa have now implemented. American Express has also removed surcharging.
The change does not prohibit unrelated charges such as weekend or public holiday surcharges, booking fees or service fees. Businesses may incorporate card acceptance costs into their overall prices, but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says price displays and explanations must not be false or misleading.
Businesses should confirm operational details with their payment provider because terminal settings and contractual arrangements can differ. Consumers who still see a card surcharge can first raise it with the merchant or payment provider.
Sources: Reserve Bank of Australia and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Image disclosure: This is an AI-generated editorial illustration. It does not depict a specific business, bank or payment provider.
