Card Surcharge Ban Hits Australia: Will You Save or Lose?

On October 1st, 2026, Australia will see significant changes in how businesses charge customers when they pay by card. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has announced that from this date, businesses can no longer add a surcharge to payments made on major networks such as Visa, Mastercard, or EFTPOS.

This move is expected to save consumers around $1.6 billion per year in surcharge fees, while businesses will save approximately $200 million annually due to the cap on interchange fees being reduced from 0.8% to 0.3%. However, the RBA's view is that shoppers were already paying these costs either as a surcharge or baked into prices.

Despite this, some cardholders may feel a pinch as rewards programs and airline transfers are being trimmed industry-wide due to the loss of interchange revenue. This means that cards with higher fees may no longer be worthwhile, and customers should check their card terms before making any decisions.