Card Surcharges Banned in Australia from Tomorrow

Australia's credit and debit card surcharging system is undergoing significant changes from tomorrow. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has implemented new rules that will prohibit businesses from adding a surcharge when customers pay with eftpos, Visa or Mastercard.

The RBA's reforms include lower domestic interchange fee caps, which will apply from 1 October 2026 and new interchange caps for foreign-issued cards from 1 April 2027. This is expected to deliver around $660 million a year in lower payment costs for businesses.

ABA CEO Simon Birmingham stated that the changes will provide pricing certainty at the checkout, as 'the price on the shelf or on the menu will be the price you pay at the checkout'. He emphasized that customers will no longer face an extra fee just for choosing to pay by card.