Card Surcharge Ban Takes Effect: What It Means for Australian Businesses

From October 1, businesses in Australia will no longer be able to add card surcharges when customers pay with debit, credit, EFTPOS, or prepaid cards. This change follows a lengthy review by the Reserve Bank of Australia and will affect all designated card networks except American Express, which is voluntarily joining the change.

The shift away from card surcharges comes as Australians increasingly use cards for payments. In 2025, debit cards made up 49% of all payments, while credit cards accounted for 23%. This trend has been driven by a decline in cash usage, with cash still making up around 15% of consumer payments.

The Reserve Bank aims to lower wholesale card payment costs for businesses by about $910 million a year by cutting interchange fees. The cap on consumer credit card interchange fees is falling from 0.80% to 0.30%, while debit and prepaid card caps are falling from 0.20% to 0.16%. However, the impact of this change will vary for businesses, with large merchants typically paying around 0.6% in payment costs.