Credit card surcharge rules in Australia

In Australia, a business can no longer add a credit card surcharge, or any card payment surcharge, when a customer pays with a Visa, Mastercard, American Express or eftpos card. The ACCC says this applies from 1 October 2026 to credit, debit and prepaid cards on those networks, and that businesses can instead build card costs into their prices, as long as they don’t mislead customers about prices or the reasons for a price rise.

The rules below come only from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), with dates as each page publishes them, opened on 15 November 2026. It covers Australia only; other countries, including the United States, have their own rules. This is general information, not legal advice, so check how it applies to your business with your payment provider or an adviser.

What changed, and when

On 31 March 2026, the RBA released the conclusions of its Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging. Its media release of 31 March 2026 describes the decision as removing surcharging on debit, prepaid and credit cards on the designated eftpos, Mastercard and Visa card networks, and says most of the changes come into effect on 1 October 2026.

The mechanism matters if you want to understand who enforces it. The RBA’s surcharging FAQ (the page shows no publication date) explains that the RBA removed its prohibition on “no-surcharge” rules from 1 October 2026, and eftpos, Mastercard and Visa each introduced no-surcharge rules from that date. American Express, UnionPay and PayPal also decided to remove surcharging, although they are not formally regulated by the RBA. The FAQ summarises the announcements like this:

The RBA notes that each network’s rules, including any exceptions, are business decisions by that network and may change. The new rules generally apply to all credit, debit and prepaid cards of eftpos, Mastercard and Visa, including cards issued overseas.

The ACCC’s earlier excessive surcharge rules, which capped a surcharge at the cost of accepting that card, ended on 1 October 2026, according to the ACCC’s card surcharges page for businesses (no date is shown on the page).

Credit card surcharge rules: who sets them and who enforces them

This trips people up. The RBA says it does not directly regulate merchants. The no-surcharge rules are set by each card network, through scheme rules and merchant contracts, and the ACCC says the card networks or payment service providers enforce them, not the ACCC.

The ACCC and state and territory consumer protection agencies enforce the Australian Consumer Law, which covers how you display prices and what you say about them. So there are two sets of obligations: your card network and payment provider contracts, and the law on misleading prices.

Some specific points from the RBA’s FAQ:

• No general exemptions. Businesses, including not-for-profits, are not exempt unless a card network’s rules or a law or regulation provides one. Whether any exemption exists is a decision for each network.
• Business-to-business payments are not exempt on the same basis.
• Old invoices. If a card payment is made on or after 1 October 2026, surcharging may no longer be available even if the invoice was issued earlier.
• Non-card payment methods. The RBA does not currently regulate surcharges on non-card payment methods. It says to consult your payment provider and the ACCC’s guidance on price displays.
• Taxis remain the responsibility of state and territory regulators.

What you can still charge

The changes only apply to surcharges added because a customer pays by card. The RBA’s FAQ says they do not apply to weekend surcharges, public holiday surcharges, or booking or service fees that apply regardless of how the customer pays. The ACCC says hospitality businesses can continue to charge weekend and public holiday surcharges.

The fees your payment provider charges you, such as terminal rental or transaction fees, are fees for services and are not payment surcharges, according to the RBA.

Two ACCC rules sit over any fee you do charge:

• Show the total. Under the Australian Consumer Law, you must display the minimum total cost of a product or service as a single figure, including any fee you can calculate when the price is shown, such as a flat percentage fee.
• Don’t rename a card surcharge. The ACCC says businesses should not avoid the no-surcharge rules by calling a card payment surcharge another kind of fee, and that doing so may be engaging in misleading conduct. Its example is a takeaway shop that adds 24 cents to a $20 card payment and calls it a service fee; the ACCC says that may still be a card payment surcharge.

Raising prices without misleading anyone

The ACCC says businesses are generally free to set and change their prices, and that card costs should be reflected in overall pricing rather than charged separately. What you must not do is mislead customers about prices or about why they went up.

Its worked example is a hair salon charging $60 with a 1.0% credit card surcharge. Folding the card cost into the price would make the haircut $60.60. If the salon instead raises it to $65 because energy and labour costs have also risen, it must not tell customers the rise is because of the surcharging change.

In practice: if you raise prices, give the real reasons, or simply announce the new price without blaming the card rules.

Discounts for other payment methods

Both regulators say you can still offer a discount for paying a particular way. The ACCC gives cash or PayID as examples. Its conditions:

• disclose the discount clearly before the customer chooses to book, order or pay
• the price you display must be the full price the customer pays without the discount
• don’t display only the discounted price, or make it more prominent than the full price

A builder or clinic that takes large deposits might, for example, show the full price on the quote and note a discount for paying by bank transfer. Check the wording against the ACCC’s guidance before you use it.

The other dates in the reform

The RBA’s FAQ lists further stages that affect what you pay to accept cards:

• 1 October 2026: lower interchange fee caps apply to domestic card transactions.
• 30 October 2026: designated card networks and large acquirers begin publishing specified information about card payment fees.
• 30 January 2027: large acquirers begin publishing how interchange reductions have flowed through to merchant service fees.
• 1 April 2027: interchange caps apply to foreign-issued card transactions acquired in Australia, and all acquirers must provide more detailed merchant statements.

The RBA suggests businesses review whether they are on the right payment plan and shop around for providers. Our comparison of payment gateway fees in Australia sets out published rates side by side, and Stripe vs PayPal covers those two in more depth.

What to change in your business this week

1. Payment settings. Ask your payment provider whether surcharging has been switched off on your terminals and online checkout. The RBA says your provider is the best point of contact.
2. Templates. Remove card fee lines from invoice, quote and booking templates, your website checkout and your terms of trade.
3. Recurring billing. Check memberships, retainers and payment plans that were set up with a surcharge built in.
4. Price displays. Make sure advertised prices show the total payable as a single figure.
5. Staff. Give front-desk and accounts staff one plain sentence on why there is no card fee any more, and what to say if a customer asks about price changes.

Most of this sits in software: the CRM, invoicing tool, website and booking system. If those are connected, one change flows through. Our payments work includes setting this up so prices, invoices and receipts match. If you take payments at a front desk or on site, our Stripe vs Square comparison covers the in-person options.