What is changing with card surcharging in Australia?
The Reserve Bank of Australia has confirmed that from 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be permitted to apply surcharges to Visa, Mastercard and eftpos card payments.
At the same time, interchange fees, a key component of card acceptance costs, will be reduced, lowering the overall cost of accepting card payments.
When does the surcharge ban come into effect?
The removal of card surcharging will take effect from 1 October 2026. Businesses have a transition period to review pricing, payment strategies and customer experience ahead of this date.
Why is the RBA removing card surcharges?
The RBA aims to:
- Simplify pricing for consumers
- Improve transparency at checkout
- Reduce friction in payments
- Encourage more consistent and competitive payment experiences
Will it cost businesses more to accept card payments?
Card acceptance costs are expected to decrease due to lower interchange rates. However, businesses will no longer be able to directly pass these costs on to customers via surcharges.
This means businesses will need to:
- Absorb costs within their pricing strategy
- Optimise their payment mix to manage costs effectively
How will this impact different industries?
The impact will vary across industries.
- Higher-margin sectors may be better positioned to absorb costs
- Lower-margin industries (such as property management and travel) may face greater pressure
- Recurring payment sectors (like schools, childcare, rent) will need to carefully manage cost vs convenience
Will customers still prefer to pay by card?
Yes. Card payments remain the preferred method for many Australians due to:
- Convenience
- Familiarity
- Speed
- The ability to earn rewards (e.g. frequent flyer points)
With surcharges removed, it is expected that card usage may increase further across many industries.
What payment methods should businesses consider?
Businesses are likely to expand their payment mix to include:
- Card payments (Visa, Mastercard, eftpos)
- American Express card payments
- PayTo (real-time bank payments)
- PayID
- Bank transfers and account-to-account payments
Offering multiple options allows businesses to balance:
- Cost
- Customer preference
What is PayTo and how does it help businesses?
PayTo is a real-time, bank-based payment method that allows businesses to set up secure, authorised payments directly from a customer’s bank account.
It can help businesses:
- Reduce payment costs
- Improve payment certainty
- Offer an alternative to card payments
What should businesses do before October 2026?
Businesses should start preparing by:
- Reviewing current payment costs and surcharge reliance
- Assessing pricing and margin impact
- Expanding payment options available to customers
- Ensuring checkout and payment experiences are seamless
- Considering integrated or embedded payment solutions
How can businesses manage payment costs without surcharging?
Key strategies include:
- Optimising payment mix (balancing card and bank-based payments)
- Integrating payments into existing systems for efficiency
- Reviewing pricing structures where needed
Will this affect software platforms and embedded payments?
Yes. For software providers and platforms, this change increases the importance of:
- Offering flexible payment options within the platform
- Embedding payments seamlessly into workflows
- Helping end-users manage cost and customer experience
What does this mean for customer experience?
Payments will become a more visible part of the customer experience.
Businesses will need to:
- Offer choice
- Reduce friction at checkout
- Ensure payments are fast, secure and easy
Those that do this well are likely to see improved:
- Conversion
- Customer satisfaction
- Customer retention
Will card payments disappear in favour of bank payments?
No. International markets show that card payments remain dominant, even where surcharging has been removed.
Instead, businesses tend to:
- Expand payment options
- Give customers more choice
- Balance cost and convenience
How is Zenith Payments supporting businesses through this change?
Zenith Payments is working with businesses and software providers to:
- Assess the impact of the changes
- Optimise payment mix across card and bank options
- Maintain seamless customer experiences
- Integrate flexible payment solutions into existing systems
- Support merchants in preparing for the changes and ensuring compliance ahead of October 2026
