The changes explained
What is changing with card surcharging in Australia?
From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to apply surcharges to Visa, Mastercard and eftpos card payments. This follows a rule change by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). American Express has also chosen to stop surcharging on its cards from the same date.
When does the surcharge ban come into effect?
The surcharge ban takes effect from 1 October 2026. We’ll configure this change on your Zenith account ahead of that date, so no setup is required on your end beyond removing any surcharge references from your pricing, invoices and terms and conditions.
Why is the RBA removing card surcharges?
The RBA aim is to simplify pricing for consumers, improve transparency at checkout, and reduce friction in the payment experience, while encouraging more consistent and competitive pricing across the industry.
Cost and impact
Will it cost my business more to accept card payments?
The actual effect depends on your payment mix. What changes for every business is that these costs can no longer be recovered through a surcharge, so they need to be factored into your pricing.
How will this impact different industries?
The impact varies by industry. Businesses with higher margins are generally better placed to absorb the cost, while lower-margin sectors, such as property management and travel, may feel more pressure. Businesses that take recurring payments, such as schools, childcare providers and landlords, will need to weigh up cost against convenience for their customers.
Cards and customer experience
What are the benefits of continuing to accept card payments?
Card payments remain a preferred method for many Australians, valued for their convenience, familiarity, speed and rewards. Even in overseas markets where surcharging has already been removed, cards have remained an important way people pay. Continuing to accept them also helps minimise failed and late payments and supports interest-free purchases, often valued for high value or business transactions.
Should I stop offering card payments to avoid the cost?
You don’t need to. Removing cards can make it harder for customers to complete a purchase, since many people expect card payment as a secure and familiar option. There are a range of options to manage the cost of accepting cards, rather than removing card payments altogether.
What does this mean for customer experience?
Payments are becoming a more visible part of the customer experience. Businesses that offer choice, reduce friction at checkout, and keep payments fast, secure and easy to use are likely to see better conversion, satisfaction and retention as a result.
Cards and customer experience
What payment methods should businesses consider?
Alongside cards (e.g. Visa, Mastercard and American Express), many businesses are expanding into PayTo and PayID for real-time bank payments, and standard bank transfers or account-to-account payments. Offering a mix of these can let you balance cost against what your customers prefer to use.
How can businesses manage the cost of accepting cards without surcharging?
Three ways businesses can use to manage these costs:
- Recover: build the cost into your pricing, either as an adjusted base price or a consistent service fee, and review it against your actual cost of acceptance.
- Redirect: offer lower-cost methods like PayTo or PayID alongside cards. A broad payment mix can lower overall acceptance costs while still giving customers choice.
- Protect: keep cards available. They remain important to many customers and help reduce failed or late payments.
What is PayTo and how does it help my business?
PayTo is a real-time, bank-based payment method that lets you set up secure, authorised payments directly from a customer’s bank account. It can help reduce payment costs and give you an alternative to card payments.
Getting ready
What should businesses do before October 2026?
- Review your current payment costs how reliant you are on surcharging
- Assess the impact on your pricing and margins
- Look at expanding the payment options available to customers
- Make sure your checkout and payment experiences is quick and easy to use
- Considering integrated or embedded payment solutions
Will this affect software platforms and embedded payments?
Yes. For software providers and platforms, it becomes more important to offer flexible payment options within the platform, integrate payments smoothly into existing workflows, and help your customers manage cost and experience as these changes take effect.
How is Zenith Payments supporting businesses through this change?
We are working with businesses and software providers to assess the impact of these changes, help optimise payment mix across card and bank options, and integrate flexible payment solutions into existing systems. We’re also supporting merchants to prepare for the changes and ensuring their set-up with us is compliant ahead of 1 October 2026.
