Important update for merchants
The RBA card Surcharge changes and your pricing
What’s changing, your processing fees explained, and how to manage the cost of accepting cards. For anything not covered here, see our FAQs or get in touch with your Zenith representative.
CHANGES TAKE EFFECT
1 October 2026
What's changing?
Following reforms announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), card schemes are removing surcharging on Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and eftpos payments from 1 October 2026. American Express has also chosen to stop surcharging on its cards from the same date.
From 1 October 2026, card surcharging can no longer be added as a separate line item.
The cost of accepting cards needs to sit within your pricing instead.
Managing the cost of accepting cards
Now that the cost of accepting cards can no longer be surcharged separately, there are a few ways to manage it. Adjusting your pricing to help absorb this cost is one option, and there’s no restriction on doing this. The RBA and the card schemes expect many merchants to take this approach.
Recover
Build the cost into your pricing
Adjust your base prices for your goods or services, or introduce a service fee, provided it applies consistently regardless of how the customer chooses to pay.
It’s worth reviewing your fees against your actual cost of accepting cards. Card processing costs are generally a tax deductible business expense, which can reduce the net impact.
Redirect
Offer lower-cost payment methods
Offer lower-cost payment methods, such as PayTo or PayID, alongside cards rather than instead of them, positioned as fast, secure options customers can trust. Talk to us about these options.
A broader payment mix can lower your overall acceptance costs, gives customers more choice, and keeps reconciliation simple.
Only implement efficient and secure payment methods, as you don’t want to save some costs in one place and create additional admin costs or headaches elsewhere.
Protect
Keep cards available
Cards remain important to many customers. They help minimise failed and late payments, assist your customer with paying you even when their bank balance is low, support interest-free purchases, and are expected as a secure, easy and familiar way to pay.
Removing them can make a payment or a sale harder to complete, particularly for higher-value purchases.
Before 1 October 2026
- Remove references to card surcharging from your collateral, invoices and terms and conditions.
- Consider how card acceptance costs will be reflected in your pricing.
- Speak with your Zenith representative if you have questions.
Talk to us about a Payments Health Check
A Payments Health Check is a short conversation with your Zenith representative about your payment mix and the options available to manage the cost of accepting cards, while keeping things simple for your customers.
We have more than 20 years’ experience in assisting merchants like you with efficient, secure and easy payment methods – so we’re here to help.