On a 'Zero Cost' EFTPOS plan? Prepare for an October bill shock

Around 20,000 Australian merchants run terminals where the monthly merchant fee is roughly $0 — because their customers pay it through a surcharge on every tap [3]. On 1 October 2026 that model becomes illegal. If your terminal is Shift4 (formerly SmartPay) Zero Cost or Tyro's "No Cost EFTPOS", this article is your deadline notice.

How "zero cost" actually works — and why it ends

There's no free processing. On a surcharge-funded plan, the provider sets a surcharge (typically ~1.5%+) that your customers pay on each transaction, which covers the merchant service fee. Your statement shows ~$0 because the cost is collected at the checkout, not from you.

The RBA's surcharge ban removes the collection mechanism [1]. From 1 October, that surcharge cannot be charged — so the cost of acceptance lands where it always structurally lived: on the merchant.

What your new bill looks like

Take a café turning over $30,000/month in card payments on a plan surcharging 1.5%:

• Today: merchant pays ≈ $0/month (customers contribute ~$450 via surcharges).
• From 1 October: if the merchant absorbs the same rate, that's ~$450/month, ~$5,400/year — a cost line that did not exist in September.

That's the bill shock: not a rate rise, but a cost relocation — from your customers' receipts to your P&L, overnight.

Here's the uncomfortable extra: neither Shift4 nor Tyro has published a standard post-October rate card for these merchants as at June 2026 [3]. You may not know your exact new rate until an offer letter arrives. Industry-average flat pricing sits around 1.5–1.7% plus terminal rental — an estimate, not a quote [3].

Your three options (and the order to take them)

1. Model the damage now. Turnover × your current surcharge rate = your ballpark absorbed cost. The calculator below does it in ten seconds.
2. Get your provider's post-October offer in writing. You can't judge "stay vs switch" against a mystery.
3. Compare the whole market before deciding. This is the highest-leverage moment: every provider knows 20,000 merchants are in motion, and several are running acquisition offers. A merchant who compares total monthly cost — rate + rental + fees at their actual volume — negotiates from strength. One who waits for the October statement takes what they're given.

Don't forget the price question

Absorbing ~1.5% of card turnover isn't automatically the answer — some of it may belong in your prices. Industry bodies have warned against absorbing the full cost blindly and destroying margin [2]. A modest, honest price adjustment spread across your menu or shelf beats a hidden fee that's now illegal. Model both levers: cheaper acceptance and smarter pricing.

What this means for you

You have a hard deadline and, briefly, real leverage. The merchants who come out of October ahead will be the ones who knew their number in July, forced their provider to table a real offer, and compared it against the market before signing anything. Terminal switches take weeks — leave runway.

Know your number in 10 seconds: enter your turnover and surcharge rate below, then compare every major provider at your volume. Compare now →

Estimates are indicative; provider rates last verified June 2026 — confirm directly with providers. Shift4/Tyro post-October pricing had not been published at time of writing.