RBA bans card surcharges from October 1: What this means for your business

From 1 October 2026, adding a surcharge to eftpos, Mastercard and Visa payments will be banned in Australia under the card schemes’ rules, following the RBA’s reforms. If your business surcharges today, the cost of accepting cards moves onto your side of the ledger — and the time to plan for that is now, not when your first October statement lands.

The 30-second version

• The RBA's final ruling ends surcharging on debit, prepaid and credit cards across the eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks from 1 October 2026 [1].
• Customers will see one price at checkout. Merchants absorb card acceptance costs — an estimated $1.6 billion a year that consumers currently pay through surcharges [2].
• At the same time, the RBA is cutting the wholesale (interchange) cap on domestic credit transactions from 0.8% to 0.3% — a change designed to lower providers' costs, though what reaches your bottom line depends entirely on your pricing model [1].
• American Express isn't bound by the RBA's ban but has voluntarily agreed to end its card surcharging from 1 October 2026 too, so in practice it's covered. Mobile wallets and BNPL are not covered by the ban.

Why the RBA pulled the trigger

Surcharging was originally allowed so businesses could steer customers toward cheaper payment methods. The RBA's review concluded that logic no longer holds: with cash usage collapsing and cards dominating, surcharges stopped steering anyone and simply became a line item consumers paid without choice [1]. The Treasurer framed the ban as cost-of-living relief at the checkout [2].

For merchants, though, the cost of card acceptance doesn't vanish on 1 October — it changes address. If you surcharge today, that revenue offset disappears and the merchant service fee becomes yours to carry or to build into shelf prices.

Who feels this most

Three groups, in order of urgency:

1. "Zero cost" / surcharge-model merchants — if your terminal is on Shift4 (ex-SmartPay) Zero Cost or Tyro's "No Cost EFTPOS", your entire pricing model ends on 1 October. You go from a ~$0 monthly merchant fee to a real bill overnight.
2. Merchants who surcharge on standard plans — you keep your provider, but the offset is gone. Your effective cost of acceptance becomes a genuine P&L line.
3. Everyone else — no direct change on ban day, but the accompanying interchange reforms may shift what good pricing looks like, which makes this a smart moment to benchmark.

Your pre-October audit checklist

• Find your last three merchant statements. You need three numbers: monthly card turnover, card mix (debit vs credit), and total fees. Fees ÷ turnover = your effective rate.
• Identify your pricing model. Flat rate, interchange-linked ("cost plus"), or surcharge-funded. It's on your statement or your original agreement.
• Check your signage and terminal config. Surcharge prompts on terminals and "card fee applies" signs need to be gone by 30 September.
• Model your post-October cost. Especially if you're on a surcharge model — don't wait for the first statement to find out.
• Benchmark before you renegotiate. Comparing card processing costs (rate + rental + fees), not headline rates, is the only comparison that matters.

What this means for you

If you never surcharge and you're on a standard plan, 1 October changes little immediately — but it's still the best excuse in a decade to check whether your rate is competitive. If you surcharge, and especially if you're on a zero-cost model, you have a hard deadline: model your new cost, compare the market, and leave time for a switch (terminal delivery and setup can take weeks).

Run your numbers: Compayr's comparison engine ranks providers by card processing costs at your actual turnover and card mix — not headline rates. Compare now →

Rates and provider details referenced across the Compayr Knowledge Centre are indicative, last verified July 2026 — always confirm directly with the provider.