Merchant Knowledge Centre
Plain-English guides to the October 2026 payment reforms — and what they mean for your costs.
The 62.5% cut to wholesale card costs — and why your bill may not budge
While the surcharge ban grabs the headlines, the quieter half of the RBA's October reform is the one that decides whether card acceptance actually gets cheaper for your business: a cut to the wholesale "interchange" cap on domestic credit cards from 0.8% down to 0.3% [1]. That's a 62.5% reduction — in the cap. What lands in your bank account depends entirely on how your provider prices you. For many merchants, the honest answer is: nothing, unless you act.
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.