Resource hub · Australian merchants
The October 2026 payment reforms: a merchant's resource hub
From 1 October 2026, you can't surcharge eftpos, Mastercard, Visa or American Express payments, and the cap on domestic consumer credit-card interchange falls from 0.8% to 0.3%. These changes are driven by the RBA's review and enforced through the card schemes' operating rules. This hub explains what actually changes and points you to the authoritative sources — most of which are not ours.
Compayr is a free self-service comparison tool for merchant card transaction costs. This is a publisher resource: we link to official and industry sources so you can check the reform for yourself.
Want to know what it will cost you? The surcharge ban cost calculator estimates how much of the card fee your business will absorb once you can't pass it on from 1 October 2026.
What actually changes on 1 October
Surcharging ends
From 1 October 2026 you cannot add a surcharge to a payment on eftpos, Mastercard, Visa or American Express. This is driven by the RBA's review and enforced through the card schemes' operating rules. Buy-now-pay-later services are not covered by the ban, but most BNPL contracts already prohibit surcharging — check your agreement.
Interchange caps fall
On the same day, the cap on domestic consumer credit-card interchange falls from 0.8% to 0.3%. That is a 62.5% reduction in the cap — one wholesale input on one card type — not a 62.5% cut to your merchant fee. What reaches your bill depends on how your provider prices you.
What it means if you currently surcharge
The revenue offset you get from surcharging disappears. The cost of accepting cards moves onto your profit-and-loss. Merchants on surcharge-funded or “zero-cost” plans see the largest change, because their pricing model ends on 1 October.
What it means if you don't surcharge
Your provider's wholesale cost falls, but whether you see any of it depends on your pricing model. On interchange-linked (cost-plus) pricing the reduction flows through mechanically. On a flat rate, your percentage does not change on 1 October unless your provider chooses to reprice, or you renegotiate or switch. Where it doesn't change, the wholesale saving stays with the provider as margin.
Go to the source
The primary and regulatory sources for the reform. Each link is a specific page, with the date we last checked it.
Compayr is not affiliated with, and does not speak for, any government body or regulator. Logos identify each organisation for navigation only. Links open external websites that Compayr does not control.
What your provider is telling merchants
Each provider’s own guidance about its own service, listed alphabetically. Compayr does not endorse any of them.
What the associations are saying
These organisations are listed as resources we encourage merchants to explore. Compayr is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or partnered with any of them. Logos identify each organisation for navigation only. Membership figures are each organisation's own published claim, checked on the date shown. Links open external websites that Compayr does not control.
Our free tools
Merchant toolkit
Print-ready, one-page resources you can use or share. General information, not advice.
The reform timeline
1 October 2026
Surcharging ends + interchange caps fall
Surcharging on eftpos, Mastercard, Visa and American Express ends under the card schemes' operating rules. On the same day the cap on domestic consumer credit-card interchange falls from 0.8% to 0.3% (a 62.5% reduction in the cap — not a cut to your merchant fee).
Source: RBA Conclusions Paper (31 March 2026)
30 October 2026
Acquirer fee-disclosure obligations
Enhanced fee-disclosure obligations on acquirers begin, improving how the cost of acceptance is presented to merchants.
Source: RBA Conclusions Paper (31 March 2026)
1 April 2027
Foreign-card interchange caps + fee-transparency requirements
Caps on foreign-issued card interchange and enhanced fee-transparency / statement requirements take effect — the next milestone the sitewide countdown points to after 1 October.
Source: RBA Conclusions Paper (31 March 2026)
Frequently asked questions
How much will the surcharge ban cost my business?
From 1 October 2026 you can no longer add a surcharge to card payments, so the fee you used to pass on becomes a cost your business absorbs. Compayr's surcharge ban cost calculator (https://compayr.com.au/surcharge-calculator) estimates that absorbed cost — per month and per year — from your card turnover and current surcharge %, and estimates the potential saving on a lower-cost plan. Figures are indicative estimates in Australian dollars; confirm pricing with your provider.
Does the surcharge ban apply to American Express?
Yes. American Express has confirmed it will follow the same rule as eftpos, Mastercard and Visa, so surcharging American Express ends on 1 October 2026 as well.
Can I raise my prices instead of surcharging?
The reform stops you adding a card surcharge; it does not set your prices. Whether and how you adjust prices to reflect your cost of acceptance is a commercial decision for your business. Industry bodies have discussed the pressure this places on thin-margin operators.
What if I'm on a zero-cost or surcharge-funded plan?
Surcharge-funded and “zero-cost” models rely on passing the fee to the customer, which the ban stops from 1 October 2026. If you are on one of these plans, your provider's replacement pricing determines your new cost — ask them for it in writing.
Did my rate automatically drop on 1 October?
Not necessarily. On interchange-linked (cost-plus) pricing the interchange-cap reduction flows through to your bill. On a flat rate, your percentage does not change on 1 October unless your provider chooses to reprice, or you renegotiate or switch. Where it doesn't change, the wholesale saving stays with the provider as margin.
What is least-cost routing?
Least-cost routing sends a contactless debit tap through the cheaper of the two networks on the card — usually eftpos rather than Visa or Mastercard. It can lower your cost of acceptance on debit transactions; whether it is enabled on your terminal is a question for your provider.
Do I have to change provider?
No. The reform does not require you to switch. It does change what a competitive rate looks like, which is why many merchants use the window to benchmark their current cost against the market.
What about online payments?
The surcharge ban applies to card payments regardless of channel — in person, online or over the phone. Card payments taken through an online checkout on eftpos, Mastercard, Visa or American Express are covered from 1 October 2026.
Do mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay count?
Yes. A card loaded into a mobile wallet is still a card transaction on its underlying network — a Visa card in Apple Pay is a Visa transaction. The wallet is only the delivery method, so the same surcharge ban applies.
Is the 62.5% interchange cut a 62.5% cut to my fees?
No. The 62.5% figure is the reduction in the cap on domestic consumer credit-card interchange (0.8% to 0.3%) — one wholesale input on one card type. Across a realistic card mix the genuine blended change is far smaller, and how much reaches your bill depends on your pricing model.
What happens if I keep surcharging after 1 October?
Surcharging on the covered networks is no longer permitted under the card schemes' operating rules from 1 October 2026, and the ACCC provides business guidance on the change. Rebadging a card surcharge as a “service fee” that only applies to card payers does not avoid the rules. Confirm your obligations with your provider and the ACCC.
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How Compayr makes money: some providers pay Compayr when a merchant switches via our links: a one-off amount, an ongoing share while you process, or both. Others pay us nothing. This never affects rankings, which are ordered purely on lowest estimated card acceptance cost. How we compare