Australian Government to ban card surcharging
Ban on card payment surcharging in Australia
On 31 March 2026, the Australian Government announced changes to card payment surcharging in Australia.
Changes
From 1 October 2026, these changes will prohibit surcharging on Visa, Mastercard and eftpos transactions. American Express has also confirmed to us that it is working to remove surcharging on its cards by the same date.
As a result, we will no longer be able to apply card surcharges. RapidPay will disable surcharging functionality from 30 September 2026.
How our Law Firm is
Responding
With the removal of card surcharging, firms will no longer be able to pass on merchant fees at the point of transaction. Many firms are instead moving to an all-inclusive pricing model, where card acceptance costs are treated as a cost of doing business and covered by standard professional or sundry fees.
The removal of surcharges is likely to lead to increased card usage as payment friction is reduced. Even if card issuers reduce some of the benefits of using cards (e.g. rewards programs and interest-free periods), it will be more important than ever to offer convenient card payment options to meet client expectations and support timely payment.
