The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) defines surcharging a card payment as: “an extra fee charged by a merchant to a consumer for using a particular card to pay for a transaction.”

Until 1 October 2026, merchant may levy a surcharge that represents the average cost of accepting that specific card type (e.g., if the cost of acceptance on your merchant statement for that card type is 1%, the surcharge cannot exceed 1%). If you choose to surcharge, you must also offer a payment method to your consumers that does not have a surcharge. 

The RBA announced that surcharging on debit, prepaid and credit card payments should end from 1 October 2026. This applies to both in-person and online transactions and to cards issued in and outside of Australia.    

As a result, Mastercard, Visa and eftpos as well as American Express, UnionPay International and Discover Network, will implement ‘no-surcharge’ rules from 1 October 2026.

To ensure compliance with the new regulation on 1 October, where we control the surcharging feature, we will disable it from 21 September 2026. We are communicating directly to our customers about this and more information is available here.

Mastercard, Visa and eftpos as well as American Express, UnionPay International and Discover Network, will implement ‘no-surcharge’ rules from 1 October 2026. 

Where we control the surcharging feature, we will disable it from 21 September 2026 to ensure timely compliance and are communicating directly to our customers about this.

Mastercard, Visa and eftpos as well as American Express, UnionPay International and Discover Network, will implement ‘no-surcharge’ rules from 1 October 2026. 

This applies to both in-person and online transactions and to cards issued in and outside of Australia.  

Yes.

No. The removal of surcharging does not apply to other types of surcharging such as public holiday loadings, delivery fees, etc. Please note: you cannot apply a surcharge with a different name to recover the cost of accepting card payments. 

Yes. At the same time you stop surcharging or from 1 October 2026 at the latest, you should remove mentions of surcharging from your instore and online communications and signage. 

No. From 1 October 2026, you can’t charge a consumer an extra fee for paying with a card. The same rule applies whether surcharging is automatically enabled through your Merchant Facility or added manually at the point of sale.  

No. This would be considered surcharging. After 1 October 2026, you can’t charge a consumer an extra fee for paying by card  even if you call it something else. 

To ensure timely compliance with the new regulation on 1 October, where we control the surcharging feature, we will disable it on 21 September. 

Depending on how you process transactions, you might need to make some updates. For example, if you have a payment gateway with an integration you may need to update an API. If that’s you or you use third-party equipment or services with surcharging enabled, you might need your website developer or third-party provider to help. We recommend you engage them early to ensure you can continue processing transactions compliantly and without interruption.  

You can find more information about it here.

If you have Worldline Global Online Pay or eGate - MPGS with an integration, there is more you will need to do, including updating some of your APIs. We’re communicating directly with our customers about this and you can find more information about it here.

If you use third-party points of sale or services with surcharging enabled, you might need your website developer or third-party provider to help. We recommend you engage them early to ensure you can continue processing transactions compliantly and without interruption.  

If you have surcharging enabled by a third-party provider, such as a point-of-sale system provider, they will need to disable it for you. Please get in touch with them well before 1 October 2026. 

From 1 October 2026, merchants must not recover their costs of accepting card payments by imposing a surcharge unless the law provides them with an exemption. 

Non-exempt merchants that continue to surcharge after this date may be subject to penalties or fines determined by the relevant card schemes. 

Merchants who determine that they’re allowed by law to continue surcharging for the cost of accepting card payments, can contact us directly at 1300 350 518 to discuss their surcharging settings.