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Card Surcharge Ban 2026: What Small Businesses Need to Know

Card surcharges are banned from 1 October 2026. Plain-English guide for regional small businesses: what's changing, who it hits, and how to protect your margins.

Written by Matt Rowlands

Your Mate Matt · 1 Apr 2026 · 4 min read

Updated 30 September 2026: This article has been refreshed with the final RBA rules. The ban started on Thursday 1 October 2026.

The short version

From 1 October 2026, businesses can no longer add a surcharge when a customer pays by card. What's on the price tag is what the customer pays.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) confirmed the change in March 2026 after a long review of card payment costs. It isn't a proposal anymore. It's happening.

What's actually changing

1. Surcharges are gone. You can't surcharge on eftpos, Visa or Mastercard, covering debit, prepaid and credit cards. American Express, UnionPay and PayPal have also said they're dropping surcharging from the same date. Most payment providers are switching surcharge settings off on their terminals around 1 October, but check yours has actually been turned off.

2. The fees banks charge are coming down. This is the part most people haven't heard about. On the same day, the RBA is lowering the caps on "interchange", the wholesale fee that sits inside what you pay your provider for each card transaction. For example, the most a customer's bank can charge on a consumer credit card payment drops from 0.8% to 0.3%. That's 80 cents down to 30 cents on a $100 sale.

3. Fees get more transparent. From 30 October 2026, the big card schemes and large payment providers have to publish their average merchant fees every quarter. For the first time, you'll be able to compare what you're paying against the market.

Who's most affected

The businesses who feel this most are the ones who were surcharging to protect thin margins: cafés, pubs, restaurants, trades and tourism operators. That's a lot of Gippsland.

The cost of taking cards hasn't disappeared. It's just moved from the customer's receipt to your bottom line. The lower interchange caps soften the blow, but only if your provider passes those savings on to you.

Confused by the tech? That's literally my job.

If any of this left you with questions, ask me. I'll give you a straight answer in plain English.

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What it looks like in dollars

Say you turn over $500,000 a year and 80% of it comes through cards. That's $400,000 in card sales.

  • If your all-in card fees are 1.5%, that's $6,000 a year you were recovering through surcharges and now need to absorb or build into your prices.
  • Every 0.1% you can shave off your rate is worth $400 a year on those same card sales.

That's why the single most useful thing you can do this week is make one phone call.

What to do now

  1. Check the surcharge is off. Look at your terminal, online checkout, booking system and any invoices that add a card fee. Anywhere you currently add one, switch it off.
  2. Call your payment provider. Ask what your rate is from 1 October and whether the interchange cuts are being passed on. If it hasn't dropped, ask why.
  3. Shop around. Once the new fee reports come out at the end of October, compare. Switching providers is easier than most people think.
  4. Review your pricing. A small, honest price adjustment on your menu or quote is usually cleaner than eating the full cost. Round numbers, not sneaky ones.
  5. Look at your costs, not just your fees. In a year of rising interest rates, a few hours saved each week can be worth more than any fee cut. Simple tools like a digital loyalty card or automated review replies can pay for themselves quickly.

How locals can help

  • Shop local on purpose, not just when it's convenient.
  • Tap with debit where you can. It's generally cheaper for the business than credit.
  • Go easy if prices shift slightly. That's usually the old surcharge being folded in, not price gouging.
  • Leave a Google review. It costs you nothing and makes a real difference for small operators.

The bottom line

For customers, this is good news: no more surprise fees at the till. For small businesses, it's manageable, but only if you check your rates rather than just wearing the cost.

If you're not sure where to start, I'm always happy to have a straight-talking chat.

Sources: Reserve Bank of Australia (Removal of Card Payment Surcharges FAQ, March 2026 Conclusions Paper), Australian Banking Association, Commonwealth Bank, NAB.