The End of Card Surcharging: What Australian Businesses Must Do Before 1 October 2026

Commercial enterprises operating across Queensland (Qld) and throughout Australia face a decisive regulatory and contractual transformation in how everyday payment transactions are handled. Following determinations by the Reserve Bank of Australia arising from its review of retail payments regulation, card payment surcharges will be eliminated from 1 October 2026.

From this date, the major card schemes—Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and eftpos—will enforce binding "no surcharge" rules. Australian merchants that have historically passed card processing fees directly to consumers paying with debit, credit, or prepaid cards must immediately review their point-of-sale systems, merchant facilities, standard commercial contracts, and terms of trade to maintain compliance.

Regulatory Background: The Reserve Bank of Australia Framework

The abolition of card payment surcharges stems from the Reserve Bank of Australia's ongoing regulatory oversight of the domestic payments ecosystem. Key principles underpinning this transition include:

·       Universal Scheme Coverage: The "no surcharge" mandate applies across all standard card payment rails, capturing transactions processed via Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and eftpos.

·       Application Across All Card Categories: The ban is comprehensive and applies uniformly whether a customer presents a prepaid card, a debit card, or a credit card.

·       Dual Regulatory Mechanism: While policy direction is established by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the operational enforcement mechanism prohibiting surcharges functions through scheme rules and private merchant acquiring agreements.

Contractual Enforcement vs Regulatory Jurisdiction

Understanding how these rules are monitored and enforced is vital for corporate governance, operational continuity, and risk management:

·       Contractual Administration: Enforcement of the "no surcharge" rules does not fall under the direct statutory penalty remit of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Rather, enforcement operates contractually through card network rules and merchant facility agreements.

·       Provider Monitoring and Commercial Exposure: Payment service providers, merchant acquiring banks, and card networks carry the primary responsibility for policing compliance. Non-compliant merchants risk serious contractual consequences, including formal merchant facility defaults, contractual financial penalties, and the immediate suspension or termination of merchant payment terminals.

·       Industry Guidance: Businesses requiring confirmation of how specific payment rails or multi-network merchant facilities are impacted should liaise with their acquiring financial institutions or review joint network industry guidance available at cardsurcharge.com.au.

Australian Consumer Law: Pricing Presentation and Transparency

Notwithstanding the contractual nature of card scheme rules, commercial enterprises remain subject to strict statutory oversight regarding public pricing presentations:

·       All-Inclusive Pricing Obligations: Businesses across Australia must continue to adhere strictly to single-price display requirements under the Australian Consumer Law.

·       Ban on Checkout Add-On Surcharges: Because card surcharges may no longer be applied at the register or online checkout, headline prices displayed on shelf labels, menus, fee schedules, electronic catalogues, and formal commercial quotations must represent the genuine, single actionable price payable by the consumer.

·       Prohibition on Misleading Statements: Merchants must exercise extreme caution when communicating price restructuring to the public. Any public or bilateral representations explaining adjustments to overall pricing, base operational fees, or administrative overheads must remain strictly accurate to avoid misleading or deceptive conduct.

Immediate Strategic Action Plan for Commercial Enterprises

To navigate this regulatory transition smoothly ahead of the 1 October 2026 enforcement date, commercial operators across Australia should execute the following steps:

1.     Restructure Commercial Pricing Models: Because merchant service fees and terminal processing charges can no longer be directly passed on at the point of sale, commercial margins must be reviewed to absorb transaction costs within base operational pricing models.

2.     Reconfigure Point-of-Sale Hardware and Digital Gateways: Liaise directly with payment service providers, merchant acquiring banks, and software vendors to ensure point-of-sale software, virtual terminals, and e-commerce payment gateways are reconfigured to deactivate automated surcharge prompts prior to 1 October 2026.

3.     Audit Commercial Documentation and Terms of Trade: Conduct a comprehensive audit of customer-facing terms of trade, master service agreements, standard quotation schedules, and physical signage to excise legacy surcharge clauses, fee percentages, and payment processing warnings.

4.     Consult Regulatory and Ombudsman Guidance: Review guidance issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia alongside transitional advisory materials released by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman.

Addressing these technical, operational, and contractual requirements ahead of the 1 October 2026 deadline is essential to protect your payment facilities, ensure consumer law compliance, and maintain commercial trust.

Protect Your Commercial Operations Today: Contact our commercial business law team to audit your terms of trade, customer contracts, and pricing presentation frameworks to ensure total compliance across Australia.

Please note that this is a general and brief update; it does not purport to be comprehensive legal advice of all information and/or relevant to your circumstances. Consequently, specific legal advice for each of your circumstances should be obtained first before taking or not taking any action with respect to this area.