RBA to Eliminate Card Surcharge Fees from October 1, 2026

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has announced that it will lift the ban on surcharges for eftpos, Mastercard, and Visa transactions starting October 1, 2026, in the public interest. The changes are based on Standard No. 3 of 2016 and the revision of the merchant card payment costs and surcharge standards in 2026. The aforementioned networks will introduce rules prohibiting surcharges applicable to credit, debit, and prepaid cards, including cards issued overseas. American Express, UnionPay, and PayPal have also decided to eliminate surcharges, although they are currently not formally regulated by the RBA. American Express and UnionPay will exit their existing commitments with the RBA on October 1, 2026, while PayPal's surcharge prohibition will take effect on October 5, 2026. This reform is limited to fees charged due to customer card payments and does not include surcharges for weekends, public holidays, booking fees, or service fees. Merchants must comply with the new card organization rules, and card payments for businesses, non-profit organizations, and inter-business transactions will not receive a general exemption. The reform will be implemented in phases, with a lower interchange fee cap applicable to domestic card transactions starting October 1, 2026; from October 30, designated card networks and large acquirers must publish card payment fee information on their websites; starting January 30, 2027, large acquirers must disclose how the reduction in interchange fees is passed on to merchant service fees; and from April 1, the interchange fee cap will apply to transactions involving cards issued overseas, with acquirers required to provide merchants with more detailed statements. The RBA stated that businesses can still factor the costs of accepting card payments into their overall pricing and may offer discounts for specific payment methods.

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