Surcharging

News about surcharging and consumer fees

Featured

Oct 6, 2026

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Amex “no surcharge” exodus?

American Express may face an acceptance revolt beyond the government, council and retail business that already block its cards in Australia. Three of Australia’s major banks – Westpac, NAB and ANZ – now exclude it from their flat rate deals and merchants are angry about fees.

Surcharging

ATO drops credit cards as surcharge ban shifts costs

Oct 1, 2026

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ATO drops credit cards as surcharge ban shifts costs

The tax office will end credit card payments from December, declining to spread merchant fees across taxpayers as surcharge restrictions and revised interchange rates reshape payment costs. Will other government agencies follow?

Surcharging

Flywire kills Aussie hotel surcharges but says guests will still pay

Sep 30, 2026

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Flywire kills Aussie hotel surcharges but says guests will still pay

Flywire is switching off card surcharges for Australian hotel clients like Hamilton Island ahead of Thursday's ban, but its hospitality sales chief says guests will pay for the card fees in other ways.

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RBA Payments Board faces its biggest test on October 1 as interest rates surge

Sep 29, 2026

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RBA Payments Board faces its biggest test on October 1 as interest rates surge

In the same week the RBA hiked interest rates to their highest level in 15 years, its Payments System Board is about to face the possibility of real world inflationary impacts of its surcharge "ban", with the impact of lagging account-to-account reform next in line.

Surcharging

Bullock warns of surcharge ban ‘hiccups’ from October 1

Sep 22, 2026

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Bullock warns of surcharge ban ‘hiccups’ from October 1

RBA Governor Michele Bullock expects to see problems after surcharging disappears next month, while small business merchants must wait months for clearer statements and regulators keep watch on scheme fees.

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No-surcharge wallop leaves SMEs in the dark and out of pocket

Sep 18, 2026

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No-surcharge wallop leaves SMEs in the dark and out of pocket

Small businesses face tough calls on card payments as the October surcharge “ban” approaches, with confusion still widespread and almost half of Australians unaware of the change. Little Art Big Art founder Rachael Morris says she’s bracing to lose $100 on every 10 students.

Surcharging

How the Amex surcharge escape clause works

Sep 16, 2026

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How the Amex surcharge escape clause works

In a regulatory free environment, American Express has created a Supplier Trade Fee (STF) allowing eligible B2B merchants to recover transaction costs after its October surcharge ban, provided the charge meets their own strict conditions.

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Schemes in “lockstep” to sell their surcharge bans to struggling SMEs

Sep 10, 2026

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Schemes in “lockstep” to sell their surcharge bans to struggling SMEs

Australia’s card networks have joined forces on an industry marketing “education” campaign to sell the October surcharge ban they lobbied for, after small businesses warned the RBA’s interchange cuts alone will not sufficiently reduce their payment costs and complained that the schemes have not yet even published their new fees.

Surcharging

Visa, Mastercard back bill platforms as surcharge workarounds

Aug 26, 2026

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Visa, Mastercard back bill platforms as surcharge workarounds

Bill platforms including Sniip, pay.com.au and B2Bpay will still charge card payers fees after October 1, on volume the Reserve Bank's ban pushes off merchant books.

Surcharging

Aug 21, 2026

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Amex is offering merchants a way around its own surcharging ban

The US card giant is quietly offering merchants a new agreement that allows them to still effectively surcharge up to 2.15%.

Surcharging

Surcharge ban bites as strata owners forced to vote on card levies

Aug 19, 2026

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Surcharge ban bites as strata owners forced to vote on card levies

A limited number of Macquarie's DEFT clients will keep accepting card payments until the end of January under transition deals conducted on its own rails.

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Governments probe non-card options as taxpayers face millions in fee bills

Aug 12, 2026

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Governments probe non-card options as taxpayers face millions in fee bills

Federal government agencies and at least two state governments are collectively looking for ways to dodge more than an estimated $100 million in card fees when credit and debit card surcharging ends on October 1.

Surcharging

Aug 5, 2026

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The end of surcharging or the rise of convenience fees?

Vibhu Arya, the former Country Leader for Payments & Financial Services at IKEA Australia New Zealand, writes that when surcharging disappears on October 1, the question that matters is which businesses will still be able to recover them?

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ACCC sets ground rules for cash and A2A discounts ahead of card surcharge bans

Jul 29, 2026

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ACCC sets ground rules for cash and A2A discounts ahead of card surcharge bans

The ACCC has issued long-awaited guidance on how businesses can legally alert customers to cash, PayTo, PayID and other non-card payment method discounts, providing merchants with greater certainty just weeks before Visa, Mastercard, eftpos and Amex begin enforcing their new "no surcharge" rules from 1 October 2026.

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Taxi drivers could cop card fee pain under new surcharge rules

Jul 15, 2026

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Taxi drivers could cop card fee pain under new surcharge rules

Struggling taxi drivers may be among the small businesses to cop the brunt of card fees under “no surcharge” scheme rules from October 1, with the regulated industry no longer offered a special carve out exemption by the Reserve Bank. But the taxis drivers are fighting back. They want to stay under state-based laws and keep the surcharge going.

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Is Amex sleepwalking into regulatory and customer nightmare?

Jun 17, 2026

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Is Amex sleepwalking into regulatory and customer nightmare?

By imposing its “no surcharge" rule on Australia’s merchants, Amex has just opened the door for regulators to step in, and they might just drag the banks' interchange holiday on corporate cards along with them.

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Visa spent 15 years killing surcharges now it wants the banks to do the dirty work

Jun 17, 2026

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Visa spent 15 years killing surcharges now it wants the banks to do the dirty work

With every major scheme now committed to no-surcharge rules from October 1, attention turns to the wording no one will publish, the policing no one will detail, and the new service fees merchants are already reaching for. The promised consumer savings may be the first thing to disappear.

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US scheme twins Visa and Mastercard move in lockstep on “no surcharge” rules

Jun 11, 2026

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US scheme twins Visa and Mastercard move in lockstep on “no surcharge” rules

Just days after eftpos and American Express, card scheme giants Visa and Mastercard have formally confirmed what most of the payments industry already knew: both will enforce "no surcharge" rules on Australian merchants from 1 October.

Merchant Service Fees

eftpos moves first on “no surcharge” rule but may face resurgence of terminal service fees

Jun 10, 2026

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eftpos moves first on “no surcharge” rule but may face resurgence of terminal service fees

eftpos owner Australian Payments Plus (AP+) plugs least cost routing as merchants prepare to swallow billions in fees and questions swirl about policing “no surcharge” rules and a potential resurgence of terminal service fees.

Merchant Service Fees

Punters to pay for rewards, as costly Amex applies “no surcharge” rule and Tyro complies

Jun 10, 2026

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Punters to pay for rewards, as costly Amex applies “no surcharge” rule and Tyro complies

Struggling small businesses and their customers will be forced to pay for costly premium Amex rewards programs and international card fees, after the RBA gave non-designated card schemes like Amex, Discover and China UnionPay a temporary green light to apply “no surcharge” rules from October 1. Tyro has joined Fiserv in bowing to the international card schemes “no-surcharge” rules without question.

Merchant Service Fees

The RBA hasn't banned surcharges — and the difference matters

Jun 10, 2026

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The RBA hasn't banned surcharges — and the difference matters

Misunderstanding the scope of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s change of position will cost merchants real money and acquirers real customers — and that's a surcharge nobody agreed to.

Fintech

Fiserv doubles down - bans its merchants from recovering fees from all networks and international tourists

Jun 3, 2026

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Fiserv doubles down - bans its merchants from recovering fees from all networks and international tourists

While the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and ACCC have only talked about surcharge restrictions for Visa, Mastercard and eftpos, US payments giant Fiserv’s Australian operation is going the whole hog - banning its unwitting merchant customers from surcharging everything from Amex, China Union Pay and Discover.

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May 27, 2026

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Schemes to play cop as the ACCC walks away from surcharging beat

The ACCC is walking away from its role of regulating and policing card surcharging, leaving it to the big card companies – Visa, Mastercard, Amex and eftpos - to enforce their own “rules” from October 1 ... rules that are not yet public or understood.

Merchant Service Fees

Webjet falls victim to RBA payments changes as Virgin returns to in-house package tours

May 27, 2026

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Webjet falls victim to RBA payments changes as Virgin returns to in-house package tours

Virgin is quickly following Qantas into package tours and non-card partners as it moves to counter cuts to interchange and the card surcharging ban ahead of their implementation on October 1.

Cash

Business groups seek urgent guidance on non-card discount rules

May 20, 2026

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Business groups seek urgent guidance on non-card discount rules

As the surcharge ban looms, industry groups are predicting the return of cash discounts and the introduction of benefits for account-to-account payments for online transactions - but what are the rules?