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Do you charge customers a surcharge on card transactions? This is a quick guide to what you need to know to ensure your surcharges are not excessive and to understand your obligations in disclosing them.
For more information, see Card surcharges.
Changes to surcharging rules
On 31 March 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced upcoming changes to card payment surcharging rules in Australia.
From 1 October 2026, the Visa, Mastercard and eftpos card networks can introduce ‘no surcharge’ rules for businesses that accept payments made with prepaid, debit and credit cards from each network. When they introduce 'no surcharge' rules, this means businesses cannot charge customers a surcharge for these payment types.
The Visa, Mastercard and eftpos card networks have each decided to introduce these ‘no surcharge’ rules from 1 October 2026. For more information, see the .
Any ‘no surcharge’ rules will be set by each card network’s scheme rules and merchant contracts. The card networks or payment service providers will be responsible for enforcing these rules, not the ÌÇÐÄÔ´´.
Learn more from the .
Businesses must continue to follow the current card payment surcharging laws until these changes take effect.
Changes would only apply to card payment surcharges. They will not apply to hospitality sector weekend or public holiday surcharges or other types of fees, for example booking fees.