What Changed Today
For years the little line on the eftpos screen, "1.5% surcharge applies", was part of paying for a coffee, a car service or a physio visit. From today it goes. Under the Reserve Bank of Australia's review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging, whose conclusions were published in March 2026, businesses can no longer surcharge payments made on the eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks. That covers debit, prepaid and credit cards, Australian and foreign cards, at the counter and online.
American Express has said it will bring in its own no-surcharge rules from the same date, so for most businesses the practical answer is simple: stop surcharging cards. If you accept other methods, such as buy now pay later services or digital wallets that run on other rails, confirm the rules for each one with your provider rather than assuming.
The RBA gave three reasons in its conclusions: surcharging was no longer doing its job of steering people to cheaper payments, it had become hard for customers to avoid, and both customers and businesses found the rules confusing. Alongside the ban, it is lowering the caps on interchange fees, which are the wholesale fees behind the price you pay to accept a card, and requiring card networks and large payment providers to publish their fees.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice
The detail of what applies to your business depends on your payment provider's terms and the payment methods you accept. Use this guide as a checklist and confirm specifics with your provider, accountant or adviser.
The Numbers Behind the Ban
The figures explain why the RBA acted, and why many small businesses may end up better off than they fear. Consumers were paying an estimated $1.6 billion of the $1.8 billion in surcharges charged each year on the designated card networks. At the same time, the new interchange caps are expected to cut wholesale card costs for merchants by around $910 million a year, and the RBA says small merchants, who are usually charged the most to accept payments, should benefit the most.
| Card type | Interchange cap before | Interchange cap now | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer credit (Australian issued) | 0.5% weighted average, 0.8% per transaction | 0.3%, benchmark removed | 1 October 2026 |
| Debit and prepaid (Australian issued) | 10 cents or 0.2% | 8 cents or 0.16% | 1 October 2026 |
| Commercial credit | 0.8% | 0.8%, unchanged | No change |
| Foreign issued cards | No cap | 1.0% | 1 April 2027 |
Interchange is only part of what you pay. Your merchant service fee also includes scheme fees and your provider's margin, and some plans charge a flat blended rate that will not move unless the provider chooses to pass the savings on. That is why the call to your provider, covered below, matters as much as the ban itself.
Channel by Channel
Most businesses take card payments in more places than they realise. Go through each of these, even the ones you think are fine. The quickest way is to pay yourself a small amount in each channel and look at the total you are charged.
At the counter
Turn off the surcharge setting on every terminal, including the spare in the drawer and the one in the van. Take down the "surcharge applies" sticker and the sign by the register. Check that receipts no longer show a surcharge line.
Online checkout
Remove surcharge rules from your shop platform or payment gateway, and any plugin that adds a fee at checkout. Search your website for the word "surcharge", including the FAQ, terms and conditions and delivery pages.
Invoices and quotes
Accounting software often has a card fee built into invoice templates or payment links. Remove it from templates and recurring invoices, and reword any "a 1.2% fee applies to card payments" note on quotes already sent.
Subscriptions and direct debits
Memberships, retainers and repeat billing set up months ago may still add a card fee automatically. Check the settings in each billing tool, not only the headline price.
Payment links and SMS
If you send customers a link to pay, check the page it opens. The fee is often configured in the link tool, separately from your main checkout.
Phone orders
Staff taking card details over the phone may be reading a script that mentions a surcharge. This channel is easy to miss, so it has its own section below.
One more thing to look for: fees with a different name. A "processing fee", "service fee" or "admin fee" that is only added when someone pays by card is still a surcharge, whatever the label says. If you charge a genuine fee that applies to everyone, such as a delivery fee, that is a different matter, but make sure it really does apply regardless of how the customer pays.
Phone Orders Need Their Own Check
Plenty of Australian small businesses still take payment over the phone: the florist, the caterer, the mechanic confirming a part, the accountant collecting a fee. These are card payments like any other, so the surcharge has to go here too. Because nobody sees a screen, the change lives in what your team says.
- 1
Rewrite the payment script
Remove "there is a 1.5% fee for credit cards" from whatever staff say when they take a payment, and from any notes stuck to the monitor.
- 2
Check the virtual terminal
If you key card payments into a virtual terminal or web portal, it has its own surcharge setting. Turn it off there as well.
- 3
Keep card numbers out of recordings
If you record calls, make sure card numbers are not captured. Many businesses now send a secure payment link by SMS instead of reading card numbers aloud, which is quicker and safer for everyone.
- 4
Brief whoever answers the phone
That includes casuals, the person covering reception at lunch, an answering service and any AI receptionist. They will all be asked about surcharges this month.
Our guide to call recording in Australia covers the rules on recording calls, and business SMS from your phone system explains how to send links and confirmations from your business number rather than a staff mobile.
Repricing Without Upsetting Anyone
If you surcharged, the cost of accepting cards has to go somewhere. You have three honest options, and most businesses will use a mix.
| Option | When it suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Absorb it | Your card costs are small, or falling under the new caps, and a price change is not worth the fuss. | Do the sums first. Absorbing 1% of card turnover adds up over a year. |
| Build it into prices | Card costs are material. The RBA expressly says businesses can include payment costs in their sticker prices. | Round sensibly, change prices once rather than in drips, and keep the menu, website and quotes consistent. |
| Cut the cost itself | You have not reviewed your payment plan in a while, or your provider has not passed on lower fees. | Compare plans on your real mix of cards, not the headline rate. |
You can still offer discounts if you choose, including for customers who pay cash. What you should not do is present a card price as the normal price plus a hidden extra. Customers can see through that, and it undoes the goodwill of the change.
If prices do need to rise, be straightforward about it. A short note such as "we have stopped charging card surcharges and adjusted some prices slightly instead" is honest, and most regulars will appreciate one clear price. Keep it in proportion: if your average card surcharge was about 1%, a 1% adjustment on the items that carry the most card payments is usually enough, not a round of rises across the board.
What to Ask Your Payment Provider
This is the phone call that can save you money. Your payment provider, often called an acquirer, can tell you what the lower interchange caps mean for your plan. Ring them this week and ask these questions.
| Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Will my rate fall now the interchange caps are lower? | On a cost plus plan, savings flow through automatically. On a flat blended plan, they may not unless you ask or switch. |
| Is least-cost routing turned on for my terminals? | For dual network debit cards, routing through the cheaper network can reduce your costs. The RBA has kept its existing expectations approach rather than mandating it, so check it is on. |
| When will my statement show the new breakdown? | The reforms bring standardised statement information, which makes it easier to get comparable quotes from other providers. |
| Have you turned off surcharging on my account? | Providers have been told to remove the surcharging function, but check every terminal, gateway and virtual terminal on your account. |
| Are there fees I could remove? | Terminal rental on devices you no longer use, minimum monthly fees and old add-ons are common and easy to cut. |
Card networks and large providers are also required to publish their fees, with average merchant service fees published quarterly from late October 2026. Once those figures are out, you will be able to see whether your rate is in line with the market. If it is not, you have grounds to negotiate or move.
Tell Customers Once, Everywhere
Customers will notice, and many will ask. "Do you still charge for card?" is going to be one of the most common questions small businesses hear in October. The answer should be the same wherever someone asks it, and ideally they should not need to ask at all.
- At the counter: replace the surcharge sign with a simple "no card surcharges" sign. It is good news, so say it.
- On the website: update your FAQ and payment information, and remove old surcharge wording from terms and delivery pages.
- By SMS or email: a single short message to regular customers is enough, and it is a friendly reason to be in touch.
- On the phone: if your greeting or on-hold message mentions payment options, update it. If callers ask about payment often, a short line in the on-hold message saves a lot of repeat questions.
- Your AI receptionist: if an AI agent answers your calls, add the answer to its knowledge so it tells callers accurately that you no longer charge card surcharges, and what payment methods you accept.
It is a small change, but it is also a chance to check that everything your business says about itself is current. Our guide to call flow and auto attendant design has example greeting wording if yours is due for a refresh.
While You Are Looking at Costs
The surcharge ban arrives in the same week the RBA lifted the cash rate to 4.60%, its fourth rise of 2026. For many small businesses that means higher loan repayments and tighter margins at the same moment card costs move onto the price list. It is a good time to look at every fixed cost, not just the payment plan.
Phones and internet are an easy place to start, because the bills are predictable and many businesses are still paying for lines, handsets or features they no longer use. Our business phone system cost guide shows what a fair price looks like, and bundling your phones and NBN with one provider can cut both the bill and the time spent chasing two suppliers. Uniden Voice currently offers 50% off an NBN plan for the first three months for new NBN orders bundled with a Voice plan on a 12 month contract, subject to availability at your address.
Your First Week Checklist
If you only have an afternoon, work through this list in order. It covers the places surcharges hide and the conversations you need to have.
- 1
Terminals
Turn off surcharging on every device. Run a test payment on each and check the receipt.
- 2
Online and links
Checkout, gateway, payment links, subscriptions. Test each with a small payment.
- 3
Documents
Invoice and quote templates, recurring invoices, terms and conditions, website pages.
- 4
People
Brief everyone who takes payments or answers the phone, including casuals and any AI receptionist.
- 5
Prices
Decide what to absorb and what to build in. Change prices once and keep every channel consistent.
- 6
Your provider
Ask about the new caps, least-cost routing, your statement and unused fees. Diary a review once the published fee data is out.
How Uniden Voice Can Help
Uniden Voice over Cloud does not process card payments, so we cannot change your merchant fees. What we can do is make the customer side of this change painless. We can update your greeting and on-hold message, add surcharge and payment answers to your AI receptionist so it handles the question for you, and set you up to send payment links and confirmations by SMS from your business number. If you are reviewing costs, we will look at your current phone and internet bills with you and tell you honestly whether you would save.
Uniden Voice is Australian owned, hosted in Australia and supported by an Australian team on 1300 881 662, and your numbers are always yours to take with you.