After years of debate, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has confirmed one of the most significant changes to Australia's payments system in decades. From 1 October 2026, card surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa — both debit and credit — will be banned. Whether you've been adding a surcharge to protect your margins or absorbing the costs quietly, this reform will affect your business one way or another.

Here's what you need to know.

What's actually changing?

The RBA's reform package has three main components:

• Surcharges banned. From 1 October 2026, businesses cannot add any surcharge — percentage-based or flat fee — for payments made using eftpos, Mastercard or Visa. Customers must see one final, all-inclusive price whether they pay in-store, online, or via mobile. Note that American Express, PayPal and Buy Now Pay Later services are not currently covered by this ban.
• Lower interchange fees. The cap on interchange fees for domestic consumer credit cards will drop from 0.8% to 0.3%, saving businesses an estimated $910 million per year. These are the wholesale fees your bank charges when a customer pays by card — so lower caps mean lower costs for you to accept card payments.
• Greater transparency. eftpos, Mastercard, Visa and large acquirers will be required to publish the fees they charge, and businesses will receive standardised information on their statements to help compare providers and negotiate better deals. 
• Generally the ban does not apply to other electronic payment methods. These include, but are not limited to:
• Buy now pay later (BNPL)
• PayPal
• Diners Club
• American Express
• taxi fares, whatever the payment type

What does this mean for your business?

The impact will vary depending on your current setup. If you've been applying surcharges to recover card-acceptance costs, you'll need to rethink your pricing before October. If you've been absorbing those costs all along, you should simply benefit from lower underlying fees flowing through during the 2026–27 financial year.

Either way, some preparation is needed now.

What to do before 1 October 2026

Review your merchant fees. Pull out your recent statements and work out how much you're currently paying in card-acceptance fees, and whether surcharges have been part of your pricing strategy. If they have, you may need to adjust prices to protect your margins.

Talk to your payment provider. With lower interchange fees and more transparency coming, this is a genuine opportunity to negotiate — better merchant service fees, updated pricing plans, or terminal upgrades. Small businesses often pay closer to the current fee caps, so they stand to benefit the most.

Update your pricing and systems. All surcharge signage, online checkout add-ons, and automatic percentage fees will need to be removed. Every displayed price must be all-inclusive from 1 October.

Factor the changes into your cash flow planning. Lower merchant fees won't appear overnight, but most businesses should see reduced costs flow through across the new financial year. This is a good time to revisit your budget — particularly if you're in retail, hospitality, trades, or services with a high volume of smaller card transactions.

Watch for shifts in customer behaviour. Removing surcharges may encourage more customers to pay by card. That's generally positive for speed and convenience, but keep an eye on your total acceptance costs as payment patterns change.

The bottom line

This reform simplifies things for everyone — fewer add-ons at the checkout, clearer pricing for customers, and less compliance complexity for businesses. Some businesses will see it as an opportunity to improve margins and streamline operations. Others will need to do some work to ensure the removal of surcharges doesn't quietly erode profitability. For more details see here. 

If you'd like help reviewing your current merchant fee arrangements, modelling the impact on your margins, or preparing for the change, get in touch with the RGA team. Now is the right time to act.

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Please also note that many of the comments in this publication are general in nature and anyone intending to apply the information to practical circumstances should seek professional advice to independently verify their interpretation and the information’s applicability to their particular circumstances. Should you have any further questions, please get in touch with us for assistance with your SMSF, business, bookkeeping and tax requirements. All rights reserved. Brought to you by RGA Business and Tax Accountants. Liability Limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.