From 1 October 2026, businesses will generally no longer be able to add a surcharge when customers pay using eftpos, Mastercard, Visa or American Express.

For businesses that currently pass card processing costs on to customers, this means it may be time to review pricing and payment arrangements.

What’s Changing?

Eftpos, Mastercard and Visa have announced that they will introduce no-surcharge rules from 1 October 2026, following changes made by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

American Express has also announced that it will remove surcharging from the same date.

In practical terms, businesses accepting these cards will no longer be able to charge customers an additional fee simply because they have chosen to pay by card. It does not apply to other charges such as weekend surcharges, public holiday surcharges, booking fees or service fees.

What Does This Mean For Businesses?

Businesses will also continue to pay their own costs for accepting card payments, including transaction processing fees, terminal rental fees and other charges imposed by payment service providers. However, instead of passing these costs on as a separate card surcharge, businesses may need to factor them into their overall pricing.

This makes it a good time to review:

• current merchant and payment processing fees;
• whether another payment provider may offer better value;
• whether pricing needs to be adjusted; and
• whether discounts could be offered for lower-cost payment methods.

Businesses can still offer discounts for payment methods.

What About Invoices Already Issued

If an invoice is issued before 1 October 2026 but paid by card on or after that date, a surcharge may no longer be available.

Some payment providers may also disable surcharge functionality from 1 October, so businesses with longer payment terms should keep this in mind.

Does It Apply To Business-To-Business Payments?

Potentially, yes. Business-to-business card payments are not automatically excluded, unless an exemption applies under a card network’s rules, legislation or regulation

Preparing For The Change

For businesses that regularly use card surcharges to recover payment costs, the new rules will require a change in approach.

Reviewing merchant fees and pricing before 1 October will help ensure those costs are being managed appropriately once card surcharges are removed.