What surcharges are, how they've been calculated, and what the October 2026 ban means for your business.
An EFTPOS surcharge is a fee merchants add to card transactions to recover their payment processing costs. Currently, Australian merchants can surcharge up to their actual cost of acceptance — typically 0.5% to 2% depending on card type. From 1 October 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia's full surcharge ban takes effect. Surcharges on all card types — debit, prepaid, and credit — will be prohibited.
Under the current framework, merchants can add a surcharge to card transactions — but only up to their actual cost of acceptance. Excessive surcharging (charging more than your actual cost) is prohibited by ACCC rules.
Typical costs of acceptance by card type:
Most merchants apply a single blended surcharge rate across all cards — typically 1–1.5% — which covers their average acceptance cost. Some apply card-specific rates.
The Reserve Bank of Australia confirmed in March 2026 that card surcharges will be fully banned from 1 October 2026. This is a complete prohibition — not a cap or restriction.
The RBA also reduced interchange fee caps simultaneously. Debit card interchange drops from 0.20% to 0.16% (or 10c to 8c per transaction) — partially offsetting the cost merchants absorb.
With less than 4 months until the ban, merchants currently surcharing should:
Yes. The ban applies to all card types: debit, prepaid, and credit — including eftpos, Mastercard debit, Visa debit, Mastercard credit, and Visa credit. There are no exemptions by card type.
Surcharging after the ban takes effect will be a breach of the RBA's payment system standards. Enforcement mechanisms are still being finalised, but merchants and acquiring banks will be responsible for compliance. The ACCC currently enforces excessive surcharging rules — a similar framework is expected post-ban.
Not necessarily. The RBA reduced interchange fee caps simultaneously — debit card costs drop from 0.20% to 0.16% per transaction. For merchants on a well-negotiated rate with an acquirer-agnostic provider like UrPay, the cost reduction from lower interchange partially or fully offsets the cost of absorbing fees. Merchants on high published rates (Square 1.6%) without the ability to renegotiate face the largest impact.
If you're currently surcharing customers to recover EFTPOS costs, your transaction rate becomes a direct business cost from 1 October. UrPay's negotiated rates from 1.3% — with no lock-in and no monthly fee — are built for a post-surcharge world.