Credit Card Surcharge Changes

From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to apply surcharges to EFTPOS, Mastercard, Visa or American Express card payments.

For operators accepting these payment types, now is the time to make sure your business is ready.

Your merchant service provider may contact you about required system changes. Read these communications carefully and complete any necessary steps before 1 October 2026.

Preparing your business for the change
To prepare your small business for the change, now is the time to:

• Check where you apply card surcharges: Review your EFTPOS terminals, point-of-sale systems, invoicing software, online payment platforms and other payment systems.
• Understand your card payment costs: Review your transaction volumes, merchant fees and other payment-related costs.
• Contact your merchant service provider: Ask what changes you need to make and when you need to make them. You may also wish to compare services and fees from other providers.
• Review your pricing: Review your pricing and business costs to understand the impact of the changes.
• Update and test your systems: Make the required changes and test them on 1 October.
• Prepare your staff: Make sure they understand the changes and can explain them clearly to customers.

Communicating the change with customers
Before 1 October 2026:

• Remove card surcharge information from menus, websites, booking systems, invoices and other customer-facing materials.
• Update displayed prices where necessary.
• Train staff so they can answer customer questions.
• Check that information is consistent across your physical and online channels.

Businesses can still offer discounts for payment methods such as cash or PayID. Weekend, public holiday, booking and delivery fees can also continue where applicable and clearly disclosed.

Current card-surcharging rules remain in place until 30 September 2026. Learn more on the Australian Government website.

Resources to prepare you business

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has developed a ready-to-use toolkit with key messages, social media assets and FAQs to help businesses communicate the changes.

Further guidance on pricing and payment requirements is also available from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Sources
QTIC Member Update
Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman