Hawkesbury shoppers will no longer face an extra charge for tapping their eftpos, Visa or Mastercard from October 1, as new payment rules take effect across Australia.
The changes cover credit, debit and prepaid cards used in shops, online and to pay bills. They also apply to foreign-issued cards on the three networks. Separate charges, such as weekend and public holiday surcharges, booking fees and service fees, are unaffected.
Australian Banking Association chief executive Simon Birmingham said the reforms would remove a familiar frustration for consumers.
“Whether it's paying the plumber or buying a coffee, you will no longer be hit with an extra few cents or dollars for tapping your card,” Mr Birmingham said.
The changes follow the Reserve Bank of Australia’s review of retail payments regulation, which also introduced lower caps on domestic interchange fees from October 1.
Interchange fees are part of the cost of processing a card payment and flow to the bank that issued the customer’s card.
The Reserve Bank estimates the lower caps will reduce interchange costs by about $660 million a year, based on payment patterns remaining unchanged. New caps for foreign-issued cards will take effect on April 1, 2027.
Mr Birmingham said businesses that had never charged customers a card surcharge should also benefit from lower payment costs.
“The Reserve Bank expects these reductions to deliver around $660 million a year in lower payment costs for businesses, including many who have not surcharged,” he said.
However, he said the benefit to individual businesses would depend on savings being passed through by other companies involved in processing payments.
“If small businesses do not see reductions in their overall card payment costs, it will be because other players in the payments system including card schemes and payment service providers have absorbed the savings rather than passing them on,” he said.
The reforms also introduce greater fee transparency to help businesses understand and compare the cost of accepting card payments.
Mr Birmingham encouraged business owners with questions about the changes to contact their bank.
Further information is available through the Reserve Bank’s payment surcharge frequently asked questions.
