The RBA card surcharge ban, on the record
The Reserve Bank of Australia ended card payment surcharging across the designated card networks on 1 October 2026. The change followed the RBA review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging and its Conclusions Paper of 31 March 2026.
The RBA removed its prohibition on no-surcharge rules from that date. eftpos, Mastercard and Visa each decided to introduce no-surcharge rules. American Express, UnionPay and PayPal also removed surcharging. The ban applies to credit, debit and prepaid cards on the designated networks.
The basis the RBA recorded
The Conclusions Paper estimated that 16 per cent of Australian merchants surcharged designated network card payments in the 2024/25 financial year, charging about $1.8 billion. Consumers paid about $1.6 billion of the total and businesses about $0.2 billion.
The paper put the aggregate effect on measured consumer prices at about 0.1 per cent and the system cost of the change at about $25 million. It found that around 5 per cent of merchants set different surcharges for debit and credit cards.
The Conclusions Paper records the board's expectation that the 16 per cent of merchants that surcharge may increase their advertised prices to cover the cost of accepting card payments. The Payments System Board's media release for its March 2026 meeting, published 5 March 2026, records the board's agreement to publish a Conclusions Paper and an implementation timeline by the end of March.
The industry challenge to the data
The Australian Travel Industry Association contests the finding. ATIA chief executive Dean Long put the challenge at the Beyond Borders summit in Melbourne on 9 October 2026.
Long said that on the RBA figures only 16 per cent of all transactions in Australia attract a surcharge. He described the decision as “absolutely made” on flawed data by the RBA payment system board.
The RBA merchant figure counts businesses that surcharge. Long stated the share of transactions. ATIA said the figure was collected from institutions with a direct financial interest in the outcome and does not reflect the Australian marketplace.
The ATIA statement on the decision, issued 31 March 2026, put total payment cost for travel businesses at 1 per cent of transaction value or more once scheme and acquirer fees are counted. It recorded the domestic consumer card interchange cut from 0.8 per cent to 0.3 per cent, and warned that prices across airfares, hotel bookings, tours and agent service fees would need to rise by at least 1 per cent from 1 October.
Hotels and accommodation in the surcharging data
The RBA industry table covers the 2023/24 financial year and more than 800,000 merchants. It records 8 per cent of travel merchants applying a surcharge. The RBA lists that category as travel agencies, hotels and accommodation. About 10 per cent of merchants in the sample surcharged.
The same table records around one third of hospitality merchants surcharging, against 6 per cent in professional services.
The Australian Hotels Association told the review in its submission of 17 December 2024 that a surcharge ban would punish merchants for recovering the cost of acceptance. The association represents pub-style hotels, bars, taverns and restaurants and three, four and five-star accommodation hotels.
The ATO reversal
The ban removed the option for the Australian Taxation Office to pass merchant fees to card users. The ATO said continuing to accept credit cards for tax obligations would cost about $200 million a year.
The tax office moved to stop accepting credit card payments for tax obligations. On 9 October 2026 the Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced a delay to 30 June 2027 with transitional funding, after objections from business groups and MPs.
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said the delay showed that card payment charges remain a live and unresolved issue across the economy.
The implementation timeline
The RBA set the reforms in stages. On 1 October 2026 the prohibition on no-surcharge rules ended and lower interchange caps applied to domestic card transactions.
On 30 October 2026 designated card networks and large acquirers must begin publishing specified card payment fee information. On 30 January 2027 large acquirers must publish how interchange reductions reached merchant service fees. On 1 April 2027 interchange caps apply to foreign-issued card transactions, and acquirers must issue more detailed merchant statements.
What the record shows
The RBA counts 16 per cent of merchants surcharging in 2024/25 and puts the price effect at about 0.1 per cent. ATIA counts 16 per cent of transactions and puts the cost it can no longer recover at 1 per cent of transaction value or more.
The RBA declined an invitation to attend Beyond Borders. Long said the association had invited it.