Reserve bank of australia
Australia's surcharge rules are changing.
Here's what that means for our software platforms and merchants.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has finalised reforms to card payment surcharging and interchange fees, effective 1 October 2026. As your payments partner, we're committed to making this transition straightforward for your business.
What has the RBA decided?
On 31 March 2026, the RBA released its final Conclusions Paper on Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging, the most significant reform to Australia's payments system in over two decades.
The key decisions are:
- From 1 October 2026, merchants will no longer be permitted to apply surcharges on Visa, Master and eftpos card payments, following the RBA’s removal of restrictions on scheme no-surcharge rules.
- Consumer credit card interchange will move from a weighted average of approximately 0.50% to a hard cap of 0.30% from 1 October 2026, and debit interchange reduced. These changes are expected to reduce underlying card acceptance costs. We will review our pricing and pass through reductions where applicable.
- Currently unregulated interchange rates, which typically range from around 1.6% to approximately 2.0%, depending on the scheme and transaction type. From 1 April 2027, foreign‑issued card interchange will be capped at 1.0%
- Current surcharging arrangements for American Express remain unchanged at this stage, pending the outcome of the RBA’s further review.
Key dates shared by the RBA
| 01 October 2026 | Surcharge ban + domestic interchange cuts |
| 30 October 2026 | Acquirer fee benchmarks published publicly |
| January 2027 | Pass-through rates published quarterly |
| 01 April 2027 | Foreign card cap + enhanced statements |
| Mid- 2027 | New RBA review: Amex, BNPL, wallets |
What this means for your business?
If you currently surcharge
- You must remove card surcharges from your customer facing platform by 1 October 2026.
- Card acceptance costs will need to be incorporated into your advertised pricing or absorbed.
- As underlying card costs are expected to reduce, you should need to raise prices by less than your current surcharge amount.
- Non-payment surcharges (e.g. weekend, public holiday) are unaffected.
If you don't currently surcharge
- Your customer experience and pricing are unchanged from October 2026.
- With the reductions to interchange fee caps, the impact to merchants will vary depending on factors such as pricing structure, scheme programs, transaction mix and card types.
- We are currently reviewing the changes and will communicate any updates where applicable.
- You will receive communication on applicable changes on fees or pricing before October 2026.
If you're a software platform
- Surcharging functionality will need to be disabled to support compliance with the new rules from 1 October 2026
- Fee-free and auto-surcharge payment plans will no longer be viable after this date
- Merchant agreements and onboarding flows will need to be updated.
- This is an opportunity to review embedded payments costs alongside your merchants.
What happens next, and how we're helping
We are committed to making this transition as straightforward as possible for every merchant and platform partner. Here is what you can expect from us:
- We will notify all affected merchants directly or through the software partners with personalised guidance on what needs to change and by when.
- We are planning platform updates to remove card surcharging functionality ahead of 1 October 2026 deadline. We will proactively review our merchant service fee rates to ensure they reflect any cost reductions that we gain] and pass savings through to our partners.
- Nothing changes immediately. The October 2026 deadline gives you time to prepare, and we will be with you at every step.
- Our team will be available to answer any questions and walk through the implications for your specific business. If you have further questions before then, please contact us on the below
Your next steps
We are committed to making this transition as straightforward as possible for every merchant and platform partner. Here is what you can expect from us:
- Review whether you currently apply a card payment surcharge.
- Check if your payment plan is fee-free or relies on auto-surcharging.
- Watch for a direct communication from us with personalised guidance.
- Use publicly available RBA fee benchmarks (live Oct 2026) to compare your Merchant Service Fee (MSF).
- Contact us if you have questions — we're ready to help now.
Alison Morris
General Manager, International Integrated and Platforms
Have further questions?
Our team will be available to answer any questions and walk through the implications for your specific business. If you have further questions before then, please contact us.