Australia's Card Surcharge Ban: What It Means for Your Venue

What the card surcharge ban means for Australian venues

From 1 January 2026, excessive card surcharges became illegal in Australia. The Reserve Bank of Australia has capped what merchants can charge — and for many venues, this changes the economics of card acceptance.

What changed

Merchants can still pass on the actual cost of accepting card payments. What's banned is charging more than your actual merchant service fee. If your bank charges you 1.2% on Visa, you can charge customers up to 1.2% — not the flat 1.9% or $0.50 surcharges some venues were applying.

What this means for your venue

• You need to know your actual per-card-type processing costs
• Flat-dollar surcharges are almost certainly non-compliant
• Over-surcharging exposes you to ACCC action and fines
• Some venues are choosing to absorb costs and remove surcharges entirely

The smarter move: bake it in

Venues moving away from surcharges are pricing it into their menu. A 1.2% cost on a $25 main is 30 cents — rounding your average price up by $0.50 covers it comfortably while removing the friction customers hate.

How Payflo handles it

Payflo's surcharge management lets you set exact percentage surcharges per card type, ensuring you never over-charge. Or switch it off with one toggle. Full compliance, zero friction.