Australia's Card Surcharge Ban 2026: What Every Venue Owner Needs to Know

The Ban Applies From 1 October 2026

Card surcharges ended on 1 October 2026 for eftpos, Mastercard and Visa card payments, under the card networks' own rules. For the detail, see the Reserve Bank of Australia and the ACCC.

What Counts as a Surcharge?

For what counts as a surcharge, and what does not, see the ACCC's guidance on card surcharges and the RBA's summary for businesses.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

Most venue owners think they're simply passing on their merchant fees. Here's the reality of the maths.

If your venue was adding a card surcharge, the money it collected from customers to cover processing costs now comes directly out of your margin — unless you act now.

There are three options:

1. Raise menu prices — absorb the fee into your pricing. Clean solution, but requires reprinting menus.
2. Negotiate a lower processing rate — get your card rate quoted from your statement and compare it with what you pay now.
3. Switch to PayTo — the payment method that bypasses card networks entirely.

PayTo: The Surcharge-Free Alternative

PayTo is a real-time payment method that runs on Australia's New Payments Platform. Unlike Visa and Mastercard, PayTo runs directly through the banking system rather than card networks.

• Speed: real-time settlement — funds hit your account the same day
• Customer experience: customers approve via their banking app — no card required

What You Need to Do Now

1. Work out what surcharges were covering. Look at your POS reports for the months before 1 October. How much were you collecting in surcharges? That number tells you exactly what's at stake.

2. Audit your processing rate. Check what your latest merchant statement shows you actually pay, and get card rates quoted from your statement before you change anything.

3. Ask about PayTo. Ask your POS and payments provider whether it supports PayTo, and how it would work at your venue.

4. Update your menu pricing if needed. If you're going to build card fees into your menu prices, plan the change and let your regulars know.

What Happens If You Keep Surcharging?

Card surcharges ended on 1 October 2026 for eftpos, Mastercard and Visa card payments, under the card networks' own rules. For how the ban is enforced, see the ACCC.

How Payflo Handles This

Payflo reports your card processing costs by month, so you can see what the ban means for your venue.

Our Xero integration syncs every sale automatically. If you want to understand how the surcharge ban affects your venue's numbers, get started and bring a recent merchant statement. You get your number, quoted from your statement.