The card surcharge ban explained, a plain guide for Australian venues

From 1 October 2026 you will no longer be able to add a card surcharge at the till. Here is what is actually changing, what it means for your numbers, and the practical steps worth taking before the deadline.

If you run a cafe, restaurant, pub or takeaway, you have probably seen the headlines and you may have had a few customers ask about it already. From 1 October 2026, businesses in Australia will no longer be allowed to add a surcharge to card payments. We have had a lot of venue owners come to us with the same handful of questions, so we have pulled the answers together in one place, in plain language, with no sales pitch attached.

This is not financial advice and every venue is different, but our aim here is simply to help you understand the change and walk in with a plan rather than a surprise.

What is actually changing

The Reserve Bank of Australia has confirmed that from 1 October 2026, businesses cannot charge customers a surcharge for paying with eftpos, Mastercard or Visa, and that covers debit, prepaid and credit cards. In short, the little line on the receipt that adds one to two percent when someone taps their card simply goes away. The price you display has to be the price the customer pays.

A few specifics worth knowing. American Express and some other less common card types sit outside these particular rules, so the picture there can differ. The RBA is also lowering the interchange fees that sit underneath your merchant costs, with the cap on consumer credit cards dropping and debit caps coming down too. The intention is that your underlying cost of accepting cards falls at the same time as your ability to pass on a surcharge disappears.

What it means for your business

Here is the honest version. For most venues, surcharging was never a profit centre, it was a way to recover the cost of accepting cards. When that recovery method is removed, the merchant fee does not disappear, it just becomes a cost you carry directly rather than one the customer covers at the terminal.

How much that matters depends entirely on your card volume and the rate you are on. A venue taking a large share of payments on card, at a rate that has not been reviewed in a while, will feel it more than a low volume cash heavy business. The good news is that the interchange changes happening alongside the ban should reduce the underlying cost for many businesses, so the net hit is often smaller than the surcharge percentage suggests. The only way to know your real number is to look at your own statements.

Practical steps to take before October

You have time, and a bit of preparation now will make the transition feel like a non event rather than a scramble. These are the steps we would suggest thinking through.

• Find your real card cost. Pull your last three months of merchant statements and work out what percentage of your turnover goes on payment fees today. This single number tells you how exposed you are, and you cannot plan without it.
• Review your payment rate. Many venues are paying more than they need to because their rate was set years ago and never revisited. The months before the ban are a sensible time to ask your provider for a review, or to compare what else is available.
• Decide how you will absorb or recover the cost. The two common approaches are absorbing the fee and accepting a slightly lower margin, or building it into your menu prices. A modest, even adjustment across the menu is usually far less noticeable to customers than a separate line on the receipt ever was.
• Update your point of sale and signage early. Make sure your system is set up to stop applying a surcharge from 1 October, and remove any signage that mentions a card fee. Do this ahead of time so it is not a last minute job.
• Tell your team. Front of house will field the questions, so a quick brief on what is changing and why means they can answer customers confidently.

Common questions we are hearing

Do I have to raise my prices? No. You can absorb the cost if your margins allow it. Raising prices is one option, not a requirement. Many venues do a small blended adjustment rather than a blanket increase.

Can I still surcharge Amex? The headline ban targets eftpos, Mastercard and Visa. Other card types can sit under different rules, so check the specifics with your provider rather than assuming.

Is this going to cost me more overall? Not necessarily. The interchange fee reductions happening at the same time lower the underlying cost of accepting cards, which offsets some or all of the lost surcharge for many businesses. Your own statements will tell you where you land.

What happens if I keep surcharging after October? It will not be permitted, so it is worth being ready well before the date rather than risking it.

The bottom line

This change is significant but it is manageable. The venues that will barely notice it are the ones that spend an hour now understanding their card costs, make sure they are on a fair rate, and decide calmly how they want to handle the small amount they can no longer pass on. The ones that will feel it are those who do nothing until October and then react. A little preparation goes a long way.

This article is general information for Australian hospitality operators and is not financial or legal advice. Details of the reform are based on the Reserve Bank of Australia's confirmed changes effective 1 October 2026. Confirm specifics with your payment provider or accountant for your own situation.