From October 1 this year, businesses will be banned from adding a surcharge when customers pay with a debit, credit, Eftpos or prepaid card.

The Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association has said it “will be one of the largest changes in payments” in Australia’s history – and many small businesses “are unprepared for its arrival”.

The change follows a lengthy Reserve Bank of Australia review and decision to remove surcharging from all designated card networks (Eftpos, Mastercard and Visa). American Express is voluntarily joining the change.

When the Reserve Bank first effectively allowed card surcharges in 2003, Australians mostly paid in cash. Cash still accounted for 69 per cent of payments in 2007, when the central bank first began tracking payment methods usage. Back then, debit and credit cards were used for only one in four payments.

Now, cards make up almost three out of four payments. Debit cards are Australians’ favourite way to pay, making up 49 per cent of all payments in 2025, while credit cards came second, used for 23 per cent of payments.

Here’s what will change for shoppers, and what businesses will and won’t be allowed to charge at the checkout.

Every time you pay with your card, it costs the business money to accept it. The current cost varies: 0.43 per cent for an Eftpos debit card, to about 1 per cent for Visa or Mastercard credit cards, up to 1.36 per cent for an American Express credit cards.

Without the ability to add on a card surcharge, a business owner will have two choices: absorb the remaining cost themselves, or build those costs into slightly higher prices – passing the costs on to all customers, regardless of how they pay.

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