Since Australia’s card surcharge ban took effect on October 1, social media users have questioned new ‘service fees’ and ‘daily surcharges’ appearing on their bills. Some businesses have simply raised their prices.

Not necessarily. But a business cannot make a card surcharge permissible simply by giving it a different name.

From October 1, the card networks Visa, Mastercard, Eftpos and American Express no longer allow businesses to add a surcharge when customers pay with their cards, as explained in the Reserve Bank’s guidance on the new rules.

The consumer regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, says businesses can still charge genuine service, booking or other fees that are unrelated to how a customer pays.

But it also warns businesses not to get around the new rules by describing a card payment surcharge as another type of fee. Doing so may amount to misleading conduct.

The practical test is simple: What triggers the charge? If a fee appears only because you paid by card, calling it a “service fee” does not change what it is.

The Reserve Bank estimates about 16 per cent of businesses had card surcharges before the ban, including many cafes and restaurants, grocers, Aldi and some online stores. Most large retailers did not apply a card surcharge.

Overall, the central bank says consumers paid about $1.6 billion in these surcharges in 2024–25, ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent per transaction.

Businesses still pay banks and payment providers to accept cards. Removing the surcharge does not remove those costs.

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