If you run a business that charges customers via Eftpos, Stripe, or any other payment platform, there’s a significant change coming that will affect how you price your products and services.
From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to add a surcharge on top of an advertised price to cover card processing fees. The price you show has to be the price the customer actually pays.
What does this mean (in plain English)
We’ve all been there – you order a $5.50 coffee, tap your card, and somehow the receipt says $5.59. That small ‘card surcharge’ has been legal for years, provided it reflected the business’s actual payment processing cost. From 1 October, that changes.
Visa, Mastercard and eftpos have all announced they will introduce “no surcharge” rules through their card network agreements from that date. American Express has followed suit. In practice, this means:
- Card surcharges won’t just be discouraged – payment providers are expected to remove surcharging functionality from terminals and checkout systems altogether.
- The advertised price on your website, invoice, menu, or checkout page has to be the total price payable.
- Continuing to add a surcharge after 1 October would put a business in breach of its merchant agreement, on top of the risk and fines for breaching consumer laws.
As the ACCC puts it, businesses should “review and update their pricing and how they display and communicate their prices to customers to make sure they accurately reflect the total price payable.”
This applies everywhere to every business advertising prices – a café menu, a professional services booking page, an e-commerce checkout, or an invoice payable via Stripe: all must be processed at the advertised fee without a payment processing fee added on top.
Are you allowed to rename the fee?
The short answer is no!
A predictable response to a surcharge ban is to simply relabel the fee. The ACCC has already flagged this: calling it an ‘admin fee,’ ‘service fee,’ ‘handling fee,’ or ‘processing fee’ doesn’t change its legal character if it’s still only applied to card payments. That’s treated as misleading drip pricing under Australian Consumer Law, and it carries real penalties.
The test is simple: if the fee only appears because someone paid by card, it’s a surcharge – whatever you call it!
What about booking fees?
Some good news here – genuine booking fees are still allowed. The key distinction is that a booking fee has to apply regardless of how the customer pays. If a $5 booking fee is charged to everyone whether they pay by card, cash, or bank transfer, that’s a legitimate fee, not a disguised surcharge. If it only shows up for card payments, it’s the same thing the ban is targeting.
Can businesses still offer discounts?
The ban isn’t about stopping businesses from encouraging cheaper payment methods – it’s about upfront, accurate pricing. Businesses can still offer a discount for paying by cash or PayID. The requirement is that the price you advertise must be the full price, and any discount is applied from there (not the other way around), where a discounted price is advertised and card users get charged more at the end.
Are other surcharges affected?
No. Other surcharges are allowed. For example, hospitality businesses can continue to apply weekend and public holiday surcharges. These are treated separately from card payment surcharging and isn’t affected by this change.
What businesses need to do before 1st October 2026
- Audit every place your prices appear. Website, online checkout, quotes, invoices, physical menus, price boards, signage and update them to reflect the true, all-in price.
- Calculate your actual processing costs. Look at what you paid in card fees over the last 12 months and work out what absorbing that cost will mean for your margins.
- Decide how to adjust your pricing strategy. Whether that’s building the cost into your base prices, adjusting margins elsewhere, setting minimum transaction values for card payments or offering discounts for cash.
- Check your merchant agreement with your bank or payment provider to understand how and when surcharging will be switched off on your systems.
- Don’t try to rename the fee. If it only applies to card payments, it’s still a surcharge in the eyes of the ACCC.
If you’re not sure whether your current pricing structure, booking fees, or invoicing terms will hold up under the new rules, get in touch with us and we can help you review your terms and pricing communications before 1 October.
Contact Sarah – sarah@curiumlegal.com.au
