We’re writing this as an information piece in relation to Tuesday’s announcement from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) regarding card payment surcharging.
The RBA has confirmed that card surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa transactions will be removed from 1 October 2026.
Therefore, for now, there is no immediate action required.
At this point in time, online surcharging and American Express card acceptance are exempt from this ban.
It was thought that the RBA would only put up a ban on Eftpos cards but as it has worked out the RBA in their infinite wisdom has seen to go the full distance with a complete ban on surcharging for regular cards.
Interestingly, New Zealand proposed a similar ban in 2025 but that proposed ban on cards has now stalled in the Parliament "while the Government considers the wider implications". You would have thought that those proposing the ban would also consider the wider implications as part of their deliberations on proposing the ban in the first instance, but as is the way with bureacrats lately, they only think of their own niche decisions put before them, and little to no consideration about what wider impact this would have.
Clearly the impact is, that with a ban on card surcharging, businesses who already are struggling with the current economic and political climate both domestic and now internationally, will not have the profit margin to just absorb the card acceptance costs and all the other ancillary expenses that were associated with accepting cards, therefore the cost of their items sold will have to increase. Inflation is an inevitable impact as a result of retailers not being allowed to pass on the direct card acceptance costs.
For our customers that are currently surcharging, your existing set-up can remain unchanged at this stage. There is still significant time before the new framework takes effect, and seemingly more detail yet to be determiend especially in relation to American Express and Online platform surcharging such as Stripe etc.
It will be interesting if in Australia, a similar stall to implementing this ban will also occur, such as the stall mentioned above in NZ.
We want to assure you that we are across these developments, actively preparing and well positioned to support customers through this upcoming change.
Additionally we are on the lookout for more information about the options moving forward, if any appear.
The priority is to ensure a smooth and well-managed transition, with minimal disruption to your business. Our focus remains on delivering highly competitive solutions while continuing to provide meaningful value beyond just price.
We will be issuing a further update in the coming months, including revised pricing models and recommendations, well ahead of legislative changes taking effect in October.
Please continue to monitor the bossii website for updates.
For reference, you can read the RBA announcement in full here
https://www.rba.gov.au/payments-and-infrastructure/review-of-retail-payments-regulation/2026-03/
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out any time on 1300 805511 or by emailing email@bossii.com
