important change to card surcharges from 1 october 2026

From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to apply a separate surcharge when customers pay by Visa, Mastercard, eftpos or American Express.

Until 30 September 2026, the existing rules continue to apply and businesses can still charge a card surcharge, provided it does not exceed the actual cost of accepting that payment method.

From 1 October 2026, businesses should review and update their payment arrangements, including:

• EFTPOS terminal surcharge settings;
• online payment gateways;
• accounting and invoicing software;
• invoice wording referring to credit card surcharges;
• websites, price lists and terms and conditions.

Businesses will still be able to factor card-processing costs into their general pricing. Genuine cash discounts and other non-card-specific pricing arrangements may also continue to be used.

If you currently apply a card surcharge, we recommend contacting your merchant provider or payment platform before 1 October 2026 to ensure the surcharge function is switched off from that date.

You may also wish to review your merchant fees, as changes to interchange fee caps will also commence from 1 October 2026 and may affect the cost of accepting card payments.

Please contact us if you would like assistance reviewing how these changes may affect your pricing, invoicing or payment arrangements.

Article posted  10/09/2026