Australia · Pricing and payments
Card surcharges are changing: is your checkout ready for 1 October?
A payment setting is only part of the job. Your checkout, advertised prices and staff explanations need to tell the same story when card surcharges change on 1 October.
What changes on 1 October?
From 1 October 2026, Visa, Mastercard, eftpos and American Express are introducing no-surcharge rules for their prepaid, debit and credit cards in Australia. These operate through network rules and merchant arrangements; enforcement of those rules sits with the networks and payment providers. Businesses should confirm their arrangements with their provider.
Existing surcharging laws continue until 30 September. Other fees, including hospitality weekend and public-holiday surcharges, are not automatically removed by this change. Their own pricing and disclosure requirements still matter.
Five checks before the change
- Payment channels: list each terminal, online gateway, app, invoice-payment link and booking platform. Ask who will disable the surcharge and when. Do not assume a change to one terminal updates every channel.
- Price displays: review menus, shelf notices, websites, apps and advertising. Remove outdated card-fee messages and reconcile displayed prices with the final amount charged.
- Transaction testing: nominate a person to run representative transactions after the change, retain the results and report any unexpected fees promptly.
- Staff responses: give store and service teams a short explanation of what is changing and where to escalate a payment query.
- Fee descriptions: examine what triggers each fee. Calling a card surcharge a service fee does not make it a different charge. Avoid misleading explanations for any broader price changes.
Try a complete customer journey
Our practical suggestion: choose one product sold both online and in store. Compare its advertisement, checkout total, receipt and the answer a staff member gives when asked about payment fees. A discrepancy identifies a process to fix before customers have to raise it.
How Watchdog can help
Watchdog can review your price displays, checkout wording and staff communications so the customer journey reflects your payment arrangements.