Business owners urged to review pricing strategies well in advance of upcoming payment surcharge ban.
From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to add a separate surcharge when customers pay using Visa, Mastercard, eftpos or American Express cards.
Key actions and points
- Card-processing costs can be built into overall pricing or absorbed where the cash flow and administrative benefits justify the cost
- Consider lower-cost payment methods such as direct debit as part of your payment mix
- Review merchant fees, pricing and payment systems before 1 October
- Remove surcharge notices from websites, menus, signage and price lists and disable card surcharging in payment systems.
Look at the total cost of getting paid
Removing surcharges does not necessarily mean processing costs should simply be added to prices.
For businesses where card payments help customers pay sooner, absorbing the fee may be commercially worthwhile. Faster payments typically improve cash flow, reduce debtor days and cut the administrative cost of following up and reconciling outstanding accounts.
The decision should therefore consider the total cost of getting paid, not the transaction fee in isolation.
Review business payment options
Businesses can use the change to review how customers pay. Direct debit and PayTo typically carry lower processing fees than card payments and settle quickly, providing alternatives that can help manage transaction costs without sacrificing payment speed.
The appropriate mix will depend on transaction volumes, margins, customer payment behaviour and cash flow.
Speak with our team to review the financial impact of the changes, as well as your pricing and payment strategy ahead of 1 October.
CONTACT ALLAN HALL BUSINESS ADVISORS
What is changing?
Visa, Mastercard and eftpos are introducing ‘no-surcharge’ rules covering prepaid, debit and credit card payments from 1 October 2026. American Express is also removing card surcharging from the same date.
This means businesses that currently add a percentage or fixed surcharge for these card payments will need to stop doing so.
Businesses will still incur merchant and card-processing costs. However, these costs can instead be factored into the overall prices charged for goods and services.
The changes apply specifically to card payment surcharges. They do not prevent businesses from charging legitimate fees that are unrelated to the method of card payment, such as weekend or public holiday surcharges, booking fees or delivery fees.