Australia’s surcharge rules are changing.

Here’s what that means for our software platforms and merchants.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has finalised reforms to card payment surcharging and interchange fees, effective 1 October 2026. As your payments partner, we’re committed to making this transition straightforward for your business.

We are currently in the planning and preparation phase, working closely across teams to ensure everything is in place for a smooth transition for our partners and customers.

What has the RBA decided?

On 31 March 2026, the RBA released its final Conclusions Paper on Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging.

The key decisions are:

  • From 1 October 2026, merchants will no longer be permitted to apply surcharges on Visa, Mastercard and eftpos card payments, following the RBA’s removal of restrictions on scheme no-surcharge rules.
  • Consumer credit card interchange will change from 1 October 2026. We will assess any impacts to our pricing arrangements and communicate any changes applicable changes separately.
  • Current surcharging arrangements for American Express remain unchanged at this stage, pending the outcome of the RBA’s further review.

 

Key dates shared by the RBA

  • 01 October 2026, Surcharge ban + domestic interchange cuts
  • 30 October 2026, Acquirer fee benchmarks published publicly
  • January 2027, Pass-through rates published quarterly
  • 01 April 2027, Foreign card cap + enhanced statements
  • Mid- 2027, New RBA review: Amex, BNPL, wallets

What this means for your business

  • From1 October 2026, you can no longer surcharge or pass the card transaction cost to your customer.
  • Card acceptance costs will need to be incorporated into your advertised pricing or absorbed.
  • Non-payment surcharges (e.g. weekend, public holiday) are unaffected.
  • Your customer experience remains unchanged from October 2026.
  • Any pricing impact will vary depending on factors such as the current pricing structure, transaction mix and card types.
  • We are currently reviewing the changes and will communicate any updates where applicable.
  • You will receive communication on applicable changes on fees or pricing before 1 October 2026.

To prepare for these changes, we will no longer be onboarding surcharged merchants from 1 July 2026.

  • In preparation, our partners should review and update the following across their business:
    • Ensure sales and customer-facing teams are aligned on how fees are positioned to new merchants, moving away from passing on card costs.
    • Onboarding and customer journeys, forms or communications
      should no longer reference surcharging or fee pass-through.
    • Customer-facing experiences like hosted payment pages should have all references to passing on card fees removed.
    • Marketing, product and sales collateral used when acquiring or onboarding new merchants, should no longer mentions surcharging or fee pass-through.
    • Surcharging functionality will need to be disabled to support compliance with the new rules from 1 October 2026.
  • Exisiting fee-free or surcharge-based arrangements may require review and could be impacted by the reforms.
  • Merchant agreements and onboarding flows will need to be updated.
  • This is an opportunity to review embedded payments costs alongside your merchants.

What happens next, and how we will support you

We are taking a phased approach to ensure we can carefully plan and prepare while supporting merchants and platform partners through each stage of the transition.

Here is what you can expect from us:

  • To prepare our partners for the change, we will no longer be onboarding new surcharged merchants from 1 July 2026.
  • Throughout August, we will communicate directly with partners on any changes that may impact them, including what is changing, when, and any actions required.
  • We will then notify all affected merchants directly, or through software partners, with personalised guidance on what needs to change and by when.
  • We are planning platform updates to remove card surcharging functionality ahead of the 1 October 2026 deadline. We will proactively review our merchant service fee rates to ensure they reflect any cost reductions that we gain and pass savings through to our partners.
  • Nothing changes immediately. Our phased approach towards the 1 October 2026 deadline, will give you time to prepare, and we will support you every step of the way.
  • Our team will be available to answer your questions and walk through any implications for your business. If you have further questions before then, please contact us here 

Your next steps

We are committed to making this transition as seamless as possible for every merchant and platform partner.

To help you prepare, we recommend the following: 

  1. Review whether you currently apply a card payment surcharge.
  2. Check if your payment plan is fee-free or relies on auto-surcharging.
  3. Look out for direct communication from us with personalised guidance.
  4. Publicly available industry information may help businesses understand broader market changes. However, individual pricing outcomes vary based on business characteristics and commercial arrangements.
  5. Contact us if you have questions — we’re ready to help now.
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Have your say

We invite you to share your perspective as part of our RBA surcharge reform research program. Your feedback will be collected by a third-party research agency and will shape how we approach pricing, support and communication to you through these changes.​

Register your interest here

Have further questions?

Our team will be available to answer any questions and walk through the implications for your specific business. If you have further questions before then, please contact our support team on support@eway.com.au or call us on 1800 870 248.