Australia’s card surcharging rules are changing

From 1 October 2026, businesses in Australia will no longer be permitted to apply a surcharge to Visa, Mastercard, eftpos or American Express (Amex) card payments. 

What this means for your business 

If your business currently applies a surcharge to card payments, these changes may affect how you recover your payment costs. 

Payment processing fees will continue to apply. The key change is that these costs can no longer be recovered through a separate card surcharge to customers. 

As this is an industry-wide transition, changing payment providers will not alter this requirement. 

This Resource Centre brings together practical information to help you understand what is changing, what isn’t changing, and the steps you can take to prepare. 

Read the article – Card surcharge changes explained: What businesses need to know

What is actually changing? 

From 1 October 2026, businesses in Australia will no longer be permitted to apply a surcharge to Visa, Mastercard or eftpos card payments. Amex has separately announced that surcharging on Amex card transactions will also end from the same date. 

Do payment fees disappear? 

No. Businesses will continue to incur payment processing costs when customers pay by card. The changes relate to surcharging, not the underlying costs of accepting card payments. 

Does this affect direct debit payments from bank accounts? 

No. These changes apply to card payments and do not affect direct debit payments from bank accounts. 

Does this affect recurring card payments? 

Yes. The surcharge changes apply regardless of whether a card payment is one-off or recurring. 

How do I know if I currently surcharge? 

If customers currently pay an additional fee when using a Visa, Mastercard, eftpos or Amex card, these changes are likely to affect your business. 

Not sure whether you currently surcharge? Ask yourself: 

• Do customers pay an additional fee when paying by card? 

• Does a surcharge appear on customer receipts? 

• Does your payment terminal automatically add a fee to card transactions? 

• Is your software platform configured to apply a surcharge? 

Depending on your payment solution, surcharging may be configured within your payment provider, software platform or another integrated solution. If you’re unsure, contact your software provider or our support team. 

Where can I find information about my payment fees or surcharge revenue? 

You can view the fees that apply to your account in the Eway Portal. 

1. Log in to the Eway Portal.  

1. Select My Account.  

1. Navigate to Your Eway Plan to view the details of your plan and the fees that apply to your account.  

If you’re unable to locate this information or have any questions about your fees, please contact our support team.

Will my settlement amount change from 1 October 2026? 

If you currently recover applicable card transaction fees from customers through surcharging, the way these fees are handled will change from 1 October 2026.

For most impacted merchants, applicable transaction fees will be deducted prior to settlement. This means the amount deposited into your bank account may be lower than the gross value of the card payments processed.

Your gross transaction values and transaction reporting will continue to show the full payment amount. This may affect reconciliation, accounting or automated workflows that rely on settlement amounts matching gross transaction values.

What if I use a trust account? 

Trust account regulations may restrict card transaction fees from being paid from a trust account.

If your settlement or billing account is a trust account, or you’re unsure whether Eway holds the correct account details for transaction fee collection, please contact our Support team as soon as possible.

We may need to confirm or update your settlement and billing arrangements before 1 October 2026.