At Hills Accounting, we provide the Business Planning Hobart businesses need, which often involves looking beyond tax and considering the everyday costs that affect profitability. Card-processing fees are one of those costs.
If your business adds a surcharge when customers pay by EFTPOS, debit or credit card, an important change is about to arrive.
From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to add card surcharges to payments made using eftpos, Mastercard and Visa cards. American Express and UnionPay are also removing surcharging from the same date, with PayPal following from 5 October.
For businesses in Hobart and across Tasmania, now is the time to make sure your payment systems, pricing and customer information are ready.
What Is Actually Changing?
Until 30 September, businesses can generally apply a card surcharge, provided it doesn’t exceed the cost of accepting that particular payment type.
From 1 October, eftpos, Mastercard and Visa are introducing new “no-surcharge” rules covering their debit, prepaid and credit cards.
In practical terms, if a customer pays using one of these cards, businesses will generally no longer be able to add a separate fee simply because the customer chose to pay by card.
Does That Mean Card Processing Will Be Free?
Unfortunately, no.
Businesses may still be charged by their bank or payment provider for accepting card payments. These can include transaction fees, terminal rental and other payment-processing costs.
What changes is the ability to separately pass those costs on to customers as a card surcharge.
Businesses may therefore want to review their pricing to determine how card-processing costs are being absorbed. You can also continue offering customers a discount for using a preferred payment method.
What About Weekend Surcharges And Other Fees?
The changes specifically concern card payment surcharges.
They don’t prevent legitimate weekend or public holiday surcharges, booking fees or service fees simply because those charges happen to appear on the same transaction.
The important distinction is whether the extra charge is being imposed specifically because the customer is paying by card.
What Should Businesses Do Before 1 October?
If you currently surcharge card payments, this is a good time to:
speak with your payment service provider about how your EFTPOS terminal or payment system will change
check invoices, signs, menus, websites and other material that mention card surcharges
review your pricing and the cost of accepting different payment methods
make sure staff understand the new arrangements.
Some payment providers may automatically disable card-surcharge functionality around 1 October, but businesses shouldn’t simply assume everything will happen automatically.
Don’t Forget Existing Invoices
There is another detail worth watching.
If you issued an invoice before 1 October but the customer pays it by card on or after 1 October, you may no longer be able to apply the card surcharge shown on that invoice.
Check with your payment provider if you’re unsure how existing invoices will be handled.
A Good Time To Review Your Costs
Removing card surcharges doesn’t remove the underlying cost of accepting card payments.
For small businesses, that makes it worth understanding exactly what you’re paying, whether your current payment provider remains competitive, and whether those costs need to be considered as part of your overall pricing.
If you’d like help reviewing how changing business costs affect your pricing, cash flow or financial planning, have a chat with the team at Hills Accounting Hobart.
Further Information
The Reserve Bank of Australia has published detailed information for businesses about the changes taking effect from 1 October 2026.
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) – Removal of Card Payment Surcharges From 1 October 2026
Remember, this article is general in nature and doesn’t take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs.
For advice tailored to your circumstances, have a chat with us at Hills Accounting Hobart.
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