Three weeks after the card surcharge ban took effect on 1 October, most small businesses are still waiting for cheaper card fees. A new comparison site, Compayr, found that just seven of 20 popular card acceptance plans have lowered what they charge merchants.
The ban came with a cut to interchange fees, the wholesale charge built into every card payment. The Reserve Bank capped the fee on Australian-issued credit cards at 0.3% of the transaction, down from 0.8%, and expects the change to save merchants about $910 million a year once it flows through.
Westpac has moved furthest so far, dropping the flat rate on its point-of-sale terminals from 1.2% to 0.79%. Commonwealth Bank, NAB, ANZ Worldline, Zeller, Shopify’s basic in-person plan and Stripe’s online flat rate have also come down, but by between 0.05% and 0.2%. Only CBA’s interchange-plus plans, where the merchant pays the actual interchange fee plus a margin, have passed on the full 0.5% cut.
Compayr, set up by payments industry veteran Dougal Anderson, ranks plans purely on listed cost, though it does earn referral fees from some providers. Its figures leave out terminal rental and the cost of switching. From 30 January 2027 the RBA will require large banks to publish how much of the interchange cut they pass through, while some in the government have floated making banks absorb card acceptance costs altogether.
What it means for your money
If you run a business and can no longer add a surcharge, every fraction of a percent in card fees now comes straight out of your margin. Check your latest merchant statement against your provider’s published rates, ask whether you have received any cut since 1 October, and compare flat-rate and interchange-plus plans, remembering to factor in terminal rental and any exit costs before switching.
Source: SmartCompany