partyboy202020
19-10-2026, 11:13 AM
Charging an extra $5 on an $80 massage for paying by card is illegal — and it breaches Australian regulations on two separate grounds.
1. The Card Surcharge Ban Card payment surcharges for Visa, Mastercard, eftpos, and American Express are banned across Australia under reforms established by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and enforced by the card networks. No extra checkout fees: Merchants are not permitted to add a surcharge when you tap, insert, or swipe any of these cards. Included in advertised prices: Any merchant processing costs must now be incorporated into their standard prices rather than charged as an add-on at the register.
2. Even Under Previous Rules, $5 Was Illegal Even prior to the ban, charging $5 on an $80 charge was a blatant breach of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) rules against excessive payment surcharges: A $5 fee on an $80 transaction represents a 6.25% surcharge. Australian law historically restricted surcharges strictly to the merchant’s actual cost of acceptance. Typical bank fees were roughly 0.5% for eftpos and 1% to 1.5% for standard Visa/Mastercard credit cards (meaning an actual processing cost of roughly $0.80 to $1.20). Businesses were never legally permitted to treat card processing fees as a profit center.
1. The Card Surcharge Ban Card payment surcharges for Visa, Mastercard, eftpos, and American Express are banned across Australia under reforms established by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and enforced by the card networks. No extra checkout fees: Merchants are not permitted to add a surcharge when you tap, insert, or swipe any of these cards. Included in advertised prices: Any merchant processing costs must now be incorporated into their standard prices rather than charged as an add-on at the register.
2. Even Under Previous Rules, $5 Was Illegal Even prior to the ban, charging $5 on an $80 charge was a blatant breach of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) rules against excessive payment surcharges: A $5 fee on an $80 transaction represents a 6.25% surcharge. Australian law historically restricted surcharges strictly to the merchant’s actual cost of acceptance. Typical bank fees were roughly 0.5% for eftpos and 1% to 1.5% for standard Visa/Mastercard credit cards (meaning an actual processing cost of roughly $0.80 to $1.20). Businesses were never legally permitted to treat card processing fees as a profit center.