Card surcharges end on Thursday, 1 October — and the changes at the register have already started. Some businesses are adding minimum spends and new fees to cover the card processing costs they can no longer pass on, while others are stepping away from cards altogether.
What's happening?
Flexischools, the ordering platform used by more than 2,100 schools for canteen orders, emailed families on 22 September with its plan for 1 October: a $10 minimum at checkout "to help manage the cost of processing small payments now that surcharging has been removed", plus an extra 6 cents per order on top of its existing order fee. Any leftover balance is kept for next time. The company says parents will, on average, pay less than under the old surcharge.
Guardian Australia also reports that an out-of-school-hours care provider, Cubby OOSH, has told families it "has decided to no longer accept credit or debit cards as the payment method" because of the new laws, and that several merchants have told customers they are stopping card payments.
Accepting cards still costs money. From Thursday, Visa, Mastercard and eftpos will no longer allow businesses to add a surcharge, and Amex and PayPal have committed to the same. The RBA has acknowledged the cost remains, and says it can be reflected in a business's overall pricing instead.
Who it affects
For shoppers, the surcharge line disappears from the till — but it may turn up in other places: a minimum spend, a new order fee, slightly higher prices, or a shop that no longer takes cards at all.
For businesses, it comes down to absorbing the processing cost or passing it on through prices. Canstar's Sally Tindall told the Guardian it is "a difficult decision for lots of businesses", and that for some it will mean "doing a bit of both". Swinburne payments expert Professor Steve Worthington says many merchants "have not decided how they want to play this", and expects cash and direct debit to become more common.
What it means for you
Expect minimum spends and new fees at more checkouts, and for some businesses to stop accepting cards entirely. Weekend and public holiday surcharges, booking and service fees, and taxi surcharges are not part of the ban, and buy now, pay later sits outside it too. The RBA and ACCC both say discounts for paying a cheaper way, such as cash or PayID, are fine — as long as the full price is shown before you pay.
Two days to go. And yes — 1 October is still coming. Happy dining! G