Card Surcharges Are Being Banned From 1 October 2026

Compliance Update

14 Sept

Compliance Update

From 1 October 2026, adding a card surcharge won't be allowed anymore on eftpos, Visa or Mastercard. If surcharges are part of how you price, now's the time to look at the numbers.

From 1 October 2026, surcharges on eftpos, Visa and Mastercard payments are being banned. It's a Reserve Bank of Australia reform, enforced through the card networks themselves, so it applies to every Australian business processing these cards, regardless of your bank or payment processor.

We know this is one more thing landing on an already stretched year. So here's exactly what happens, what to check, and what to watch out for.

⚡ Quick reality check This isn't something you opt into or ignore. It's built into the card network rules themselves, not your bank's policy or your software's settings. If you take eftpos, Visa or Mastercard payments, it applies to you from 1 October. Full stop.

What Happens in Xero on 1 October

If you invoice through Xero with a surcharge applied, the change is automatic. You don't need to do anything.

Surcharges stop automatically from 1 October. Card payments still work as normal, the fee just disappears from the invoice.
Unpaid invoices already sent with a surcharge get updated too. Anyone paying on or after 1 October pays the invoice amount, no fee added.
The option to pass on processing fees disappears from your Online payments settings entirely.
Want it off sooner? You can turn it off yourself anytime before the deadline.

If You Take Cards Another Way

Using a terminal, or a payment provider outside Xero? Check with them directly. Most are removing surcharge functionality too, but the timing and process differs, so don't assume it's automatic just because Xero's version is.

What This Means for Your Pricing

If you've been passing on some or all of the card fee to customers, that cost doesn't disappear, it just stops being visible on the invoice. It has to sit somewhere else, most likely your pricing. Worth working through the numbers now rather than finding out at the till on 1 October.

One Thing Worth Getting Right

Renaming the surcharge won't get around this. A "cash handling fee" or "card processing fee" that lands in the same place the old surcharge did isn't a workaround, it's a surcharge by another name, and it's exactly the kind of thing regulators are watching for. If you're weighing this option, talk it through before you act on it.

Before 1 October

Check whether you currently apply a surcharge, and where it's set up, Xero, terminal, or another provider.
If it's in Xero, no action needed. It switches off on its own.
If it's anywhere else, contact that provider directly to confirm what happens.
Review your pricing to see whether the fee needs to be absorbed elsewhere.
Steer clear of relabelling the fee. It needs to disappear, not just change names.

So What Does This Mean for You?

One less fee on your invoices, and one more thing to factor into your pricing. If you're not sure whether your numbers still stack up without it, that's exactly the kind of conversation worth having with your bookkeeper before October, not after.