Card surcharge ban starts October 1, but shoppers may not save money
From October 1, retailers can no longer charge card payment fees, but many worry businesses will simply raise prices instead.
From October 1, Australian retailers can no longer charge customers extra for paying by card. The Reserve Bank of Australia says shoppers currently pay $1.6 billion yearly in surcharges.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Facebook users that coffee won't cost extra when paying by card, claiming the reform means savings every time they tap, but hundreds of commenters raised concerns that businesses will simply raise prices across the board to cover the card payment fees they still owe their banks.
Merchants typically pay banks between 1 and 2 per cent of each card transaction. To ease the impact, the Reserve Bank dropped the interchange fee cap for credit cards from 0.8 per cent to 0.3 per cent, a move it says will save merchants around $910 million per year.
But many worry it will take time for banks and payment providers to pass those savings on to small businesses.
- October 1
- Ban start date
- 1.6 billion dollars
- Current surcharges paid yearly
- 1 to 2 per cent per transaction
- Merchant card fees
Why it mattersThe ban aims to save shoppers money, but critics worry businesses will pass costs to consumers through higher prices instead.
AustraliaAustralian shoppers will see the surcharge vanish from receipts starting October 1, but whether they actually pay less depends on whether businesses pass on the interchange fee cuts their banks receive.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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