QLD supermarket's 2% cash discount triggers 30% sales jump
A Queensland supermarket offering 2% cash discount saw cash sales rise by 30% in the first week.
Since October 1, Australian merchants can no longer charge customers a surcharge for card payments. Businesses still pay card processing fees themselves, typically around 1.5 per cent per transaction.
Forrest Beach Supermarket near Cairns responded by offering a 2% discount for cash, costing more than it would pay in card fees. The supermarket gave more than $385 back to customers in cash discounts during the first week and saw cash transactions rise by 30%.
Other small businesses have followed suit: a Tasmanian hazelnut grower and Chappy's Place both offer cash discounts larger than their card fees. One New South Wales cafe saw cash transaction rates rise from 12% to 25% in the first week after the surcharge ban began.
- October 1
- Surcharge ban date
- 2%
- Cash discount offered
- 30% in first week
- Cash sales increase
- 1.5%
- Typical card processing fee
Why it mattersSmall retailers are absorbing payment processing costs by bankrolling cash discounts, cutting already-thin margins and raising questions about whether the surcharge ban will force prices up across the board.
AustraliaAustralian shoppers may soon see widespread cash discounts at small businesses, reversing two decades of declining cash use, and retailers' tight margins could push them to raise prices to compensate.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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