The bigger payments battle lies beyond the surcharge ban
Killing surcharges might spare consumers one irritation, but it will not settle the bigger question of who shapes the payments system next.
The Reserve Bank’s decision to remove card surcharging from October has been framed as an easy win for consumers. Prices will be clearer, checkout will be simpler and most people will no longer be surprised by a fee they can’t easily avoid.
But surcharging has always been a symptom of the underlying cost of card payments, not the root cause.
It was designed to create a price signal that encouraged consumers to choose lower-cost payment methods. In practice, that signal has weakened. Many businesses now apply flat surcharges across all cards, enforcement is inconsistent and consumers have fewer realistic ways to avoid the fee.
Removing surcharging doesn’t eliminate that cost. It just moves it elsewhere. Businesses will either absorb it or build it into their prices, and the RBA itself expects many merchants to adjust advertised prices accordingly.
