The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is urging businesses to review their card payment surcharges to ensure they reflect the true cost of accepting card payments and are clearly disclosed to customers.
Misleading surcharge practices and undisclosed add-on costs have been identified as a compliance and enforcement priority for the ACCC in the 2025–26 financial year.
Mick Keogh, Deputy Chair at the ACCC, said businesses need to ensure their customers know about any card payment surcharges upfront, and that they are only charging what it costs them to accept those card payments.
“It is important for small businesses to ensure they understand their obligations and check their costs of acceptance to know what amounts they can legally charge their customers as a payment surcharge, as well as reviewing how they inform customers of their prices, including any applicable surcharges.”
Under the Australian Consumer Law, businesses must not mislead customers about pricing. The Competition and Consumer Act also prohibits excessive surcharges, defined as charges higher than the business’s actual ‘cost of acceptance’. For example, if a business’s cost to accept Visa credit cards is 1 per cent, it can only apply a surcharge of up to 1 per cent.
The ACCC has launched an education and compliance campaign to help businesses, particularly small businesses, understand and meet their obligations. This includes advertising, updated guidance material, and collaboration with industry representatives.
“We understand that small businesses need to be across a lot of information to comply with all of the laws that apply to their business, however, charging excessive surcharges and not being upfront with customers about pricing can result in small businesses losing customers,” Keogh said.
The ACCC will actively monitor compliance and take enforcement action where necessary. Businesses can find further guidance on the ACCC website or seek advice from their bank, payment facilitator, accountant, or business advisor.
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