Card Surcharge Removal Brings Early Fee Cuts as RBA Reviews Payment Competition

Sonal Goyal

30 October 2026 11:51 PM AEDT

Card Surcharge Removal Brings Early Fee Cuts as RBA Reviews Payment Competition

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Highlights

Card surcharging ended from 1 October following the RBA’s review.
Several large providers cut card processing fees for small businesses.
The RBA plans to release broader payment regulatory priorities by the end of 2026.

Australia’s removal of card surcharging is showing early signs of stronger competition, with several large providers reducing card processing fees for small businesses. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock outlined the developments in her 28 October 2026 Senate committee statement as the Central Bank monitored implementation and advanced a broader review of payments regulation.

Merchants Respond to the New Card Payment Settings

Card surcharging was removed from 1 October after the RBA completed its review of surcharging and merchant card payment costs. Following extensive consultation, the Payments System Board concluded that the reform package would serve the public interest.

The package combines the removal of surcharging with lower interchange fee caps and greater transparency of payment costs. The RBA is monitoring how the payments industry implements the changes and working with industry Stakeholders to improve merchant awareness.

Bullock said several large providers had reduced processing fees for small businesses. She also reported signs of greater competition, with businesses shopping around and providers responding with more competitive pricing. Her statement described early developments rather than a uniform reduction in costs for every merchant.

Broader Review Examines a Changing Payments Landscape

Alongside the completed Surcharge review, the RBA is considering how regulation should respond to rapid innovation across payments. Amendments to the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 expanded the central bank’s regulatory remit.

The broader Review of Payments System Regulation began with an Issues Paper in June. It is examining opportunities to improve competition, efficiency and safety as the payments landscape changes.

Stakeholder submissions frequently raised mobile wallets, three-party card schemes, account-to-account payments and agentic commerce. The RBA has published those submissions and a summary, providing the foundation for the next stages of the review.

Regulatory Priorities Set the Next Milestones

The RBA intends to release regulatory priorities by the end of 2026 and begin further consultation on prioritised issues by mid-2027. Those milestones relate to the broader review; Bullock did not announce final regulatory changes for every topic raised in submissions.

The work forms part of the central bank’s responsibility to support a reliable, efficient and competitive payments system. That role sits alongside its Monetary Policy responsibilities and its work to support financial stability.

Bullock’s wider statement also placed payment costs within an economy facing continuing Inflation pressure. Recent inflation has been around 3½ to 4 per cent in year-ended terms, with both domestic capacity constraints and global costs contributing.

For the payments review, the immediate focus remains implementation of the card reforms and the competitive response already emerging among providers. The upcoming priorities and consultation will determine which broader regulatory issues the RBA addresses next, while the separate surcharge changes are already in effect.

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