The Reserve Bank has committed to publishing its payments regulatory priorities by the end of 2026 and consulting on the prioritised issues by mid-2027, setting a timetable that runs alongside the final stages of its card Surcharge and interchange reforms.

For most of 2026, the headlines on the RBA's payments work have been about one change: the removal of card surcharges. Behind that, a calendar has been ticking. Some dates have already passed, some are weeks away, and the next phase of policy is due to be mapped out before the year is over.

Governor Michele Bullock laid out the high-level timetable in her opening statement to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee on 28 October 2026. Card surcharging was removed from 1 October; payments regulatory priorities are due by the end of 2026; and consultation on prioritised issues is expected by mid-2027.

Milestones passed, and two still to come

The reform's first phase is now in place. Drawing on the RBA's frequently asked questions on the conclusions of its review of retail payments regulation, the completed steps are:

  • 1 October 2026: surcharges removed on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa payments, and lower domestic interchange caps begin.
  • 5 October 2026: PayPal removes surcharges.
  • 30 October 2026: card networks and large acquirers begin publishing card fee information.

American Express and UnionPay are also removing surcharges, although they are not formally regulated by the RBA.

Those steps took the reform from announcement to practice within about a month. They changed what consumers see at the register and began the process of making the costs merchants face more visible.

Two more dated steps remain in the existing programme:

  • 30 January 2027: large acquirers publish the pass-through of interchange cuts, showing whether lower caps have flowed through to merchants.
  • 1 April 2027: all acquirers must provide more detailed merchant statements, and interchange caps apply to foreign-issued cards.

These dates are less visible to shoppers than the surcharge change, but they are central to the aim described by Ellis Connolly, the RBA's Head of Payments Policy, at the Australian Finance Industry Association on 20 October 2026: "we're really trying to put downward pressure on merchants' payment costs".

The sequence also tells a story about how the RBA is approaching the job. First come the rule changes. Then come disclosures that let merchants and the regulator see how the market has responded. Only after that does the more detailed statement regime apply across all acquirers.

The next phase: setting priorities

Separate from those implementation dates is the question of what the RBA tackles next. Connolly was direct about the timing in his AFIA remarks: "The plan is by the end of this year to have publicised what the areas of priority are".

That means the priorities should be public within weeks. Consultation on the prioritised issues is due by mid-2027, consistent with the Governor's Senate statement. The RBA has not publicly confirmed which issues will appear on the list, and it would be speculative to name them.

What can be said is that the RBA will be drawing on a sizeable body of input. Connolly said the RBA received about 70 submissions to its payments regulation review. He also gave some sense of the environment the priorities must address:

  • cards account for 75% of payments, according to a consumer survey the RBA has run every three years since 2008
  • nearly 50% of card payments are made via mobile wallets.

He also touched on resilience, observing that "you can have situations where you can end up being as exposed as the weakest point in the network". Those comments describe the landscape rather than a confirmed agenda, but they show the kinds of considerations in view.

Why the clock matters

Timetables like this matter because they give businesses and payment providers notice. Merchants weighing up how to handle card costs, and providers redesigning their pricing and statements, benefit from knowing when obligations begin and when new proposals may emerge.

The timing also coincides with a busy period for the RBA more broadly. On 3 November 2026, the Monetary Policy Board raised the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.85%, with the next decision scheduled for 8 December. The Financial Stability Review was released on 1 October 2026. In the financial infrastructure space, the RBA published its assessment of ASX on 23 September 2026, with Assistant Governor (Financial System) Brad Jones saying ASX "is still not meeting the RBA's expectations in several important areas."

Payments, monetary policy and financial stability are distinct responsibilities, but they draw on the same institution's attention over the same weeks. The payments priorities due before the end of the year will arrive in a crowded December.

What it means for consumers and merchants now

For consumers, the most important rule is already in effect: no surcharge for paying with eftpos, Mastercard or Visa. Certain fees remain outside that ban. The RBA FAQ notes that weekend and public holiday surcharges, booking fees and service fees are not covered, and discounts for particular payment methods are still allowed. Those who think they have been surcharged incorrectly can raise it with the business, the card network or their state or territory consumer agency, and misleading price displays can be reported to the ACCC.

For merchants, the near-term focus is information. Card fee information is already being published, pass-through disclosures follow in January and more detailed statements arrive in April. Businesses unsure how the changes apply to them can consider speaking with their payments provider or a licensed adviser.

The bottom line

The RBA's payments clock has two faces. One shows the remaining steps of the current reform, with 30 January and 1 April 2027 still to come. The other shows the next policy cycle, with priorities to be published by the end of 2026 and consultation by mid-2027. The surcharge removal was the opening act. The coming months will show both whether lower costs are reaching merchants and what the regulator plans to take on next.