RBA Surcharge Ban 2026: What Changes for Business Cards

Q: "When does the RBA surcharge ban start?\n1 October 2026. From that date merchants cannot apply a surcharge to payments on the eftpos, Mastercard or Visa networks, covering debit, prepaid and credit cards. The Reserve Bank concluded its review in March 2026 and confirmed the date in its conclusions paper.\n{{\u003c /faq-item \u003e}}"

"1 October 2026. From that date merchants cannot apply a surcharge to payments on the eftpos, Mastercard or Visa networks, covering debit, prepaid and credit cards. The Reserve Bank concluded its review in March 2026 and confirmed the date in its conclusions paper."

Q: "Does the surcharge ban apply to credit cards as well as debit?\nYes. Both. This is the most common misreading of the reform. Earlier government statements in 2024 focused on debit card surcharges specifically, but the RBA's concluded position removes surcharging across debit, prepaid and credit on the designated networks from 1 October 2026.\n{{\u003c /faq-item \u003e}}"

"Yes. Both. This is the most common misreading of the reform. Earlier government statements in 2024 focused on debit card surcharges specifically, but the RBA’s concluded position removes surcharging across debit, prepaid and credit on the designated networks from 1 October 2026."

Q: "Does the surcharge ban cover American Express?\nThe RBA names eftpos, Mastercard and Visa as the designated networks covered by the removal of surcharging. American Express is not a designated network. Some payment processors are nonetheless telling merchants that Amex is included. Because the sources disagree, confirm your position with your own acquirer rather than assuming either answer. Accurate as at 20 August 2026.\n{{\u003c /faq-item \u003e}}"

"The RBA names eftpos, Mastercard and Visa as the designated networks covered by the removal of surcharging. American Express is not a designated network. Some payment processors are nonetheless telling merchants that Amex is included. Because the sources disagree, confirm your position with your own acquirer rather than assuming either answer. Accurate as at 20 August 2026."

Q: "What are the new interchange caps from 1 October 2026?\nDomestic debit and prepaid transactions acquired in Australia are capped at 8 cents plus 0.16% of transaction value. Consumer credit is capped at 0.30% of transaction value. Commercial credit is capped at 0.80%. The weighted-average benchmark that previously applied to credit cards no longer applies.\n{{\u003c /faq-item \u003e}}"

"Domestic debit and prepaid transactions acquired in Australia are capped at 8 cents plus 0.16% of transaction value. Consumer credit is capped at 0.30% of transaction value. Commercial credit is capped at 0.80%. The weighted-average benchmark that previously applied to credit cards no longer applies."

Q: "Will the surcharge ban make business credit cards more expensive to use?\nNot directly. Interchange is paid by the business accepting the payment, not the business spending on the card. The indirect effect is that issuers funded rewards programs partly from interchange revenue, so points programs and fee structures are being repriced. NAB moved first. If rewards are why you chose your card, check the terms after 1 October.\n{{\u003c /faq-item \u003e}}"

"Not directly. Interchange is paid by the business accepting the payment, not the business spending on the card. The indirect effect is that issuers funded rewards programs partly from interchange revenue, so points programs and fee structures are being repriced. NAB moved first. If rewards are why you chose your card, check the terms after 1 October."

Q: "What should a business do before 1 October 2026?\nWork out what surcharge revenue you currently recover, because that becomes a cost. Check your merchant statements for your average cost of acceptance by card type. Separately, check whether your own business card's rewards or fees are changing. Treat acceptance costs and card issuance as two different decisions.\n{{\u003c /faq-item \u003e}}"

"Work out what surcharge revenue you currently recover, because that becomes a cost. Check your merchant statements for your average cost of acceptance by card type. Separately, check whether your own business card’s rewards or fees are changing. Treat acceptance costs and card issuance as two different decisions."

On 1 October 2026, Australian businesses lose the ability to surcharge card payments. Most of the coverage so far has been about what that means for consumers at the checkout. Almost none of it has been about what it means for the card your own team spends on.

Those are two different questions, and conflating them is how businesses end up making the wrong call. This piece separates them.

What changes on 1 October 2026

From 1 October 2026, merchants can no longer apply a surcharge to payments on the eftpos, Mastercard or Visa networks. This covers debit, prepaid and credit cards. Interchange caps also change on the same date. The Reserve Bank concluded its Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging in March 2026 (RBA conclusions paper).

Two consequences follow, and they land on opposite sides of your business.

If you accept card payments, you absorb the cost of acceptance. You can’t pass it on any more.

If you issue cards to your team, interchange never touched you in the first place. What changes for you is that the rewards programs which justified a business credit card are being cut back by the issuers.

Most commentary treats these as one story. They aren’t.

The new interchange caps, side by side

Interchange is the fee an acquirer pays a card issuer on each transaction. It sits inside your merchant service fee. From 1 October 2026 the caps are:

Card type	Interchange cap from 1 Oct 2026	Who bears it
Domestic debit and prepaid, acquired in Australia	8 cents plus 0.16% of transaction value	The business accepting the payment
Consumer credit	0.30% of transaction value	The business accepting the payment
Commercial credit	0.80% of transaction value	The business accepting the payment

Source: RBA regulatory framework, caps effective 1 October 2026. The weighted-average benchmark that previously applied to credit cards is removed. Figures confirmed as at 20 August 2026.

Read the third row against the first. Commercial credit costs a merchant five times more in interchange than domestic debit. Until now, a business accepting a commercial credit card could recover some of that through a surcharge. From 1 October it comes straight off the margin.

One thing that isn’t settled: American Express

The RBA’s own guidance is specific about scope. Surcharging is removed for designated card networks, which it names as eftpos, Mastercard and Visa. Designated networks are the ones formally regulated by the RBA (RBA FAQs). American Express is not on that list.

Guidance from the major banks matches the RBA. CommBank’s merchant guidance names eftpos, Mastercard and Visa. So does the WA Small Business Development Corporation.

Several payment processors, though, are telling merchants the ban covers Amex as well.

We’re not going to resolve that here, and you shouldn’t take either version on faith. If your business accepts American Express, confirm your position directly with your acquirer before 1 October. It’s a live question as at 20 August 2026, and the answer changes what you can and can’t pass on.

Why issuers are cutting business card rewards now

Rewards programs on Australian cards were funded in part by interchange revenue. Cap the interchange and the economics of a points program change.

NAB was the first major bank to announce changes to card fees and rewards ahead of the deadline. Other issuers are expected to follow, though at the time of writing NAB is the only one to have moved publicly.

The practical effect for anyone comparing business cards right now: the rewards column in any comparison table may not describe the card you actually end up holding in November. If points are the reason a particular card is at the top of your shortlist, check what the program looks like after 1 October before you apply, not before.

What it costs your business either way

Two worked examples, because the two sides of this genuinely do behave differently.

If your business accepts card payments

Take a business turning over $500,000 a year in card takings.

All of it on commercial credit at the 0.80% cap: $4,000 a year in interchange.
All of it on domestic debit at 0.16% plus 8 cents a transaction: $800 plus the per-transaction component.

That’s roughly a $3,200 annual difference on the same revenue, and from 1 October you can’t surcharge your way out of it. Encouraging debit on the receiving side of your business is worth real money. It’s also largely out of your control, since your customers choose how they pay.

If your business issues cards to your team

Interchange doesn’t appear in this calculation at all. You’re not the merchant. What you pay is:

Interest, if a balance revolves. Business card purchase rates in Australia commonly sit around 20% per annum.
Annual fees, typically ranging from $150 to $1,750 per card depending on the product.
Rewards, which are now shrinking rather than growing.

A business Visa debit card carries none of the first two, because you’re spending money you already hold. That was true before this reform and it stays true after it. What the reform changes is that the offsetting argument for credit, the points, is getting weaker.

If you’re choosing a business card this quarter

The honest version of this decision has not changed much. What has changed is that one side of the ledger just got lighter.

A business credit card is still the right instrument if you genuinely need to borrow. If you have a real gap between paying suppliers and being paid, a credit line is worth its cost. No debit card solves that, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest.

If what you actually need is for your team to be able to buy things within a limit you set, credit was never the right instrument. A credit limit is a borrowing capacity, not a budget. It permits spend up to a ceiling and tells you afterwards. The rewards were the compensating benefit, and they’re being cut.

There’s more detail on eligibility and card types in our guide to business credit cards for startups and new businesses, including what to do if your business can’t get approved for credit at all. For the operational side of running cards per employee rather than one shared card, see why Australian SMEs are switching to corporate cards.

What to do before 1 October

Pull your last three merchant statements. Identify your average cost of acceptance by card type. You need to know what you’re about to absorb.
Model the surcharge you currently recover. Whatever you’re passing on today becomes a cost from 1 October. That number is your exposure.
Check your own card program’s rewards terms. If you hold a rewards business card, find out whether your issuer has announced changes and what they are.
Separate the two decisions. Acceptance costs and issuance costs are different problems with different fixes. Don’t let a merchant-side number drive an issuance-side choice, or the reverse.
Decide whether you need credit or control. If it’s control, a debit card with a budget attached does that job without interest, without annual card fees, and without a personal guarantee.

One note on where we sit in this. Budgetly charges a subscription, not a share of interchange. Several card providers, particularly in the US, fund themselves from interchange revenue, which means the reform changes their economics and gives them a reason to steer you toward the card type that pays them more. Ours doesn’t move either way.

Budgetly issues Visa business debit cards with a budget set per card, enforced before the money moves. No credit check, no interest, no annual card fee. See what Budgetly cards cost.

When does the RBA surcharge ban start?

1 October 2026. From that date merchants cannot apply a surcharge to payments on the eftpos, Mastercard or Visa networks, covering debit, prepaid and credit cards. The Reserve Bank concluded its review in March 2026 and confirmed the date in its conclusions paper.

Does the surcharge ban apply to credit cards as well as debit?

Yes. Both. This is the most common misreading of the reform. Earlier government statements in 2024 focused on debit card surcharges specifically, but the RBA’s concluded position removes surcharging across debit, prepaid and credit on the designated networks from 1 October 2026.

Does the surcharge ban cover American Express?

The RBA names eftpos, Mastercard and Visa as the designated networks covered by the removal of surcharging. American Express is not a designated network. Some payment processors are nonetheless telling merchants that Amex is included. Because the sources disagree, confirm your position with your own acquirer rather than assuming either answer. Accurate as at 20 August 2026.

What are the new interchange caps from 1 October 2026?

Domestic debit and prepaid transactions acquired in Australia are capped at 8 cents plus 0.16% of transaction value. Consumer credit is capped at 0.30% of transaction value. Commercial credit is capped at 0.80%. The weighted-average benchmark that previously applied to credit cards no longer applies.

Will the surcharge ban make business credit cards more expensive to use?

Not directly. Interchange is paid by the business accepting the payment, not the business spending on the card. The indirect effect is that issuers funded rewards programs partly from interchange revenue, so points programs and fee structures are being repriced. NAB moved first. If rewards are why you chose your card, check the terms after 1 October.

What should a business do before 1 October 2026?

Work out what surcharge revenue you currently recover, because that becomes a cost. Check your merchant statements for your average cost of acceptance by card type. Separately, check whether your own business card’s rewards or fees are changing. Treat acceptance costs and card issuance as two different decisions.