From 1 October 2026 the card networks banned surcharges, but the cost of taking cards stayed. The $1.6 billion ministers framed as a saving is the RBA’s estimate of surcharges already paid, which it expects shoppers to keep paying in prices. The Tax Office chose to stop taking credit cards instead.
From 1 April 2027 interchange on foreign-issued cards used in Australia is capped at 1.0 per cent, part of the RBA’s $910 million estimate. The networks’ scheme fee roadmaps are expected by this date, and more detailed merchant statements start with the first full statement period on or after it.
By 30 January 2027 acquirers that acquired more than $10 billion of card transactions over the last four quarters must first publish how the 1 October interchange cuts flowed through to merchant service fees, for October to December 2026, and keep the measure on their websites until 30 September 2028. The RBA will republish the data and says it will consider further action where pass-through is less than full. This is the first public test of whether the $910 million reached merchants.
The RBA says it will publish a list of regulatory priorities from its Review of Payments System Regulation, which covers American Express, mobile wallets and buy now pay later, by the end of 2026, on an indicative timeline, with consultation by mid-2027. Watch whether it names surcharging or pass-through.
From 1 December 2026 credit card payments to the ATO fail. Check the ATO’s payment pages for any change, whether its BPAY page still mentions paying from a credit card account, whether it has added PayID or another real-time option, and what pay.com.au, Sniip and similar services charge and say about the card networks’ rules.
30 November 2026 is the last day a credit card can be used to pay the ATO. Taxpayers with a payment plan linked to a credit card must switch before their next instalment due after 30 November, or payments will be unsuccessful and the plan may move into arrears or default. Debit cards, BPAY, bank transfer, direct debit, Government EasyPay with a debit card and Australia Post remain. Watch for any extension, reversal or transition period.
The ABS releases the monthly Consumer Price Index for October 2026 at 11:30am AEDT; the ABS says release dates may change. October is the first full month after surcharges ended. The RBA estimated the one-off effect at about 0.1 per cent if all surcharges moved into prices, and surcharges were never in the CPI, so part of any measured rise is a cost consumers were already paying.
The RBA’s Payments System Board, which made the surcharging and interchange decisions, meets on 19 November 2026. Nothing fetched says what it will consider. Watch the RBA’s media releases for any update on surcharging compliance or pass-through.
The RBA’s Monetary Policy Board announces its decision at 2.30 pm and publishes its Statement on Monetary Policy the same day. The RBA estimated a one-off lift of about 0.1 per cent in measured consumer prices if surcharges move fully into prices. Nothing fetched says the Statement will address the change; watch whether it does.
By 30 October 2026 eftpos, Mastercard and Visa must publish specified card fee information, and acquirers that acquired more than $10 billion of card transactions over the last four quarters must publish their merchant service fees for the quarter to 30 September 2026. The RBA says it will republish the data soon after. These are fees BEFORE the 1 October caps; the test of pass-through comes on 30 January 2027. CommBank says it will publish its first quarterly report on this date.
From 28 October 2026 ANZ lifts its cash advance fee from 3 to 3.5 per cent, with the maximum rising from $20 to $50, and caps points on its First, Frequent Flyer and Rewards cards at $25,000 or $50,000 of spend a statement period depending on the card; ANZ says the caps affect statements issued on and after 28 November. ANZ’s pages do not mention the RBA or interchange. Watch for any statement linking card changes to the 1 October interchange cuts.
The Senate Economics Legislation Committee sits for 2026-27 supplementary budget estimates on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October 2026, covering the Industry, Science and Resources and Treasury portfolios. The program has not been published, so whether the ATO or the RBA appears is not known. Re-check the program the week before. Questions this case would put: what the ATO paid its bank in card fees, who pays the fee until 30 November, and whether the networks’ rules applied to it.
From 5 October 2026 PayPal’s Australian terms say merchants must not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal, and the same applies to card payments under its card payment services agreement. The RBA lists PayPal among the firms that removed surcharging voluntarily and are not formally regulated by it. Watch whether merchants that used PayPal surcharges move the cost into prices or into other fees.
ATTENDED 3 October 2026 (case: THE SURCHARGE RORT, article 1 of two).
FINDING. The $1.6 billion the Treasurer and the Prime Minister said Australians would no longer pay is the RBA’s estimate of card surcharges consumers paid in 2024/25 on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa, out of about $1.8 billion in all. The RBA expects shoppers at the 16 per cent of merchants that surcharged to pay similar amounts through the sticker price instead, and in the documents this outlet read no official estimate of a net saving exists. The separate $910 million is the RBA’s estimate of lower wholesale card costs for merchants, part of it only from 1 April 2027, and reaches shoppers only if passed on.
ARTICLE CHANGES. Article 1, “A line off the receipt”, published.
STILL OPEN. Right-of-reply questions had not been sent at publication; answers will be added as dated updates. No measured price data exist yet.
NEXT DATE: 5 October 2026, when PayPal’s no-surcharge rule takes effect.
ATTENDED 3 October 2026 (case: THE SURCHARGE RORT, article 2 of two).
FINDING. The ATO will stop accepting credit cards after 30 November 2026, not on 30 September. Until 30 September it passed its bank’s card fee to payers at cost, 0.94 to 2.03 per cent on credit and international cards; since 1 October it charges no card fee. It says it would not be appropriate for the cost of credit card merchant fees to be transferred to the community, the same kind of cost the RBA says businesses can reflect in their prices. Debit cards and other payment methods remain.
ARTICLE CHANGES. Article 2, “The cost the Tax Office won’t wear”, published.
STILL OPEN. Who pays the ATO’s bank fee until 30 November, whether the card networks’ rules applied to the ATO, and whether third-party card payment services sit inside the ban. Right-of-reply questions had not been sent at publication; answers will be added as dated updates.
NEXT DATE: 28 October 2026, when the Senate Economics Legislation Committee sits for supplementary budget estimates.